From: homebrew@lupulus.ssc.gov
Subject: HOMEBREW Digest #1035
Organization: The Internet
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 09:00:08 GMT


HOMEBREW Digest #1035                        Thu 17 December 1992


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


Contents:
  NY (Manhattan) BrewPubs/Bars ("DAVE JEROME")
  Infusion mash with Gott Cooler. (Jim White)
  Re: Handling Dry Malt (Jim Grady)
  easymasher (card)
  Brewpub in Troy, NY (JRWEISS)
  Brewpub in Troy, NY (Lou Curcio)
  Brewpub in Troy, NY (JRWEISS)
  Stuck non-fermentation? ("Robert Haddad" )
  RE: HBD 1034 (James Dipalma)
  Keeping dry malt (Arthur Delano)
  HBD "Filter" (Mike Mahler)
  Re: Iodophor problem (Steve Dempsey)
  Brew-pubs on Hawaii ? (Randall Holt)
  Re: Georgia brewing laws (Jan Isley)
  Re: Mixing yeasts in one batch? (Alan Edwards)
  Re: Mexican Beers (korz)
  Historical beer (korz)
  Bad DME? (tom lorelle)
  Iodophor stain / beer paralysis (parsons1)
  re: Handling Dry Malt  (R.) Cavasin" <cav@bnr.ca>
  Cooler Mash Tun/Lauter Tun & sparging questions ( Neil Mager )
  Starch Iodine test. (Dennis J. Templeton)
  Unmalted grains (Phil Hultin)
  Is this an "off flavor"? (Peter Maxwell)


Send articles for __publication__ to homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
  (Articles are published in the order they are received.)
Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc.,
  to homebrew-request@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Archives are available via anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu.
    (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via mail from
    listserv@sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a
    message to that address to receive listserver instructions.)
**Please do not send me requests for back issues!**
*********(They will be silenty discarded!)*********
**For Cat's Meow information, send mail to lutzen@novell.physics.umr.edu**

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 16 Dec 92 12:57:00 WET
From: "DAVE JEROME" <JEROMED@fsdec3.wtp.gtefsd.com>
Subject: NY (Manhattan) BrewPubs/Bars


I'll be visiting New York after Christmas and would like some suggestions as
to Brewpubs and/or bars to visit or stay away from.  I don't think I'll have
time to get to any other boroughs except Manhattan.

Thanks in advance.
Dave Jerome
jeromed@fsdec3.wtp.gtefsd.com



------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 16 Dec 92 08:28:15 EST
From: Jim White <JWHITE@MAINE.maine.edu>
Subject: Infusion mash with Gott Cooler.

From: Frank Tutzauer <COMFRANK@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu>
>
>Well, I've decided to take the all-grain plunge.
>
>I've pretty much decided to go Gott-cooler-with-slotted-pipes.
>Do I need a false bottom and/or grain bag?

My All-grain batches are mashed in a Gott 5 gal cooler. I removed the
spigot that came with it (it required that you push a button to empty
the cooler) with a plastic one I bought from a local HB supplier (turn
a spigot and it stays open). At the bottom of the cooler I place this
'thing' that is used to make Cherry pie crusts, (har har). It's round,
about 1/2 inch tall, perfed with about 1/2 inch square holes,  fits
perfectly in the cooler, and holds the grain bag off the floor of the
cooler and above the bottom of drain.

The grain bag is constructed from two nylon meshes. The side (cylind-
rical part that goes up the inside of the cooler is a very fine mesh,
while the round bottom is a coarser mesh. Sparging is very fast, and
never, ever gets stuck.

>
>Should I get a round cooler or a rectangular one.
>

I like the round one.

>To hit target temperatures, I know that you add water at above-desired
>temperatures.

I store my grain in my basement. This tends to keep the grain at
a constant year round temp of about 60 F. I heat my mash water to 168 F
and use 1 quart/per 1 pound of grain plus 1/2 gal (the 1/2 xtra gal
fills the space below the above describe 'thing'). So for 8 pounds
of grain I'd use 2 1/2 gals or 168 F mash water. When mixed this
result in a mash temp of 151-154 F. With a pre-heated cooler (hmmm)
that temp will be maintained for a couple hours (or at least close
enough).

I'd recommend you read Papazian's book. He does a good job of discussing
target temps with infusion mashes. I started with his formula  and
adjusted.

