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HOMEBREW Digest #1319
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/01/08 00:51:22
HOMEBREW Digest #1319 Sat 08 January 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
reusing yeast (Robert Jordan)
Belgian Beer Tours (yeebot)
strike temp, metric and hops question (Marc de Jonge)
Dr. Lewis on American Malt (Pat Anderson)
Brew in St. Louis (Mark A Fryling)
Re: counter-flow -vs- immmersion chillers (Mike Zentner)
Homebrew Digest #1318 (Ja (Chuck Wettergreen)
Brew Pubs ("Pete Brauer 312/915-6157" )
Mead and Ale Yeast (WCH)
Nutritional Labelling / Wedding Brew (npyle)
SNPA Yeast (David Resch)
BATF is not your friend ("John L. Isenhour")
Sparging Speed (Robert Milstead)
Cherry Stout (smtplink!guym)
pumps and culturing (not related :-) ("Anton Verhulst")
Scottish Malt (Chuck Mryglot X6024)
Anchor X-mas (Todd Jennings)
easymasher, batch v. continuous sparge, thermoelectrics (Robert F. Dougherty)
Detroit brewpubs (The winter must be cold for those with no warm memories)
1993 AHA categories/winners (Steve Jones 412-337-2052)
Calorie/Alcohol Calculations (Steve Rak)
HSA article / hop aroma / caps (Carl Howes)
Re: beware of glycogen depletion (Paul Crowell)
storage tip/plastic bottles/mint wine ("THE FOURWHEELIN' 'TALIAN WANNABE JOKEMEISTER.")
need help to convert keg (Carlo Fusco)
Re: malt extract adulteration? (bteditor)
Balling's formula for alcohol content (George J Fix)
Re: Advice needed on serving for large events (Drew Lynch)
Correction (George J Fix)
Hops vs. malt (Mark Garetz)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 1994 22:27:29 -0600 (CST)
From: Robert Jordan <JORDAN@ANLBEM.BIM.ANL.GOV>
Subject: reusing yeast
First let me thank everyone who helped me with suppliers and various other
things so I could get my first brew of the ground. My Plain Brown Ale is
merrily fermenting away.
I used Wyeast's European Ale yeast and I want to use it again along with my
Munich Malt extract to make an altbier. If I've got it right I should be able
to pour the altbier wort in on top of the yeast sediment in the secondary.
My question is does it matter to the yeast when I aerate the altbier wort?
Should I aerate it in something else and then carefully siphon it into the
carboy that has the yeast, or can I just slosh it in with a funnel and
shake the bejesus out of it like you normally would?
While I'm here let me extoll the virtues of a 1 liter pyrex erlenmeyer flask
for yeast starters. You can boil the starter in the flask right on the
burner and then pretty much immediately dunk it in cold water to cool it
down. It's somewhat less convenient than canning a bunch of starters at once,
but it's fast and simple. Watch out though for truely volcanic boil overs.
Thanks in advance-
Rob
RJordan@anl.gov
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 02:36:29 EST
From: yeebot@aol.com
Subject: Belgian Beer Tours
Howdy Y'all and Happy New Year!
There's a fellow on AOL who's going over to Belgium and is interested in
touring breweries (Lucky guy!). Can anybody recommend a tour group or books
or any other info on this subject?
TIA,
Mike Yee
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 11:19:33 +0100
From: dejonge@tekserv.geof.ruu.nl (Marc de Jonge)
Subject: strike temp, metric and hops question
In HBD 1318 Barry Moore gives a calculation for strike temperature:
> Step 3:
> Calculate the heat energy required to raise the grist to mash
> temperature:
> (apologies to our metric friends - all weights in Lbs, temps in F)
>
> Lbs grist x 0.431 x (mash temp - grist temp) = BTU
> required
>
> Step 4:
> The heat energy that the strike water needs to loose is (surprise)
> EQUAL to the heat energy the grist has to gain; therefore:
>
> Lbs water x 1.0 x (water temp - mash temp) = BTU required
>
> for those rusty in algebra, this means:
>
> water temp = mash temp +(BTU required / Lbs water)
For metricously minded folks: I use this expression (If you rinse
your mash tun with some hot water beforehand, which I normally do because
it gathers quite a lot of dust in the shed, no correction is needed)
water temp = mash temp + (mash temp - malt temp)*(Kg malt / 2*Kg water)
(temps, of course, in Deg C)
On a completely different note:
Does anybody know anything about Challanger and Yeoman hops
(My brew shop sales person advises those as replacement for Goldings
and Fuggles, but how do they compare ?...)
