From: jdecarlo@mitre.org (John DeCarlo)
Subject: Re: Your brewing expertise needed
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean  VA
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 13:20:06 GMT

In article <1993Jan8.001447.1044@digi.lonestar.org>
 sagard@digi.lonestar.org (Steve Agard) writes:
>From: sagard@digi.lonestar.org (Steve Agard)

>To make a few questions a long story..er, uh the other way around:
>
>    1. Assuming that I want to eventually make all grain brews, how
>       many batches of extract brewing is considered good training
>       before moving on?

Some people who brew with all-grain have never made an extract batch.  It 
all depends on how you are learning, etc.  It is practically impossible to 
start by just learning *one* thing at a time.  When you start you are 
dealing with so many factors at once, starting is hard whether with extract 
or all-grain.

>    2. How does CO2 in the headspace "protect" against infection? Are
>       all beer-infecting organisms (other than wild yeasts) aerobic?
>       Did I answer my own question here?

CO2 in the headspace doesn't protect against infection, as far as I know.  
Are you talking about bottles (where headspace is usually used) or the 
fermenter?  Basically, exposing beer to air can hurt by providing more 
oxygen to oxidize the beer and by exposing to air-borne microorganisms.  So 
you don't expose beer to air where possible.  If you can't seal the beer 
with a bottle cap or airlock, a layer of CO2 helps because CO2 is heavier 
than air.

>    4. I made a starter, but not far enough ahead of time, and used this
>       to pitch into 60 degree wort about 1-1/2 hours after starting the
>       starter. At that point I pitched the total contents of the starter.
>       Was this appropriate? Under ideal conditions, what do you recommend
>       as the normal process?

According to some theories, pitching the yeast during a reproductive phase 
(before you see any sign of fermentation such as kraeusen or CO2 production) 
could be considered ideal.  Still, 1.5 hours doesn't sound like a lot.  How 
well did it work?  That's the final determinant.  I have had success with 
starting it in the morning and pitching it in late afternoon.

>    5. Is a starter worth the trouble?

IMHO, yes.  Especially since it is the easiest thing you do when brewing, 
pretty much.

> 6. I pitched at just after mid-night on New Year's (the weather looked
>    like freezing rain - okay when I worked at Bell Labs in NJ, but having
>    lived in Texas since '78, I know better than to chance other drivers ;)
>    Initial fermentation was extremely vigorous. By the evening of the
>    2nd, all bubbling had stopped. I racked into the secondary early on
>    the morning of the 3rd. A few bubbles shortly thereafter, and then
>    nothing. I plan to let it rest until the 9th or 10th, and then bottle.
>    I assume the above was normal, if slightly fast (O.G. of wort was
>    about 4 pts higher than recipe (@41 rather than 37) even after
>    checking hyrometer calibration.

Seems pretty normal.  I assume that the kraeusen had fallen already, if 
bubbling was pretty much over when you racked to the secondary.  You will 
normally see less bubbling in the secondary, since you don't have the trub 
to serve as nucleation sites, plus some of the CO2 in solution in the beer 
will come out during racking.

>    7. During primary fermentation, I let wort warm from 60 to ~72 for 30
>       hours, and then brought it back to 60 degrees. What might the effects
>       of this be under the best and worst circumstances?

~72 is a reasonable fermentation temperature for an ale.  The effects are 
going to depend on the yeast, but fermenting warmer gives more esters 
usually, which is probably what you want for your recipe.

>  8. If I use priming sugar in my secondary (as was posted earlier today?)
>     can I let it sit for an hour (instead of the poster's 10 minutes) and
>     achieve virtually sediment-free beer? Is an hour too long? If so, if
>     I brought the temp back down to 60, and slowed the yeast could I get
>     away with this? Can I get away with this without temperature mods?

It is unclear what you want to do by starting CO2 production again in the 
secondary, rather than in the bottle.  For sediment-free bottles, rack from 
the secondary into a container that already has the priming syrup in it, 
then bottle from there.  Your primary should do just fine for that.

>   10. Do you think there might be a different "ideal" water content for
>       Ales and Lagers?

Yes.  In particular, it depends on the style of beer, not just whether it is 
an ale or lager.

>   11. I used Everclear in my air-lock. Do you believe this is healthier/
>       safer than water or, for example, B-Brite?

IMHO, it depends on your air-lock.  My air-lock is S-shaped, so none of the 
liquid inside can get into the fermenter, no matter which direction the air 
goes.  So I just use water.

>   12. Do you see a benefit to introducing (i.e., floating) additional
>       CO2 or N to the open secondary or bottling containers to further
>       reduce the likelihood of airborne contamination? Note, I'm not
>       talking about pressurized transfer or artificial carbonation.

I believe most professionals ensure that there is CO2 in the bottle or 
around when bottling, even with bottle-conditioned beer.  This is to avoid 
oxidation problems in the beer, not to help with airborne contamination, 
which is not a serious problem usually at bottling time.


John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
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