Jim White

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 9:07:54 EST
From: Jim Grady <jimg@hpwarga.wal.hp.com>
Subject: Re: Handling Dry Malt

John DeCarlo writes in HBD #1034:

> I use dry malt extensively for priming my beers.  If I fail
> to seal the bag completely, it gets hard and I have to break it up.
> I have noticed that if I put a chunk of this in water and try to
> dissolve it, half the time I have zero success.

While I cannot help him dissolve the malt extract bricks, I have been
storing dried malt extract in Rubbermaid containers (3 or 4 qt
Tupperware wanna bes) and have not seen any bricks so far.  I only buy
malt extract in 5# bags so far so this may not help you.

- --
Jim Grady                  |"Talent imitates, genius steals."
Internet: jimg@wal.hp.com  |
Phone: (617) 290-3409      |                    T. S. Eliot

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 09:05:17 EST
From: card@apollo.hp.com
Subject: easymasher



  I used Jack's EZ masher and was pretty impressed. I also
  used Florians/Russ Gelinas's method of adding all the
  sparge water (close to boiling) at once/stirring/.5hr settle/
  then just drain about 45 minutes. Just as Jack said, the wort
  was unbelievably clear, almost immediately. Not sure if entirely
  attributed to the EZ masher, the technique, or the fact that
  I switched to 2 row american from my usual British Pale.

  The new system really took the drudgery out of sparging.
  It used to take me ~ 40 minutes of adding runnings to
  achieve such clarity.  Thanks to all.


  /Mal Card







------------------------------

Date: 16 Dec 1992 09:41:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: JRWEISS%SESCVA%SNYBUFVA.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Brewpub in Troy, NY



Date:         Tue, 15 Dec 92 09:37:20 EST
From: Lou Curcio <LACURCI%ERENJ.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU>
Subject:      Brewpub in Troy, NY


Has anyone heard of a new brewpub in Troy, NY? The name is Brown &
Moran Brewing and it was supposed to open last month.  Any details,
such as the street address, would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

------------------------------

Date: 16 Dec 1992 09:47:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: JRWEISS%SESCVA%SNYBUFVA.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Brewpub in Troy, NY


Well, we've been reading articles about the brewpub in the paper and have
been waiting patiently for it to open.  In the last few months there hasn't
been any hard news about the brewpub.  The rumor on the street is that they
have started brewing to build up some inventory before they open the doors.

Luckily I did have the opportunity to visit the Vermont Pub and Brewery in
downtown Burlington, VT for the second time.  All I can say is great food,
great beer, great atmosphere, and very close to really great skiing (easter
n standards apply).

As soon as the doors to the Troy brewpub open, I'm sure the news will shortly
follow.

------------------------------

Date:     16 Dec 92 10:24:41 EDT
From: "Robert Haddad"  <RHADDAD@bss1.umd.edu>
Subject:  Stuck non-fermentation?

After three years of brewing ales, I have decided to attempt a lager,
now that the temperature has dropped. I have 10 gals. of pseudo-
pilsener in an enclosed backporch, with a stable ambiant temperature
of 50F.

I pitched a pack of wyeast 2124 bohemian in each 5 gal. carboy. The
wyeast pouch had been burst and massaged the day before, as directed,
and had expanded suggesting yeast was munching away.

That was then (sunday); this is now (wednesday)-- and still no sign
of fermentation. When I brew ales at 65-75 F, I wake up the next day
to the sound and sight of vigourous fermentation. Should I:

- -- (A) Pitch in another  wyeast in ea. carboy? (another $3.95 each!!)
- -- (B) Bring my wort in the heated part of the house to initiate
       fermentation?
- -- (C) Leave it alone and get back to my search for the meaning
       of life?

I read that lagers should ferment at lower temps to be real
"lagers". How long before signs of fermentation appear?

Thanks a lot
Robert Haddad
rhaddad@bss1.umd.edu


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 10:38:12 EST
From: dipalma@banshee.sw.stratus.com (James Dipalma)
Subject: RE: HBD 1034


Hi All,

        In HBD #1034, Norm Pyle writes:

>>Ed Hitchcock writes:

>>       Testing grains with iodine will skew your results.  The hard part
>>of the grain contains starches, such as cellulose, which test positive but
>>are not what you are trying to break down.  Try the iodine test on a small
>>quantity (1 teaspoon) of COOLED liquid, with as few grains as possible.