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Marc de Jonge dejonge@geof.ruu.nl
Utrecht University, Geophysics dept, Utrecht, the Netherlands
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 1994 22:43:14 -0800
From: Pat.Anderson@f52.n343.z1.fidonet.org (Pat Anderson)
Subject: Dr. Lewis on American Malt
GETTING THE MOST FROM AMERICAN MALT
Notes from a talk by Dr. Michael Lewis
Home Brew U
March 27, 1993
The following is my attempt to put down the essence of a
talk given by Dr. Michael Lewis, U.C. Davis ("the homebrew
professor") at Liberty Malt Supply's Homebrew U on March 27,
1993, in Seattle. My notes are sketchy, but I believe this is a
fair summary of Dr. Lewis's talk. Any errors are, of course,
mine and not Dr. Lewis's. Pat Anderson.
In mashing malt, we need to obtain a wort with sufficient
extract and sufficient fermentability. "Extract" means the
gravity obtained from a given quantity of malt. "Fermentability"
means the proportion of the total extract that yeast can covert
to alcohol.
British pale malt is produced so that a single temperature
infusion mash produces both sufficient extract and
fermentability.
For American pale malt, optimum fermentability is obtained at
temperatures of 55^ - 60^ C. (131^ - 140^ F.). At these
temperatures, the beta amylase enzymes produce maltose most
efficiently. This happens early in the mash in a fairly short
time, approximately 20 minutes.
The alpha amylase enzymes, on the other hand, produce the
dextrins that give us the total extract we desire at temperatures
between 70^ - 75^ C. (158^ - 167^ F.).
It is possible to mash American pale malt with a single
temperature infusion. While this can be a reasonable compromise
approach, it inevitably results in a loss of either
fermentability or extract, since the temperature is not optimum
for either.
The best plan for mashing American pale malt is a
"temperature program, " in order to obtain the optimum balance of
extract and fermentability.
A sample two temperature program, utilizing the popular "camp
cooler" mashing method, would be something like this:
1. Stir in enough hot water at around 70^ C. (approximately
158^ - 160^ F.) to make a thick mash, so the temperature settles
in between 55^ - 60^ C. (131^ F. - 140^ F.) Initial mash
temperatures as low as 50^ C. (122^ F.) are acceptable. Hold for
20 - 30 minutes at this temperature.
2. After 20 - 30 minutes, add enough hot water just off the
boil to raise the temperature to 70^ - 75^ C. (158^ - 167^ F.)
for the remainder of the mash period.
What many American home brewers don't realize is just how low a
temperature American pale malt needs for optimum fermentability
and how high a temperature it needs for optimum extract.
Dextrins do not, as far experiments disclose, contribute
"body" as is frequently stated, but rather contribute a desirable
aftertaste.
The so-called "protein rest" usually advocated for American
pale malt does not seem to have any real basis. Everything that
needs to happen in the mash will happen with a proper temperature
program that addresses fermentability and extract. [Dr. Lewis's
comment was actually that the protein rest was "bullshit"!]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 8:39:51 EST
From: Mark A Fryling <mfryling@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Brew in St. Louis
Hi All,
First, thanks to all those who sent info on places for good brew in the twin
cities to me last month. I made it to Sherlock's Home for dinner and a pint
and managed to stop by Surdyks on my way to the airport. Sherlock's is a nice
brewpub with good food though I found their beer lacking a certain oomph.
Surdyks was a great success.
Now, for a new request. Next week I have an interview in St. Louis, and I'd
like to hear from you St. Louis natives about Brewpubs and good retail
establishments in the area. I will be staying in the Regal Riverfront Hotel on
S. 4th street, so if there are some good places nearby I'd lide to hear about
them. Please send info direct. TIA
One more question. I have been looking wherever possible for Rogue's Old
Crustacean Barleywine but I cant seem to find it. Is this stuff available in
bottles anywhere? The things I have read say that its great stuff.
A final note of information to those travellers who find themselves in
Manhattan. I would strongly recommend that you find the time to visit the Burp
Castle in the East Village Area (Next to Brewskky's and near the corner of 7th
street and 2nd Ave.). This place is an incredible experience! Almost all of
the bottled beers that they sell are of Belgian origin (with a few exceptions
including some Flanders Ales and a very few good US micros). The times I've
been there though, I've worked mostly on their tap selection. When I was there
last week they had: Pilsener Urquell, Hacker-Pschorr Weissbier, Paulaner
Salvator, New England Holliday Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Anchor
Christmas Ale and Anchor Old Foghorn ALL ON DRAFT!!!!! The Old Foghorn is one
of the best commercial ales I have ever tasted. The setting is also lots of
fun because the place is decorated like a monastary with bartenders dressed as
monks and heavy Gregorian music playing in the background. Its a must see when
you are in the city.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Cheers
Mark Fryling
Department of Chemistry
The Ohio State University
<mfryling@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 08:54:05 -0500
From: zentner@ecn.purdue.edu (Mike Zentner)
Subject: Re: counter-flow -vs- immmersion chillers
Peter.Langlois@BostonMA.NCR.COM (Pete Langlois) writes:
>the drain is opened a little). I have no measurement on the quantity of
>water used, but there are secondary benefits - the sink's water is used for
>cleaning up while the wort is chilling, and I get access to my kitchen tap
>for any other needs.
