From: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: To Scoop or Not to Scoop
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 23:50:47 EDT
Organization: 5 Sigma Software
Reply-To: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us
X-Mailer: uAccess - Macintosh Release: 1.5v5


In article <jdecarlo.601.728137986@mitre.org> (rec.crafts.brewing,alt.beer), jdecarlo@mitre.org (John DeCarlo) writes:
) In article <93026.202000U30585@uicvm.uic.edu>
)  alan parman <U30585@uicvm.uic.edu> writes:
) 
) >The book I have on beer brewing recommends scooping off the 'foam' from the
) >top of the wort in the primary fermentation.  It claims that much of the
) >very bitter oils from the hops is carried in this foam and that unless you
) >do this you will get very bitter beer. 
) 
) Bull hockey.

Amen!

) It *is* true that the kraeusen is full of very bitter substances that you 
) don't want to stay in your beer.

True.  And the observant folks will note that THEY AREN'T IN THEIR
BEER ANY MORE.  They are IN THE KRAEUSEN.

) Good homebrewing practice today falls into one of two camps, roughly 
) speaking, both of whom want to avoid having unwanted stuff in their beer:
) 
) 1) Blow-off.  [....]

Of course, a big blow-off tube IS an important part of any fruit beer
making process that involves fermenting in a carboy.  I'm sure we'll
get another batch of fruit geyser stories soon to reinforce this.

) 2) Large primary and secondary.  These people use a 6.5 or 7 gallon primary 
) fermenter with an airlock.  Once the kraeusen falls back into the beer and 
) settles down as part of the trub (sediment on the bottom), the fermenting 
) beer is racked into a 5 gallon secondary to finish fermenting if necessary 
) and to get it off all that horrible stuff in the trub.

The other nice thing about fermenting in a 6-7.5 gallon glass carboy
is that you get to see some really revolting kraeusens from time to
time.  Now, I used to think that the heads from 1007 and 1338 (German
and European Ale, respectively) were pretty gross (1/2" to 2" thick,
slimy and generally rubbery looking), but I made a batch of India
Pale Ale with 1028 a few days ago that produced a head that just had to be 
seen to be believed.  But try to believe anyway: imagine a 1/4" layer of tan-
colored spongy cheesecake/mousse atop a 1/2" layer of foam.  It shifts 
and quivers like the flesh of some dying animal in slow motion.  Froth
and greenish-tan pelletized hops bubble and seep out between fissures 
in the cheesecake like alien pus through a scab.  Beneath is a column of 
semi-transparent wort through which scrambled-egg like flocs of cold 
break and yeast roil.

I just know this is going to be ONE GREAT BEER.  I only wish I could
videotape a couple of minutes of this for the folks who will enjoy it 
with me.

(The spectacular head was no doubt at least partially due to the large
volume of cold break, which in turn was probably due to the moderately
large quantity -- 2 lbs total -- of light crystal and carapils.)

================O Fortuna, velut Luna, statu variabilis================
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