>Do others agree with this?  I've had difficulty converting sometimes, based
>on testing grains as well as the liquid.  I always scoop up some grain and
>liquid onto the white surface before adding the iodine.  Eventually, the
>iodine keeps it original color, and I continue.  If I was testing liquid only
>I would certainly quit mashing sooner.  Comments?

>Norm

  My experience with iodine testing is virtually the same as Ed's,
whenever I test a sample that has some small grain chunks in it,
it always tests positive, i.e, not converted.  I've had this happen
after holding sugar rest temperatures for over an hour.
   What I do now is to scoop out a small depression, an inch or two
deep and a few inches across, in the surface of the grain bed at the
beginning of the sugar rest.  The liquid tends to collect in the
depression, so getting a grain free sample is easy.  I've also found
that testing only liquid seems to be an adequate indicator of conversion,
as I have no starch haze problems with my beers.

********************************************************

        Also in HBD #1034, Donald Scheidt writes:

>I recommend that we
>boycott the entire "Samuel Adams" product line, from okay-but-a-bit-bland
>lager, through utterly-bogus-marginally-cranberry-flavoured-pseudo-lambic.

   Recommendation seconded, but you forgot to mention the weak-insipid-no-
detectable-phenolic-character-wheat-beer, the way-too-hoppy-for-the-style-
Octoberfest, and the altbierNOT!-Boston ale.

********************************************************

        Also in HBD #1034, Russ Wigglesworth writes:

>With all the talk of acidifying sparge water it is possible that this is one of
>those practices which is on its way to becoming abused. Here is my caveat.

>If your wort falls below a pH of 5.0 you may not get much of a hot break
>(Miller). The pH of the wort will go lower as a result of the boil (also
>Miller).

>What this is leading to is this: Don't acidify your sparge water just because
>other brewers do it. Check the pH of your water and your runnings to determine
>if it is necessary. Certainly if you have hard water and you detect a tannic
>flavor in the runnings you may want to make some adjustments, but a simple
>pre-boil of the sparge water may be all you need. Even if you do acidify your
>sparge, you may not need to do so for every recipe. If you do it for a pale ale
>you may not need to do it for a stout or porter.

   All of these points are well taken, and this is why I mentioned that
1/4 teaspoon of acidblend had such a drastic effect on pH.  It was out
of concern that someone might overdo it, and end up with a wort that
is too acidic.
   I check the pH of the mash to ensure it is in the 5.0 - 5.5 range,
and I acidify the sparge water to the same range.  My reasoning is that
if 5.0 - 5.5 is the proper range for the mashing stage, maintaining that
same range throughout the sparging process won't harm anything.  If anyone
knows differently, please feel free to correct me.


                                   Cheers,
                                     Jim


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 11:23:22 EST
From: Arthur Delano <ajd@oit.itd.umich.edu>
Subject: Keeping dry malt

In HBD #1034, John DeCarlo asks on how to keep dry extract
from wadding up.

My preferred practice is to buy a 3 pound bag and divide it into
three yogurt tubs, which i keep in the fridge.  A pound of sugar fits
a 32 oz. container almost exactly, and the sugar doesn't clump in the
fridge.  Another advantage of keeping sugar in a tub rather than a bag
is that it is easier to dip into to measure out bottling sugar.

The problem of dried ME is that it absorbs water very easily (thus the
clumping).  I know that a fridge is not an arid place, but the dried ME
seems to like it, whereas if the sugar is kept elsewhere in the house
it tends to become bricklike.

On the third hand, dried ME is sold in sealed plastic bags; no matter
how tightly a person tries to reclose the bag, air can get in.  If the
sugar is transferred to a ziploc bag (or another bag with a reliable
closure), the air can be mostly squeezed out before sealing, and thus
there should be less moisture to bother the sugar.

AjD

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 11:17:13 EST
From: mm@workgroup.com (Mike Mahler)
Subject: HBD "Filter"


        Someone once sent me a software "filter" that would
        clean up some noise out of the HBD before reading it.

        Can I get a copy again?

        Thanks.  Michael




------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 10:42:16 -0700
From: Steve Dempsey <steved@longs.lance.colostate.edu>
Subject: Re: Iodophor problem


In HBD #1034, Phillip Seitz says

> I just threw away my brand new bottle of iodaphor.  Here's the sad tale:
>
> Last week I used the stuff for the very first time, to sanitize my glass
> secondary fermenter.  No problems, stuff worked great ...