A while back, I discovered with my counterflow chiller that the output
is an excellent source of warm wash water that I collect in my 10
gallon pot. Your kitchen tap is also "free" if you use the outlet hose
to spray stuff off. Furthermore, in the summer time, you can run
the water out to a sprinkler on your lawn:-)...
Mike
PS as for cooling effectiveness, I don't thing you can go wrong with
either type of chiller.
And, as always, my on-line plans for a counterflow wort chiller are
free for the asking at zentner@ecn.purdue.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 08:13:00 -0600
From: chuck.wettergreen@aquila.com (Chuck Wettergreen)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #1318 (Ja
In HBD 1318 adc@mvuts.att.com (ADC) wrote:
ADC> I do my mashing outside on a cajun cooker. I recently
> constructed an insulated "container" that I can simply place
> over the kettle and cooker.
I just use a cardboard box that I lined with a styrofoam (sp?) like
substance and another piece for a lid. It maintains the heat for
hours.
Chuck
* RM 1.2 00946 *
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 09:13 CST
From: "Pete Brauer 312/915-6157" <$W$PR42%LUCCPUA.BITNET@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Brew Pubs
Dave Berg wrote to ask if $500,000 was high to start a brew pub
based on some irrational dream (don't worry Dave, I have actually
written the menu, design the floor plan, and done scale drawings of
the front and general layout for mine). Based on 5 years experience
in restaurants, and especially focusing on beer and Scotch (I don't
know if anyone remembers "Lindsey's" in Minneapolis which has long
since closed) it is a little high but not much. Of course, this figure
can be drastically reduced by following several options. First, try
to find a restaurant that has closed to take over, or better yet an
old microbrewery or pub, this will save a big chunk.
As far as your other expenses, you will have to lease or buy the
proper equipment, not just stoves, grills, etc. which you will find if
you take over a closed place, but you will need plates, glassware, bar-
ware, silver, all the little things that can be easily liquidated when a
restaurant fails, as well as tables and chairs most likely. All this
is before you even begin to deal with ordering new food and bar stock,
and redecorating and bringing to code. Along with liscense fees and
and insurance, don't forget the price of you brewing equipment and
setting up a viewing room, watching beer ferment is boring but a great
draw. Anyway, these and a myriad of other "unexpected" expenses could
easily add up to $500,000. But, if you are a winner and you get ready
to open, let me know if you need a manager.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 10:50:59 -0500 (EST)
From: WCH@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
Subject: Mead and Ale Yeast
About 3 weeks ago, I started making my 2nd batch of mead. After letting
the mead coool down, I pitched the first package of yeast. One day goes by,
two days go by, three days go by. Oh no. I start to get worried so I pitch
another package. Same thing. Another package. Again same thing.
Now, I'm really worried. The stuff has been in the carboy for 2 weeks just
sitting there. I figure what the hell so I dumped in some ale yeast (the
other packages had been a wine/mead yeast). Now, the stuff has been going
ball's out for about a week. Here come the questions?
1) Isn't the ale yeast alcohol sensitive? Meaning, won't it ferment to a
certain level then die?
2) Has anyone else fermented mead with ale yeast? How did it turn out?
3) I'm getting ready to rack the mead in smaller 1-gallon bottles. Should
I try to put some wine yeast in a racking or just let it go?
4) Anyone have any suggestion? I'm completely open. It doesn't matter what
it comes out like since I'll probably drink it anyway (I can't stand the
thought of all those yeast giving their lives for nothing).
Thanks,
Clint
____________________________________________________________________________
The unquestioning mind is always answered.
___________________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 9:10:08 MST
From: npyle@n33.stortek.com
Subject: Nutritional Labelling / Wedding Brew
Darren Aaberge writes:
>In defense of the BATF (or whoever didn't like the nutritional information on
>Grant's products, I am not sure it was the BATF), I believe the thing that
>Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. (brewers of Grant's products) got in trouble for
>was stating that each bottle of beer contained 160% of the recommended USDA for
>vitamin B, but they failed to mention that the alcohol in the beer would remove
>more than that from your body. This IMHO was clearly misleading and should not
>have been on the packages.
I strongly disagree with this opinion. Asking Grant's to evaluate the chemical
reactions taking place inside your body and to print it on the label is going a
bit too far. I don't think they are being misleading at all. Certainly no
more misleading than low fat products (implication = "healthy") which are
loaded with cholesterol. Brewers should provide the alcohol content along with
nutritional value and let you decide for yourself if it is good for you.
Grant's is (was) providing a service which no other brewery provided, and it
was appreciated by this consumer. MHO and all that.
**
Richard Goldstein asks about the semantics of serving homebrew to 80 guests at
a wedding. Richard, I wouldn't do it without a practice run. I would get a
kegging setup and practice with it for a batch or two at home. Then have a
small party to work out any kinks in that setting, and then do the wedding.
I guess I'm a little uptight about it, but it _is_ your friend's wedding day;
you want it to come off without a hitch.
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 09:13:33 MST
From: resch@craycos.com (David Resch)
Subject: SNPA Yeast
Todd asks about re-using Sierra Nevada Pale Ale yeast from the bottle:
> Does anyone out there do this regularly? Is yeast from a
> bottle pure and reliable enough to get good results? Is
> this too good to be true? Thanks in advance for your info.
I do this very regularly and have been doing it for years. The yeast is
a very nice, clean yeast and is reported to be the same strain as Wyeast
1056 ale yeast. My experience is that the yeast is extremely pure and
reliable from the bottle. The one thing to check, however, is that the
beer is reasonably fresh (not more than a couple of months since bottling).
This greatly reduces the lag time for the starter to become active. There
is a very handy decoder in postscipt format in the HBD archives at Stanford
for interpreting the date notches on the SNPA label.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 10:20:02 CST
From: "John L. Isenhour" <isenhour@lambic.fnal.gov>
Subject: BATF is not your friend
Darren Aaberge writes:
>In defense of the BATF (or whoever didn't like the nutritional information on
>Grant's products, I am not sure it was the BATF)
I never thought I'd hear anyone defend the BATF:) but let me repost this about
that...
When out in Portland for the recent Events, a group of us chi.beer.soc geeks
went to Yakima to sniff some hops, and we went on a tour of Yakima Brewing (the
Grant's brew folks). Bert and his wife were there (sorry I've forgotten her
name) and she related the saga of Bert putting nutritional info on his beer
labels. The ATF came out and made him stop, citing a 1956 rule against making
health claims for beer. Stating facts and making claims seem to be two
different items to me, but 'some other brewery' complained about the practice
and they were told to desist. Well it got picked up by the national media and
a lot of the headlines made really unflattering remarks about the big bad ATF
trying to hide THE TRUTH from the American Public. So the next thing Bert
knows the ATF shows up at the brewery with a fine tooth comb and stays there a
solid 2 weeks inspecting, detecting, and collecting info to make them pay for
the embarrassment they caused. The Grants were subjected to impromptu
'grillings' or interviews, and Ms. Grant related how the AFT officers were very
uncivil and threatening. She said the main gorilla was a big guy with short
blond hair and an acne pockmarked face and she said it was easy to imagine him
in gestapo garb. Grant had gotten written permission from atf to produce
cider, which is not regulated/taxed (at least in that state, I guess) cause it
ain't wine, it ain't beer. But the atf now says they have to pay back taxes
plus a fine, and the previous permission given by atf ment nothing. Next thing
that happens is the water company calls up and says theres a special new fee to
pay for processing the brewery's wastewater, even though Bert had been paying
the regular water fees for years. Hmmm.
At least Bert took it in stride. He now has nutritional placards that sit on
tables in pubs serving his beer.
food for thought,
-john
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 11:47:00 PST
From: Robert Milstead <rmilsted@Zellar.Vantage.GTE.COM>
Subject: Sparging Speed
After doing two all grain batches using the cooler method and
reading many posts in HBD about the time spent in sparging,
I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong. It just doesn't
seem as painful as it sounds like it should be. At least I don't
get just a trickle draining from the cooler. Could I be doing
something wrong? I have not calculated my extraction
efficiency, but I think I will on the next batch.
While mashing, I heat water to 170 in my brew
pot. With the cooler on the countertop, I use a siphon I made
that consists of a length of copper pipe in the shape of a candy
cane. Attached to the short end is a lenght of clear plastic tubing.
The long part is just long enough to reach the bottom of the cooler
when I hang the cane over the edge. On the long end I have a piece
of stainless screen scavenged from a kitchen strainer clamped w/
a stainless hose clamp. It looks like the mantle on a Coleman
lantern.
I set of couple of books under one end of the cooler to make the wort
drain to the other end. The main problem with this is that when I start
a siphon into a pot on the floor it draws the wort out so fast I can't put
sparge water in fast enough to keep the siphon from drawing air. To
solve this I use a small pair of needle nose vise grip pliers to restrict
flow
through the plastic tube. I make it a steady flow and using two pots
to recirculate the wort through the grain bed. I set a small inverted
saucer on the grain bed to keep from disturbing it while pouring in wort or
sparge water. I am not allowing the water level to rise above the grain
bed.
On the last pass with the wort I switch the receiving vessel to a 5 gal
pickle
bucket. I then dip sparge water from the brew pot with a large saucepan
and pour into the cooler, moving the saucer around to get to all the grain.
When the bucket is full I have 5 gal. Usually about 3 - 3.5 gal of sparge
water required for this.
The whole process takes about 30 min. I could do it faster if I had a
helper. Am I leaving a lot of sugar in the grain? Why does everybody else
talk about sparging for an hour or more?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 09:43:29 MDT
From: exabyte!smtplink!guym@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Cherry Stout
Regarding the making of a cherry stout and using fruit syrup to flavor it,
I think there's a better way. All natural "fruit flavorings" are now
available from at least one supplier I am aware of - St. Patrick's of
Texas. She sells it in 4 oz. containers and specifies that about 3 oz.
per 5 gallons is "what breweries use". I brewed a raspberry ale using
the raspberry flavoring from her and it turned out great. No fruit to
worry with and you can add it at bottling to taste. A side benefit is
that I still had an ounce left after brewing this batch which I
occasionally use to put in beers that I buy. If I were going to use it
in a dark beer I'd use the whole 4 oz. myself. In fact, I have a porter
in the fermenter that I originally intended to be a blueberry porter but
I have since decided to bottle half of it as a regular porter and then
add ~2 oz. of the blueberry flavoring to the remainder and do a half and
half batch. Try doing that with fruit at bottling time! I'm sure other
suppliers carry it as well. Just another suggestion...
Guy McConnell -- Exabyte Corp. -- Orlando FL -- guym@exabyte.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 12:17:58 EST
From: "Anton Verhulst" <verhulst@zk3.dec.com>
Subject: pumps and culturing (not related :-)
>adc@mvuts.att.com:
>
>I have been considering putting a tap on the bottom of
>ny mash kettle but can't seem to get up the nerve (expensive 10 gal SS pot).
>[ Any suggestions on resolving this issue?? ]
I didn't have the nerve either - I have 10 and 15 gallon Vollrath pots.
My solution was to get a pump and some hoses (thanks for the help HBDers).
At 8 GPM, transfers go pretty quickly.
>carlsont@GVSU.EDU (TODD CARLSON)
>
>.....(Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, eg). Just pour out
>the beer, add about a cup of sterile wort, stopper with
>fermentation lock and let ferment to get your yeast starter.
>$1.25 for yeast AND a bottle of really good beer seems to be
>a great bargain compared to $5.00 for a package of Wyeast.
>....Is yeast from a bottle pure and reliable enough to get good results?
Not in my opinion it isn't. There will be bacteria and molds as well as the
yeast. It may work or not. However, there are some pretty simple culturing
techniques for isolating pure cultures from bottles. All you need are some
petri dishes, a flame source and an innoculation loop. Yeast culturing is a
nifty hobby in its own right and really adds to the appreciation of your
beer.
- --Tony Verhulst
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 09:22:16 EST
From: cmryglot@disney.CV.COM (Chuck Mryglot X6024)
Subject: Scottish Malt
I have seen a few recipies which call for some Scottish or
Scots malt. Does anyone out there know what this is and
how it relates to other malts.
Prosit
Chuck
------------------------------
Date: 07 Jan 94 12:45:45 EST
From: jennings@readmore.com (Todd Jennings)
Subject: Anchor X-mas
In HBD#1317, Jonathan Knight notes the distinctive differences in taste
between this year's Anchor Brewing Co holiday product and those of prior
years.
Jonathan you are right on!! I thought it was just me! I do not, in
fact, have a sharp enough tongue to distinguish the special ingredients
of this year's blend. But I too, noticed a distinctive drop off in,
shall we say, it's overall appeal. My opinion is that 1991's is the best
in recent years. There are even a few select stores in New York City who
still have it in stock, TWO YEARS LATER! Ask your microbrew retailers in
Iowa if they still have it. Who knows?
I'd love to be able to replicate 1991's version, and if anyone out there
has some kind of recipe, I'd be much obliged.
Todd A. Jennings tjenning@readmore.com
"Cramped for space but still brewing in my small apartment here in
Brooklyn"
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 09:52:56 -0800
From: wolfgang@cats.ucsc.edu (Robert F. Dougherty)
Subject: easymasher, batch v. continuous sparge, thermoelectrics
In HBD #1318, 1/7/94, Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com> writes:
>
>There are many successful micros who allow the water bed to drop below the
>grain bed prior to adding additional sparge water. The ability of the
>properly designed flase bottom to handle this is the assumption, something
>I suspect the Easy***** is incapable of.
Well, just to add some data..... I have used an 8 gallon canner with spigot
and SS screen drain (aka easymasher) for about 20 batches now. Out of
necessity, I use a hybrid batch-continuous sparge. Basically, I let the
dense wort drain off first (that is, add no sparge water). Sometimes I even
let it go dry. Then, I add about 3 gallons of sparge water straight up
and continue to drain. Then, when that starts to run dry (ie. the liquid
level goes well below the grain bed), I add more sparge water, a gollon at
a time. As I said, I do this out of necessity (has to do with kettles, stove
space, etc.) However, I consistently get 28-32 pts of extract (using mostly
2-row pale, with about 12 - 20 % Crystal, usually...). I admit that I don't
calculate my extract exactly, but I usually err conservatively. Honestly,
I don't really care how efficient my system is. It's about the best I can
do given my current situation- and it makes good beer! However, it does
seem to be fairly efficient.
I'm not sure what Mr. Busch was implying about the "easymash" set-up, but I
have never had a problem with letting my grain-bed run dry. The sparge has
never even THOUGHT about getting stuck- I always have to turn the spigot to
slow the flow- I can't heat the sparge water fast enough. When I misjudged
the sparge rate, the bed ran dry with no ill effects- except a few grams of
particulate which comes out with the last few ounces of wort.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On another topic, I recently solicited advice on using Peltier junctions
(thermoelectric modules) for cooling fermentors and possibly kegs. Briefly,
the opinions have been that these things are only good for light cooling and
may consume too much power. I'll be compiling the info and I'll submit a
more complete summary (including the cheapest sources and possible designs)
in a few days. Thanks to all who sent me info!!
bob dougherty
wolfgang@cats.ucsc.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 12:49:20 -0500 (EST)
From: The winter must be cold for those with no warm memories
Subject: Detroit brewpubs
The traffic jam and Snug
on W. Canfield and Second St
2 blocks east of Woodward Ave
bordering Wayne States Campus
3 house brewed beers plus a micro brewery in their parking lot
across the street
and The Franklin St Brewing Co
on Franklin a few blocks west of the Renissance Center
between Jefferson and the River
I think 4 contract brewed beers brewed by Frankenmuth Brewery
Traffic Jam - (313)831-9470 my favorite
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 12:39 EST
From: Steve Jones 412-337-2052 <@hpfcla.fc.hp.com,@mrgate.al.alcoa.com:JONES3%A1@ALFIE>
Subject: 1993 AHA categories/winners
I am interested in finding out what beer style categories the AHA uses for
its competitions. I seem to recall that the 1993 winners were listed, by
category, in a previous HBD. Can anyone tell me the number so I can look
it up in the archives? And, are there any other sources for this type of
info. I presume that this is quite important when entering beers in
competitions, so descriptions of the styles (from the AHA's perspective)
would be very helpful to me.
Thanks,
Steve
(no disc-laimer)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 13:01:25 -0500
From: rak@ll.mit.edu (Steve Rak)
Subject: Calorie/Alcohol Calculations
I had a couple of email responses to a posting which mentioned a
calculation for calories in homebrew. I obtained the following calorie
calculations from George Fix (gjfix@utamat.uta.edu) back in June
'92. I modified the original equations to adjust the units from
degrees Plato and alcohol weight percent to Specific Gravity
(Hydrometer - cc/g) and alcohol volume percent. As to the actual
equations and approximations, George was using the calculations as
part of his work on brewhouse management. He would be a better source
than I to discuss their origins. (George, jump in here if you want
to add anything about their history or any updates to the calculations.)
Assuming that
SG = 1.0 + 4.*P/1000
is linear in the range of 1.000 to 1.080, and, assuming that
alc vol % = 1.25 * alc wt %
I simplified George's formulas to calculate directly
alc vol % = AV% = 256. * (OG - FG) / (4.7328 - 2.6663 * OG)
and, for a 12 oz bottle,
calories = (5.52*AV% + 180.8*OG + 819.2*FG - 1000.4) * 3.55 * FG
where OG = original gravity
and FG = final gravity in standard specific gravity counts (cc/g).
Now, its easy to see how many calories are from alcohol and how many are
from residual, unfermented sugars in the brew. (Wow!)
Note that the above AV% does vary slightly from the approximation
alc vol % = 1.25 * 105 * (O.G. - F.G.).
Any comments???
- Steve
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 12:44:41 EST
From: sdlsb.dnet!73410%sdlcc@swlvx2.msd.ray.com (Carl Howes)
Subject: HSA article / hop aroma / caps
My $0.06...
Norm Pyle wrote (in #1318) that George Fix's article on HSA was
"(Fall?) 1993". I think that was Winter 1992 (unless he wrote another
one...really should get that subscription in...)
Jim Busch describes Mt. Hood hops as imparting a grassy or earthy aroma. No
experience there, but I would add Cascades to the list for a grassy, buttery
aroma.
James Clark asks about boiling to sanitize bottle caps - I have done it that
way since I started brewing (almost a year now) with no problems.
Carl
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 09:00:47 MST
From: fmicos!trojan!crowell@uunet.UU.NET (Paul Crowell)
Subject: Re: beware of glycogen depletion
tony@spss.com: (Tony Babinec) writes in HBD #1248:
>Glycogen depletion is a consequence of long storage times,
>warm storage temperatures, and number of other causes.
>Pitching glycogen-depleted yeast can result in problems with
>the primary fermentation and the finished beer:
>
> - sluggish fermentation
> - slow attenuation
> - higher terminal gravity
> - poor flocculation
> - poor alcohol production
> - high diacetyl
> - high SO2
> - high acetaldehyde
> - less flavor stability and shelf life.
>
>All the more reason to build up yeast in some starter wort
>before pitching into your beer.
>
I'm responding because the beer's I've brewed recently have had a
*very* strong, yeasty background flavor.
The *single* variable at this point has been my introduction of
starters which I've just started making using clover honey. I've had
consistently bad results in light beers with these starters, but
darker stouts/steam beers seem to be just fine. For example, a dry
beer I made with a very low OG fermented out fast (within a week) and
had this bad taste, but another beer I brewed recently was a steam
beer with an OG of 70 which was much higher than the dry beer.
This seems to be happening to me consistently when I use honey to
power the starter. I used about 4-5 tbls of clover honey in a enough
water to fill up a Grolsch bottle, then pitched the yeast. I left the
bottles for the starters with the cap resting on the bottle, by
without closing the Grolsch bail tightly. I did not use a
fermentation lock on any of these starters. This leaves the change of
contamination, but the starters have all been in low draft rooms to
krausen.
My yeasts were:
o Munton-Fison Dry ale yeast
o Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat yeast
o Wyeast 2112 California Lager yeast
Does this sound like any of the above? I rate each of your
indications of what my beer was or was not;
> - sluggish fermentation | no
> - slow attenuation | no, ~1 week in primary only
> - higher terminal gravity | no, good gravities ~10-15
> - poor flocculation | I don't think so
> - poor alcohol production | 8-] NOOO.
> - high diacetyl | Don't know, please describe
> - high SO2 | Don't know, please describe
> - high acetaldehyde | Don't know, please describe
> - less flavor stability and shelf life. | No, flavor persisted.
- --
P a u l C r o w e l l IC Development Group
________ Ford Microelectronics, Inc.
/ ___ ) 9965 Federal Drive
/ / ) / Colorado Springs, CO 80921-3698
/ /\__/ / TEL: (719) 528-7609
/ / / FAX: (719) 528-7635
/ \____/ internet: uunet!fmicos!crowell
\_________
*** Note the change of address. :-) ***
- --
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 13:35:05 -0500 (EST)
From: "THE FOURWHEELIN' 'TALIAN WANNABE JOKEMEISTER." <AD75173%LTUVAX.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: storage tip/plastic bottles/mint wine
For those of you in apartments or freshly away from home, keep some of
your beers at your parent's house. I mean hide it at your parent's house.
The less you go there, the less you will think about it, and the longer the
brew will last.
I have been using plastic bottles for the beer I drink first, and bottle
some in glass to keep for a couple years. A good thing about plastic that
no one has said, is that you can check the pressure of the beer when it's
priming... Just squeeze the bottle.
-- Just thought of a question... Why couldn't someone put a
pressure valve on a primary or secondary fermenter that would
keep a max pressure of 5 pounds? Wouldn't this take care of
the need of priming? I guess this would work best in a keg
system. You would just dispense like a normal commercial keg.
Kim asked me a question comparing my mint wine to his parsley(?) wine.
I just picked some live mint, kept only the leaves, and put them in some
cheese cloth. I warmed about a half gallon of water and put the mint bag
in it and worked like a tea bag. To get more flavor extracted, I did the
same with another half gallon of water and the tea bag. I added sugar and
such to the "mint tea" and let it ferment. It finished early, but I haven
t tasted it after bottling it (got beer and other wines ahead of it in the
tast test line).
Aaron Dionne
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 12:41:00 -0500
From: carlo.fusco@canrem.com (Carlo Fusco)
Subject: need help to convert keg
Hello Brewers,
I have a question for everyone who has converted a keg into a
boiler. I intend to make a boiler out of a keg by mounting a
hot water heater element into the keg. I want to wire it 110V
so I can plug it into a standard electrical wall outlet.
Can anyone suggest a suitable element that will give 10 gallons
a vigourous boil using a 110V wall outlet?
Just to note, a friend of mine made one using a low output
element that folds back on itself and wired it 220V since he
could't get a vigourous boil using 110V, and, I don't want to use
a cajun cooker or anything like that. I want this for indoor use
and easily transported.
Thanks for your help
Carlo
- ---
* Freddie 1.2.5 * email: carlo.fusco@canrem.com Sharon,Ontario,Canada
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 14:51:02 EST
From: bteditor@aol.com
Subject: Re: malt extract adulteration?
The story about the adulteration of some commercial malt extracts with
cheaper sugars was told in the July/August issue of BrewingTechniques (Martin
Lodahl, "Malt Extracts: Cause for Concern," BrewingTechniques 1[2], 26-28
[1993]). The article provides background on the nature of the problem and
tables that show data from the original research conducted at the University
of Saskatchewan, but no manufacturers or suppliers are named. For more
information contact BrewingTechniques, 1-800-427-2993.
BT Editor@aol.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 14:13:18 -0600
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Balling's formula for alcohol content
Spencer Thomas and I were recently discussing justifications
of the various formulas used to compute alcohol levels in homebrew,
and he suggested I post the following.
The Guy-Lussac theory of fermentation suggests that the % alcohol
produced (expressed in grams/100 grams) is proportional to the
amount of sugar fermented (also expressed in g/100g, or what is
the same degrees Plato). Thus if OE is the original extract (in deg. P)
and if RE is the residual extract at the end of fermentation (better
known as the real extract), then
(1) % alcohol by wt. = F*(OE - RE)
Moreover, the Guy-Lussac theory suggests that the numerical factor
F should be 1/2; i.e., half of the sugar metabolized goes into
alcohol production. It was quickly learned that this was not quite
right, and that corrections were needed to get accurate results. In
commercial brewing the most widely accepted expression is due in large
part to Balling. He worked in a time when German mathematicans like Runge
were making rational approximations popular, and that is how Balling
approximated the empirical data available to him. His expression goes as
follows:
(2) F = 1./ (2.0665 - .010665*OE).
The combination of (1) and (2) gives the classic Balling formula. Note
that F, the fraction of sugars fermented that go into alcohol production,
increases with increasing OE. This effect is well documented in the
literature.
Most homebrewers prefer to work directly with hydrometer readings, which
give the apparent extract AE instead of RE. The two can be approximately
related by
RE = .8192*AE + .1808*AE.
In addition, most prefer to express alcohol levels in % vol. This can
approximately be done by multiplying (1) by 1.25. Finally, most prefer
specific gravities OG, FG to extracts OE, AE. Here the "factor of 4"
rule can be used; i.e.,
OE = 1000*(OG - 1.)/4
AE = 1000*(FG -1.)/4.
Putting these together gives
alcohol by vol. = 1.25*F1*(OG - FG),
where
F1 = 99/(1. - 1.3*(OG -1.))
Note that this and the rule 1.25*105*(OG-FG) give the same results for
OG = 1.048 and FG = 1.010, namely 5%. However as OG -FG increases the
factor 105 becomes less accurate.
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 10:30:09 -0800
From: Drew Lynch <drew@chronologic.com>
Subject: Re: Advice needed on serving for large events
Hi Rich,
Howsitgoin? A friend of mine, Frank and I (as well as another
friend of ours) supplied homebrew for a friend's wedding. We used
kegs, and it worked out very nicely. We had three kegs, three CO2
cylinders, 3 taps, etc. This was a little bit of overkill, but still
easier than bottling. We personally did most of the serving of
homebrew.
If you do want to bottle, I'm sure that you can teach the bartender
to pour correctly. I would suggest numbering the caps as well as (or
instead of) attaching paper labels. If you do want to label, rubber
cement may be the way to go to prevent inadvertent label
removal. Perhaps a little placard sitting on the bar describing the
homebrews available would do instead of labeling. You may also want
to keep the ice to water ratio in the chill bucket low, so the brew is
served at reasonable temperatures.
We had about 80 people also, and went through about 10-12 gallons of
homebrew in addition to the commercial beer consumed.
We got a lot of converts that day. My high point was watching someone
peruse the commercial beer selection, and open a bottle of Henry
Weinhard's Ale. He then noticed the homebrew, got a description of
each style available, and asked to taste mine. He stopped my pour
when there was about 2 tablespoons of beer in the glass. He looked at
it, tasted it, looked at the HW in his other hand, said "F**k this
s**t", set down the HW and handed me back the glass for a full pour. I
enjoyed that!
Another suggestion: Keep the alcohol content reasonably low.
Especially in a large group situation, you cannot warn everyone of the
higher than average buzz factor in the average homebrew. We didn't
have any problems (that I know of), but we especially brewed to keep
the content at the low end of normal.
Drew Lynch
Chronologic Simulation, Los Altos, Ca.
(415)965-3312x18
drew@chronologic.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 15:08:50 -0600
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Correction
My post on Balling's formula had a typo. The relation between real
extract RE and apparent extract AE should read
RE = .8192*AE + .1808*OE.
The original extract OE inadvertently replaced with AE. Thanks Spencer!
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 12:58:23 PST
From: Mark Garetz <mgaretz@hoptech.com>
Subject: Hops vs. malt
Al Korzonas writes:
>A brewer who I respect highly, John Isenhour, wrote me privately, saying that
>he believes that having some malt there while boiling the hops, may assist
>in isomerization. I had not read anything about this and had tasted beers
>that had additional bitterness added by adding some hop tea (boiled hops
>just in water), so I went ahead with my response. I guess I may have jumped
>the gun. Anyone else have information on this? References I could read?
>Thanks.
Having the malt (maltose) in the wort won't help directly, but there is
considerable evidence that finely divided material, such as provided by
the break material and/or the hop pieces/particles aids as a catalyst in
isomerization. OTOH, in water the isomerization proceeds in via first order
kinetics, but in wort the reaction is slowed down due to the constantly
dropping pH of the wort. References: "The fate of humulone during wort boiling
and cooling." by D.R. Maule, J. Inst. Brewing Vol 72, 1966 and "Practical
Aspects of the Isomerization of a-acids" by M. Verzele. Don't have the ref
on the last one since it's not on my photocopied pages, but judging from
the format it must be one of EBC Symposiums Proccedings.
Mark
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1319, 01/08/94
*************************************
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