Then why throw it away?

> Tonight I used it again to sanitize my bottling bucket.
> ... but when I emptied the bucket there was
> a distinct chemical smell and the bucket had been stained orange.  Well,
> I rinsed many times, but still had the smell and color.

One of the least advertised restrictions about iodophor: it does not
work well on synthetic materials like plastic or rubber.  My old bottling
bucket is similarly stained and any more I'll use it only for sanitizing
other equipment.  I also once stored the iodophor solution in a carboy
with a rubber stopper.  A week later the exposed surface of the stopper
had turned black and the solution was noticibly paler.

The lesson: iodophor is great for glass and stainless, but not suitable
for most plastics.

================================    Engineering Network Services
Steve Dempsey                       Colorado State University
steved@longs.lance.colostate.edu    Fort Collins, CO  80523
================================    +1 303 491 0630

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 13:03:37 -0500
From: rxh6@po.CWRU.Edu (Randall Holt)
Subject: Brew-pubs on Hawaii ?



Would anyone with information on brewpubs on either Maui or
Hawaii (big island) be so kind as to mail me a note?

Thanks much.

- --
Randall W. Holt         rxh6@po.cwru.edu

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 13:55:22 EST
From: bagend!jan@gatech.edu (Jan Isley)
Subject: Re: Georgia brewing laws

In HBD #1029, XLPSJGN%LUCCPUA.bitnet@UICVM.UIC.EDU writes:
>Is home brewing legal in the great state of Georgia?  I called
>a few places - most seemed to think it was, but none were sure.

No, contrary to popular opinion, it is not legal to brew malted
beverages in Georgia.  There is also a 3-tier distribution law
here which obviously prohibits brew pubs.

House Bill 62 would make it legal for a head of household to brew
50 gallons per year.  The federal 200 gallon limit was halved by
two different committees.  The chair of the rules committee refuses
to put the bill to the house for a vote, even though the committee
has approved it and recommends it's passage to the house.  Between
the fundamentalist factions within the house and all the others who
are mortally afraid of a strong MADD lobby, I see no real hope of
ever seeing homebrewing legal in Georgia.

Yes, I voted libertarian.
- --
   Be a light unto yourself    || Jan Isley   jan@bagend.uucp
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha || gatech.edu!bagend!jan   (404)434-1335


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 10:58:11 PST
From: rush@xanadu.llnl.gov (Alan Edwards)
Subject: Re: Mixing yeasts in one batch?

DONT add a new strain of yeast at bottling time!  You will run the risk
of exploding bottles.  The yeast you add might have a higher attenuation
and start working on sugars that the previous yeast left behind.  If you
want to try multiple strains, you should let it ferment out with the new
yeast in a carboy and then bottle as normal.

 -Alan
 .------------------------------------. Xanadu-To stand within The Pleasure Dome
| Alan Edwards: rush@xanadu.llnl.gov | Decreed by Kubla Khan
|     or: alan-edwards@llnl.gov      | To taste anew the fruits of life
`------------------------------------' The last immortal man

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 13:07 CST
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Re: Mexican Beers

Steve is correct in saying that Corona is more typical of Mexican
beers currently.  I should have been clearer in saying that historically,
amber, strong-flavored beers were the norm -- they had to be to compete
with the strong-flavored foods!  I stand corrected.
Al.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 14:11 CST
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Historical beer

Sorry, I could not get this through via direct email:

>Rob--
>Normally, I'm not interested in historical recipes -- I usually
>just zip through them and don't pay much attention.
>However, your recipe, for some reason caught my eye.  I'm
>interested not only in the Porter and Old Ale recipes, but
>also in any information that you might have on the book
>(publisher, etc.).  I know it's no longer published (35th edition
>perhaps?), but it might help me find it in a library.
>Please post more information.
>Thanks.
>Al.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 16:04:15 -0500
From: lorelle@meglos.mdcorp.ksc.nasa.gov (tom lorelle)
Subject: Bad DME?


Hello,

I made up some yeast starters last week, 1 cup light DME to 1 gallon
water. The hot break did not look right, it was more like a powder and had
some sort of string-like floaters. I went ahead and bottled this in hope
that it would turn out ok. A few days later I noticed some white growth on the
surface and they smelled like sh*t. I chalked this up to bad sanitation and
started another batch with unfiltered water. This looked the same as the
last batch so I tossed it before I wasted more time. So for try #3
I used "spring" water from the store. This had the same break material
as the other 2 batches, although it did not smell as bad as the first.
It is now being used to build up a yeast culture but I don't know if I
should trust it.

Does anyone know if DME can go bad? It is about 7 months old and has
been double bagged inside a sealed plastic bucket. Does anyone know what the
stringy substance is?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 16:10:44 -0500
From: parsons1@husc.harvard.edu
Subject: Iodophor stain / beer paralysis


In response to Phil Seitz, who seems to have had a miserable experience with
iodophors:  You should clean all visible particles off your equipment before
adding iodophors.  Having done so, add the chemical after you have filled the
bucket most of the way with cold water - iodophors will stain when warm: per-
haps this is the source of your stain?  It's possible that the nasty smell
and taste is due to the chlorine treatment you gave the bucket.  You wrote
that you "scrubbed" the plastic, which, if your definition of scrubbing is
the same as mine, will have caused you to score millions of small grooves into
the material by means of some abrasive object.  These grooves may harbor
chlorine, among other things, which will not rinse, but diffuse into your
beer slowly.  I'm sorry to hear about the disaster.

I have a sort of related question on nasties in beer.  Recently, I gave
some homebrew to a professor of mine who is eager to try it, but told me
that her daughter had heard of some case in California where seven people
had suffered paralysis because they drank someone's (obviously not too pure)
homebrew.  Sounds pretty exciting - it get's better: they weren't cured
of this until some smart person injected fetal tissue into their brains!
Is this out of Weekly World News?  Is it a story spread by Mr. Koch at
Sam Adams?  Or are there people putting smack, or Drano and baby laxatives
in their beer or something?  She observed correctly that I am still alive,
and therefore deduced that she would not perish from my beer and that she
might just as well drink it.

What can I tell her?  What in the world must one do to one's beer in order
to inflict paralysis on all those who drink it?  I think I'll just tell her
how lambique is made, or scrumpy.

Jed                                     parsons1@husc.harvard.edu


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 16:17:00 +0000
From: "Rick (R.) Cavasin" <cav@bnr.ca>
Subject: re: Handling Dry Malt


John Decarlo asks about storing dry malt:
I do alot of partial mashing and buy my dry malt in 25Kg bags (cheaper
that way).  I have always kept it in large zip lock storage bags in
approx. 1kg denominations.  I've kept them this way for over a year
with no apparent change in the extract (ie. no clumping AT ALL).
Try splitting your dry malt into several zip locks which are stored
in your driest room.  If you're only fishing out a cup or so at a time,
the malt will pick up some moisture each time you open the bag so
keep the denominations small.  You could get zip lock sandwich bags,
and bag the malt into the exact amount you need for priming. (BTW,
the zip locks are easily rinsed and reused - no waste).  For that
matter, empty food containers (jars, yogurt tubs) etc. could
also be used.
Cheers,
Rick C.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 15:48:43 EST
From: neilm@juliet.ll.mit.edu ( Neil Mager )
Subject: Cooler Mash Tun/Lauter Tun & sparging questions



I'm about to dive into all-grain brewing. I'm planning on building
a combination Mash Tun/Lauter Tun out of a cylindrical cooler.
I have several questions. A few people have mentioned Phil's
Phalse bottem. How far off the bottom is it supported? How much is
it? Does it work better than a stainless steel steamer?

On page 48, figure 3 of the Zymurgy Gadgets & Equipment Special
issue is a picture of (what appears to be) a recirculating mash
tun. Anybody know the details of this (or something similiar)?
I plan on building a simple Mash Tun to start with, and eventually
evolove it into something like this. So I'd like to
know the details before I begin.

It looks like it has a built in thermometer in the dead space.
Will that accuratly measure the temperature of the mash? He also
has a tube running vertically outside the cooler. Is this to
display the water level or to vent air out during sparging?
There is also a screen and plate with holes in it. I assume one
(or both) of these is to create a false bottom. If someone has
built something similiar, I'd appreciate the help.

On a related topic,  there's been some discussion about not disturbing
the grain bed during sparging. Solutions to this range from resting plates and
bowls on top of the grain to sprinkling water on top. Has anyone
tried resting something like Phil's Phalse bottom on top of the
grain so the sparge water doesn't disturb the grain, yet drains
evenly through the grain. Seems to me, if you keep the water level
above the grain it would distribute the sparge water better then
if you had a plate or bowl on top.


Any and (almost) all related comments are welcome. Thanks for the help,


Neil


===============================================================================
Neil M. Mager
MIT Lincoln Laboratory       Lexington, MA
  Weather Radar - Group 43

Internet                    <neilm@juliet.ll.mit.edu>
Voice                       (617) 981-4803
===============================================================================



------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 17:10:53 -0500
From: djt2@po.CWRU.Edu (Dennis J. Templeton)
Subject: Starch Iodine test.



Norm asks about the Iodine test.

When I started all grain, I thought I was the only numbskull to be able to
foul up an Iodine test (after all, we did it in 8th grade science, not?)
but now I know it is a common problem.

One of the books points this out too, I think it's Miller, but here is my
version.

Yes, the husks will interfere. Miller says it's "cellulose" but paper (pure
"cellulose") doesn't react with iodine.  Nevertheless the husks do.  I
drain out some wort from my Gott cooler tun and recycle it on top, then
take a drop from the tip of the tubing onto a white plate to test by adding
a drop of iodine tincture.  If converted there is NO color change, just the
mixing of the two brown colors.

If you just take the cloudy liquid off of your spoon, there seem to be
2 iodine reactions, one with starch that is a bluish purple, and another
with specks of husk or what not that results in a dark gray-green color, in
particulate speckles.  It is not easy to tell the difference between the
two when the color is dark though.  You are much better off to filter out
the husks, and then test the clear wort.

Someone else gave a recipe from a chem book that included both KI and I2;
this is unnecessary.  Use "Tincture of Iodine" from the drugstore; actually
I just put a couple of crystals of I2 in a little 70% Ethanol to make maybe
a 5% solution.  The exact concentration is immaterial. ("Tincture" means
Ethanolic solution).

One of the books scoffs at the Iodine test and then recommends a 90 minute
mash just to be sure.  I feel better seeing a good test and then having an
extra hour left at the end of the day.

good luck,

dennis


------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 16 Dec 1992 18:05 EST
From: Phil Hultin <HULTINP@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>
Subject: Unmalted grains

Markku Koivula asked about high loadings of unmalted grains, and their
effect on mash times.

Recently, I did an attempt at a Belgian Strong Ale, using about 40% of
unmalted wheat.  The mash was done at 65C in a single infusion, after
gelatinizing the wheat separately.  Full conversion, as judged by
iodine test, took 3 hours.  So, yes, you would expect things to take
a tad longer.

The other thing, yes, one might wish to use a higher enzyme malt, such
as a 6-row type.  This is what I used.  I imagine I could have put inn
even more unmalted wheat if I were more courageous, but...
You can buy solutions of amylase enzyme in many homebrew stores, which
might help salvage a case of miscalculation, though.

Good Luck!  P.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 16:22:48 -0800 (PST)
From: Peter Maxwell <peterm@aoraki.dtc.hp.com>
Subject: Is this an "off flavor"?

I recently brewed what was supposed to be a nice, light ale.  I made 3
gallons.  For the boil I used a 3.3 lb tin of M&F light malt extract (which
turns out to be significantly darker than John Bull light) with 1.5 gallons
of water and Australian Pride of Ringwood hops, in for the full 45 minutes.
No finishing hops were used.  I used Nottingham Ale yeast and fermented at
68 degrees.  Fermentation was pretty much finished in 3
days but I left it in the primary for 8 days because of the Thanksgiving
break before bottling it.  No secondary fermenter was used.  I used a 5
gallon plastic water carboy for fermentation so didn't use any blowoff tube.

When I tasted the beer at bottling time it seemed quite pleasant but now,
after 2 weeks in the bottle, it has a very strong flavor which I find
difficult to describe.  Sort of like caramel, although my wife says it
smells
like "resin".  It is remarkably similar to the flavor (less pronounced) of a
brew I made earlier, using different malt and different hops.  The general
consensus about that was that it was the property of the malt.

I'm disappointed in the result and would like to know the cause.  Is this
some sort of infection?  Does M&F malt extract taste like this?  Is this the
sort of thing that happens without any blowoff?  It seems that plenty of
people don't use blowoff and get good results.  In fact the two brews I made
between these similar-tasting ones used essentially the same process and
equipment and didn't have the same flavor.

I'm puzzled.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

        Peter

------------------------------


End of HOMEBREW Digest #1035, 12/17/92
*************************************
-------

Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing