Home Brew Digest: 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5773 (December 26, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5773 Sun 26 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
Re: Measuring alcohol (bill keiser)
Alcohol Tables ("A.J deLange")
MCAB XIII finals - Call for judges and stewards (Kyle Jones)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NOTE: With the economy as it is, the HBD is struggling to
meet its meager operating expenses of approximately $3500
per year. If less than half of those currently directly
subscribed to the HBD sent in a mere $5.00, the HBD would
be able to easily meet its annual expenses, with room to
spare for next year. Please consider it.

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

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Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:51:59 -0500
From: bill keiser <sharpstik at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Measuring alcohol

> you have basically three choices for determining the density of

> the water/alcohol solution

The refractometer and hydrometer method seem fairly easy to me. I've
tried it a couple times.
http://www.makewine.com/winemaking/methods/alcohol/
http://www.musther.net/vinocalc.html#alcoholcalculation
bill keiser

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

Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 13:21:59 -0500
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Alcohol Tables

For Will:

It is not surprising that your attempt to apply tables or formulas for
alcohol content based on SG difference between an ethanol solution off
from which the alcohol has been boiled and the pre boil gravity gave
erroneous results. The tables and formula you referenced are based on
the Balling formula which estimate the amount of alcohol produced by
fermentation. It is assumed that 2.0665 grams of extract produce 1
gram or ethanol, 0.9565 g CO2 and 0.11 g yeast biomass. The alcohol
is proportional to the extract consumed. In your test with vodka there
is no original extract and no terminal extract - you have just pure
alcohol and so the principal upon which the Balling formula works does
not apply. Besides that the factor by which the difference in extracts
should be multiplied is wrong in the Monash website. The factor varies
depending upon the original extract of the beer/must and so no single
value can be given. For wort originally at 12 P the difference between
the apparent specific gravity of the fermented product and the
specific gravity of the residue should be multiplied by approximately
0.733 (or divided by 1.365) as is confirmed by the Valley Vintner pdf.

As noted above having the correct factor does not solve the problem of
trying to measure ethanol solutions using this technique. You took,
presumably, 80 proof vodka and diluted it 2:1 with DI water. This
gives a solution which is 40/3 = 13.333% ABV. Such a solution has
(20/20) apparent specific gravity of 0.982597. The specific gravity
of water (vodka mix which has been boiled) is 1.00000. Thus the
difference between post and preboil is 0.0174. Inserting this in the
Valley table gives about 13.6% ABV which is close to the actual 13.333
%. However if you try the same technique with 1:1 dilution you will
estimate 22.5% when the actual strength would be 20%. While the
Balling model deals with reduction in extract it also incorporates
Tabarie's principle and that's doubtless why the agreement is as good
as it is.

This does not mean that this method isn't valid for determining,
roughly, the ABV of beer or wine if done properly. The problem with
the Monash fomula (apart from having the wrong divisor) is that it
does not allow for the variation in factor as a function of original
gravity. If the OG, Residue and AE are all in Plato the multiplicative
factor for (Residue - AE) varies from 2.20 to 2.25 and can be
calculated from f = 2.1996 + 0.0013168*OG + 5.5782E-5*OG*OG. This,
multiplied by (Residue - AE), also in Plato, give the ABW which is
converted to ABV by multiplying by the AE of the finished product and
dividing by the specific gravity of ethanol which is 0.791 (20/20).
The Valley table tries to take this into account.

Note that all the numbers I have used here are as determined for beer
(they can all be found in Vol II of DeClerck. Other models may better
describe wine and others still mead and Sake.

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

Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:04:45 -0600
From: Kyle Jones <akylejones at gmail.com>
Subject: MCAB XIII finals - Call for judges and stewards

The finals of the 2010 calendar year of the Masters Championship of
Amateur Brewing (MCAB XIII) will be held on Sunday, January 23, 2011
at Saint Arnold brewing company in Houston, TX. MCAB XIII finals are
hosted by the Foam Rangers homebrewing club. Judging will begin
promptly at 9 am, doors will open at 8 am for a light breakfast.

January is a lovely time to visit Houston, and the MCAB finals present
an opportunity to judge some of the finest beers made by homebrewers.
We will be holding several events along with the judging. On
Saturday, join us for a tour and tasting at the Saint Arnold brewing
company, Texas' oldest craft brewery, in their new facility near
downtown Houston. Also on Saturday, we will host a session on beer
defects and their detection, and we hope to have Brock Wagner, the
owner and co-founder of Saint Arnold, talk to us about brewhouse
quality control. Saturday evening we will visit a few local
establishments to find some other beers from the area.

Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is a short drive from downtown
Houston, as is Hobby Airport (HOU), and ample lodging is available in
and around downtown Houston.

Judges are asked to register in advance on the MCAB XIII finals
website at http://mcab.crunchyfrog.net, and more information on the
MCAB XIII finals, including the address of Saint Arnold, can be found
at http://www.masterhomebrewer.org/. We strongly suggest judges and
stewards register in advance to be guaranteed consideration in the
seating of flights, as flight assignment will be completed in advance
of the competition. Those wishing to attend the events on Saturday
should plan to arrive early Saturday morning or on Friday evening,
those wishing only to judge should plan on arriving Saturday evening.

We hope you can come and and join us for this fun and educational event.

Kyle Jones
Grand Wazoo, Foam Rangers
Competition Director, MCAB XIII Finals

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5773, 12/26/10
*************************************
-------

Friday, December 24, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5772 (December 24, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5772 Fri 24 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Correction - Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content (Fred L Johnson)
Measuring alcohol ("A. J. deLange")
Re: Four Roses Eggnog Recipe (David Huber)
Smoking Grain ("Captain Jim")
RE: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content ("Will Auld")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 07:48:25 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Correction - Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content

I misspoke earlier regarding the need for a volumetric flask for measuring real
extract. If I recall, you don't need to know the volume you start with. It is
only important that you reconstitute the beer or wine to the same volume as
before the boil. You can use any container with a narrow neck, which is what
volumetric flasks have.

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA

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

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 08:32:48 -0500
From: "A. J. deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Measuring alcohol

This did not post yesterday (or today) because, apparently, "capi11ary",
spelled correctly is a dirty word in someone's opintion. Many of the
points have been covered but as I took the trouble to write it I guess
it's worth the trouble to try to post it again. And, of course, beating
the nanny software represents a small triumph if I can do it.

Assuming that Sake is of about the same strength as wine I would look to
the vintners for guidance. One scheme you may wish to investigate is the
use of the "vinometer". This is a funnel with a capi11ary tube and it
relies on the relationship between the surface tension of liquid and its
alcohol content. One pours a little wine into the funnel and after it
has run through inverts the funnel and reads the length of the column in
the capi11ary which is marked in ABV.

For the distillation method one needs a volumetric flask, a means of
attemperating it, a distilling flask, Kjeldahl adapter, 700 mm Alihn or
Leibig condenser and an adapter which adapts the output of the condenser
to the volumetric flask. One adds about half as much DI water to the
sample as the sample size e.g. for 100 mL sample, add 50 mL DI water.
This is part of the "quantitative transfer" in which the sample is
filled into a volumetric flask and attemperated to the temperature at
which the flask is calibrated. The volumetric flask is emptied into the
distillation flask and then rinsed with half the DI water which is
swirled about and then added to the distillation flask and the process
repeated with the second half of the DI water. Thus the goal is to get
all the sample into the distillation flask and, thus, all the alcohol.
The volumetric flask is then thoroughly rinsed with DI water and used as
the receiver. Distillation proceeds until the volumetric flask's
contents are a few ml shy of the mark, the flask is returned to the
attemperating bath (it should have been surrounded by ice during
distillation) and when attemperated, made up to the mark with DI water.
After mixing (stopper and invert) you have a water solution which is of
the same ABV as the sample (assuming you recovered all the alcohol
during the distillation). The next step is to measure the density (or
specific gravity) of the water solution and here's where it gets dicey.

The method I have described is that promulgated by the ASBC for beer.
TTB's approved (AOAC) method for spirits is very similar for things like
liquers (where the alcohol needs to be separate) and, presumably the
same general technique is suitable for Sake and wine.

Anyway, you have basically three choices for determining the density of
the water/alcohol solution. In order of cost of equipment: hydrometer,
pycnometer, electronic densitometer. In order of ease of use:
hydrometer, electronic densitometer (it has to be calibrated and
cleaned), pycnometer. In order of accuracy: densitometer, pycnometer,
hydrometer. Thus the easiest and cheapest gives the poorest accuracy.
That should be the 4th law of thermodynamics.

Assuming the hydrometer is the only practical method the problem is, as
you have alluded, getting sufficient volume to float the hydrometer
(which is a special hydrometer called a Tralle hydrometer intended for
this purpose). It is very likely, depending on the length of the
instrument (and the longer it is the more accurately it can be read),
that more than 100 mL of distillate will be needed. That's easy enough
to arrange simply by using a larger distillation flask and mantle and a
larger sample. A 250 mL distillation flask is usually used for 100 mL of
sample (and 100 mL of distillate) so we might assume that a 500 mL flask
would be suitable for 200 mL sample and 200 mL of distillate. While it
might be tempting to think about distilling about 100 mL into a 250 mL
volumetric flask and making up to the mark thus diluting by a factor of
2.5 I wouldn't recommend that because the markings on a Tralle
hydrometer are much closer together and thus hard to read accurately at
low ABV. That's why hydrometers are not used when alcohol content of
beer is measured.

Another method which works with dry wines is ebuliometry in which the
boiling point of the wine is compared to that of pure water in a special
apparatus which employs a reflux condenser and narrow range thermometer
(or, in the fancier units, two boiling chambers and condensers and a
differential thermometer). The boiling point depression of the wine
relative to the water is dialed into a little circular slide rule or
entered into a table and ABV is calculated from that.

A.J.

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

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:07:34 -0500
From: David Huber <n3uks.dave at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Four Roses Eggnog Recipe

I also enjoy making eggnog every year. Not only is it easy to make, it
costs a lot less and, in my opinion tastes much better than the various
brands of store-bought. The recipe I use is very similar to Jeff's and is a
variation of George Washington's eggnog recipe. One of the issues I've had
over the last ten years is that more and more people are reluctant to drink
homemade eggnog because of a fear of the raw eggs. If anyone runs into
these concerns, I have three different ways to handle this. One way is to
purchase pasteurized eggs; I have found they are at least twice the price
of regular eggs, and I usually don't see them (or actually, I simply forget
to look) in the market, so this isn't my first choice.

Another way to deal with this is to convince those who are reluctant that
the alcohol takes care of any nasties. Obviously, this is only true if you
put alcohol in it, and I have made batches without alcohol by request.
Since I don't have my recipe handy, a back of the envelope calculation
based on Jeff's recipe (assuming one large egg has a volume of 3.25 Tbs,
and the alcohol is 80-proof) puts it at about 11.5% alcohol by volume.

The third way I deal with this, and this is what I usually do, is to
prepare the eggnog like I was making a custard. I whisk the egg yolks and
sugar, heat my milk or cream separately to around 170F, then I temper the
eggs, add it back to the pot, and heat the whole thing to 160F while
constantly stirring. I then chill before adding the booze and folding in
the whipped egg whites. The recipes usually tell you this, and I have found
it to be true, that it is important to make this like 5 days ahead of when
you want to drink it. I have found it helps the texture and taste, and I
presume it gives the alcohol more time to kill off anything nasty if you
didn't cook your yolks.

Dave Huber
Jessup, MD

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

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:00:05 -0500
From: "Captain Jim" <jim at captainjimsauces.com>
Subject: Smoking Grain

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to be smoking about 100 pounds of grain for
a local brewery. They're not going to want the color of the grain changed
just some added smoke. My plan is to cold smoke by placing the grain on
wooden frames with screen material on the bottoms. I'll run a dryer hose
from one of my smokers into another. The heat should mostly dissipate before
reaching the secondary smoker box. I thought I might wet the grain some to
help the smoke stick. I'm not certain how long I should let the smoke flow.
Looks like some have had good luck with a 2 hour smoke session. Does that
seem about right?

Thanks
Jim
BBQ Locally / Hot Sauce Globally
www.captainjimsauces.com

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

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:38:22 -0800
From: "Will Auld" <will at auld.com>
Subject: RE: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content

I asked about the boiling method for determining alcohol %ABV.

Thank you for all the replies. I use some Vodka with a 1:2 ratio with
water to test the method. Initially I was using a formula from:

http://www.monashscientific.com.au/BoilingMethod.htm

with the formula from this site (Est %ABV = (SG2-SG1)/2.11 *1000) I just
could not make it work. Then I looked at:

http://valleyvintner.com/Tips&Links/MeasuringAlcohol.pdf

as Bill & Sara suggested. This site has a table rather than a formula.
Using the measurements I had and the table gave a result that came
in at 1/2 of a percent from what I believe I had. Very nice, but watch out
for that first site.

Thanks again

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5772, 12/24/10
*************************************
-------

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5771 (December 23, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5771 Thu 23 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
alcohol test method ("Bill & Sara Frazier")
Smoking grain ("T. Rohner")
Re: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content (Fred L Johnson)
Ginger mead recipe ("Mike Maag")
Smoking Grain (Joe Katchever)
re: Ginger Mead ("Jeff McNally")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:29:39 -0600
From: "Bill & Sara Frazier" <bsfrazier at att.net>
Subject: alcohol test method

"I want to try the distilled method to measure the amount of alcohol in
sake."

Go to Valley Vintner's website. They have a method that works well. Our
wine club compared results from the Valley Vintner method and a Ebulliometer
for several wines. Alcohol content was within 1% in all cases except for a
high alcohol port. To get good results you have to measure the wine sample
accurately and you have to take the hydrometer readings at the temperature
the hydrometer is rated for. A 250ml volume of wine will work...that's what
I used. What's really important about the volume of wine is to be sure the
volume is exactly the same before and after the boiling step. With respect
to the hydrometer temperature I used an ice bath to cool samples to the
exact temperature.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:10:31 +0100
From: "T. Rohner" <t.rohner at bluewin.ch>
Subject: Smoking grain

Hello all
i only bought Weyermann smoked malt until now.
But i bought a used smoking chamber this year. I cold smoked salmon in
it. (over 200lb...) I can hang in around 50 salmon sides in one go.
We also bottled our first whisky last week. (everything legal here... as
long as you pay the tax) We had the mash distilled by a licensed pro.
The next one will have some smoked malt. I will smoke it myself in my
smoker.
I was looking for a smoke generator for cold smoking and found this to
work very nice for me. It's like fire and forget.

http://www.macsbbq.co.uk/CSG.html

and look at these guys, hilarious... (skinny...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYqUt6tbpw

We just made 300 "Weisswurst" sausages yesterday evening.

Merry Christmas

Thomas

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:41:23 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content

Will Auld asks what he'll need to measure the alcohol content (actually the
real/true extract) of his beer.

He will need a good quality volumetric flask to accurately measure the volume of
beer that he'll be boiling for the measurement and for bringing the the
alcohol-free beer back up to the same starting volume after the alcohol has been
boiled off. If Will will be using a fairly standard length hydrometer, a 250 mL
volumetric flask would be appropriate. The flask only needs to be slightly
larger than the volume that will be used with the hydrometer.

Will will also need some distilled water for reconstituting the beer from which
he removed the alcohol.

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:08:36 -0600
From: "Mike Maag" <mikemaag at comcast.net>
Subject: Ginger mead recipe

Ginger Mead
8 gallons

2 gallons honey
6 gallons charcoal filtered water
4 tsp yeast energizer
4 tsp yeast nutrient

Add 4-5 tsp of carbonate to get the pH around 5.4
(if you don't need the carbonate for the pH at first,
monitor it during the first 12 hours of fermentation.
Add as needed to keep the pH at or above 3.2, or add
it just in case as a buffer).
Heat to 170F and hold for 30 minutes.
chill to 80F
Pitch two packets of Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast.
Should be fermented out in a month or so.
Decant off the yeast and add around 2 lbs of fresh sliced ginger.
I let mine sit for 10 days, then kegged and force carbonated.
Tastes like dry ginger ale on steroids. I last brewed it 8/22/05.
After it sat in cornies for a while, I filled and capped 12
bottles and saved them.
I am sipping some right now, and it's still excellent.
The ginger has mellowed out a bit, but still stands out.

The 2 lbs of ginger is pretty intense in 8 gallons.
1 lb should be subtle.

Cheers!

Mike Maag, Shenandoah Valley

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:37:03 -0600
From: Joe Katchever <joe at pearlstreetbrewery.com>
Subject: Smoking Grain

Whenever I've tried to smoke grain, it just gave
me a headache.

Actually, I went down to a restaurant that does a lot of smoked
meats and they were happy to smoke up some 2-row for me. Just flat
on a cookie sheet worked. In exchange for a growler, of course.
You might try the local butcher shop. They have the smoker and the
best wood. At home, I use apple wood exclusively. If you use young
wood (< a year old)and you keep the smoker under 220F, you will
have no bitterness in your beer. <br>

Joe Doe

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

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:27:31 -0500
From: "Jeff McNally" <jeff_ri at cox.net>
Subject: re: Ginger Mead

Hi All,

Glyn in S. Middle TN asked in HBD #5770 about ginger meads.

I've only made one, but I have tried two others.

The one I made used 1 oz of fresh peeled and grated ginger root boiled in
1 cup of water for 1 minute, and then added to the secondary (5 gallon
batch). One of the others I've tried used the same method, but used 4 oz of
ginger. Mine turned out fine with a moderate amount of ginger flavor. The
other one with 4 oz was way overpowering even after years of aging.

Boiling the ginger for any amount of time seems to knock the aroma down,
and bring out the heat in the ginger flavor.

The only other ginger mead that I've tried was made by Ken Schram and
sampled at the 2004 NHC in Las Vegas. His used 3 lbs of ginger (not a
typo)! He just peeled and chopped it up and added to the secondary (no
boil). Huge ginger aroma and flavor, but little to no heat.

Jeff McNally
Tiverton, RI
(652.2 miles and 90.0 degrees Apparent Rennerian Coordinates)
www.southshorebrewclub.org

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5771, 12/23/10
*************************************
-------

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5770 (December 22, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5770 Wed 22 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Fwd: Smoking Grain (Fred L Johnson)
RE: Smoking Grain? ("David Houseman")
smoking malt (Jeff Gladish)
Ginger Mead (Glyn and Mary)
Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content ("Will Auld")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:54:12 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Fwd: Smoking Grain

Jim asked about smoking grains. As a lover and cooker of barbecue, I've smoked
malt a few times in my pit with pretty good success, but not by cold smoking as
Jim is planning. My cooker uses a fire box on the side. I place the grains in a
thin (single) layer on cookie sheets after slightly wetting the grains. A wire
mesh fine enough to prevent the grains from falling trough would probably work
even better. The water helps the smoke to stick.

I've tried turning/stirring the grains occasionally over about two hours of
smoking time, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. You can also very lightly
mist the grains occasionally, but you must do this very lightly because you
don't want to wash off the smoke. Allow the grain to dry in the smoker before
bringing them out and bagging them.

With my fire box, the amount of smoke level can be quite variable and difficult
to control, so I must judge when to stop the smoking by the subtle change in
color of the malt, comparing it to some unsmoked malt kept nearby. The malt
shouldn't get dark like barbecue, and you don't want that anyway. Purchase some
Weyermann smoked malt for comparison.

Now that Jim has brought the subject up, I think my next brew will be a
rauchbier--convenient that I'll be smoking a turkey on the 24th.

Thanks for your post, Jim!

Fred L Johnson Apex, North Carolina, USA

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

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:59:39 -0500
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman at verizon.net>
Subject: RE: Smoking Grain?

Jim,

I have smoked grain in my smoker and used the hardwoods I had available
(hickory). It's warm, not cold. Smoked for a couple hours. Worked
well. Only suggestion is that you let the malt rest after smoking for
several weeks to a month. I do that after roasting grain in the oven or
smoking grain. Mellows it out.

David Houseman

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

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:05:50 -0500
From: Jeff Gladish <maztech at ij.net>
Subject: smoking malt

Captain Jim asked about cold-smoking grain and wondered how much and
for how long.
In my opinion it's pretty hard to tell until you've done it and tasted the beer.
I prefer a lot of smoke flavor and aroma in my smoked beers and also use
a cold-smoking method. Most people start out with about 15 to 20% of the
malt bill and go from there, but I have used up to 90% before. If the
smokiness is too over powering you can always blend it back with another
non-smoked beer in a proportion that you enjoy.
I smoke my malt for about an hour to an hour and a half. Note, though, that
if you
get any heat involved it will change the character of the grains.
Lots of hardwoods work for smoking, but the real strong flavors, like mesquite,
may overwhelm the beer. I recently used pecan wood and it smelled fantastic.
I use citrus wood from my backyard and find that it gives a flavor and aroma
similar to beach if you're looking for something like a German Rauchbier.

Anyway, there is no smoke-o-meter other than your nose and your experience
so you have to do it a few times and make notes for the next time.
Have fun. Smoke some cheese while you're doing it. It's incredible.
Jeff, Tampa

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

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:08:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Glyn and Mary <graininfuser at yahoo.com>
Subject: Ginger Mead

My family is obsessed with ginger. Ginger margaritas,
ginger ice cream, but ginger mead what a great idea.

Can you give out a recipe? Is the ginger strong or
subtle?

Glyn
S. Middle TN

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

Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:08:46 -0800
From: "Will Auld" <will at auld.com>
Subject: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content

I want to try the distilled method to measure the amount of alcohol in sake.
>From what I read I need a 250 ml flask, special high accuracy hydrometer
with
Hydrometer jar.

Has anyone here done this? Is 250ml enough to fill the hydrometer jar to the

Point that it can be measured with an hydrometer? Anything I should know?

Thanks,

Will

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5770, 12/22/10
*************************************
-------

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5769 (December 21, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5769 Tue 21 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Kegging mead ("Mike Maag")
Re: Four Roses Eggnog Recipe (Jeff Renner)
Kegging Mead (Chuck Petersen)
RE: kegging a mead ("David Houseman")
Smoking Grain? ("Captain Jim")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:45:01 -0600
From: "Mike Maag" <mikemaag at comcast.net>
Subject: Kegging mead

Loren wonders about kegging mead. I have kegged several meads with
excellent results. Sparkling ginger mead is very good. All were force
carbonated....might take too long to carbonate with priming sugar due to
high alcohol.

Cheers!
Mike Maag, Shenandoah Valley, VA

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

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 10:25:08 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jsrenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Four Roses Eggnog Recipe

Pat Babcock wrote:

> Over the years, Jeff Renner has been kind enough to provide us with
> his
> father's Christmas eggnog recipe, citing its origin as a Four Roses
> bourbon advertisement.

Thanks for posting this, Pat. I was thinking yesterday that I ought
to do it. I am on the mailing list for Four Roses and their annual
Christmas card has that recipe in it this year. I was surprised to
see that it calls for twice the amount of bourbon that my dad's does.

Jeff
- ---
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, jsrenner at umich.edu
"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943

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

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:09:53 -0800
From: Chuck Petersen <hopman at opusnet.com>
Subject: Kegging Mead

Loren Blom asked about kegging meads. The only difficulty I have had
with kegging meads is if you have something that is aromatic the aroma
tends to get less over time. The flavor and everything else is there but
aroma suffers. I have a Black berry mead that had a wonderful black
berry in the summer aroma that is still in the bottled mead but is
slowly going away in the kegged mead. I guess if you drank it quickly it
wouldn't matter but five gallons of 9% mead takes me a bit to get through.

Chuck Petersen
Deer Island, Oregon

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

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:38:38 -0500
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman at verizon.net>
Subject: RE: kegging a mead

I've kegged a mead for long term ageing prior to bottling. The only
negative (if it even is) thing was that to seal the keg you do use CO2 so
the mead became somewhat carbonated. Otherwise I'd flushed the keg of O2
with CO2 so it was just like aging in a carboy. I've had other mead
makers' meads served from a keg and it tasted fine.

David Houseman

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

Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:17:00 -0500
From: "Captain Jim" <jim at captainjimsauces.com>
Subject: Smoking Grain?

Has anyone had experience with smoking grains? I'll be using a cold smoking
method and plan to use
apple wood, but I'm not sure how long to apply smoke. These will be
specialty grains just to add
smoky flavor. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jim

BBQ Locally / Hot Sauce Globally
<http://www.captainjimsauces.com/>

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5769, 12/21/10
*************************************
-------

Monday, December 20, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5768 (December 20, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5768 Mon 20 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
kegging a mead (Loren Blom)
Four Roses Eggnog Recipe ("Pat Babcock")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:15:30 -0600
From: Loren Blom <ljblom at iowatelecom.net>
Subject: kegging a mead

Has anyone tried kegging a mead? If so, any difficulties?

Thanks,
Loren

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

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:22:02 -0500 (EST)
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock at hbd.org>
Subject: Four Roses Eggnog Recipe

Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your yule log...

Over the years, Jeff Renner has been kind enough to provide us with his
father's Christmas eggnog recipe, citing its origin as a Four Roses
bourbon advertisement.

Folks, I've stumbled across the original! Four Roses Bourbon still exists,
and, while collecting custard nog recipes (custard nog dates back to
colonial times and beyond and it is like liquid crack! Addictive! C.F.
Berger makes a stellar version of it, but you know how we brewers are:
gotta make my own, and adapt it to my style and tastes...), I found their
web site (http://www.fourroses.us/drink_recipes) on which the following
recipe is displayed

Four Roses Eggnog

Beat separately yolks and whites of 6 eggs.
Add 1/2 cup of sugar to yolks while beating.
Add 1/4 cup of sugar to whites after they have been beaten very stiff.
Mix egg whites with yolks.
Stir in 1 pint of cream and 1 pint of milk.
Add a pint of Four Roses and 1 oz. Jamaica Rum. Stir thoroughly.

Makes 5 pints of the grandest eggnog ever ladled into a cup.
Serve very cold with grated nutmeg.

Though you have to read the recipe to get the bill of maerials, here is a
synopsis for your shopping list:

6 eggs
3/4 c sugar (Many of the nog recipes I've reviewed recommend
confectioners' sugar to granulated)
1 pt cream
1 pt milk
(or 2 pts half-n-half)
1 pt bourbon
1 oz rum

Jeff's original posting of his dad's recipe can be found here:
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/3500.html#3500-9

To all: I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

- --
See ya!

Pat Babcock in SE Michigan
Chief of HBD Janitorial Services
http://hbd.org
pbabcock at hbd.org

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5768, 12/20/10
*************************************
-------

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5767 (December 09, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5767 Thu 09 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Removing labels (George)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:33:53 -0500
From: George <frames at metrocast.net>
Subject: Removing labels

I have been soaking bottles in a cooler filled with an oxyclean
solution and have wonderful results without chemicals that could come
back and get you. I mix several tablespoons of oxyclean with 3 to 4
gallons of water, add bottles and let sit for several days. My
cooler holds a case of bottles (12 oz) and I've never had a problem
with any glue including the evil stuff used at Smuttynose.
I hope this keeps folks out of the harsh chemical closet.
George Frame, Bristol, NH

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5767, 12/09/10
*************************************
-------

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5766 (December 08, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5766 Wed 08 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels (David Huber)
Re: Bottle conditioning with brett? (Jeff Renner)
Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels (stencil)
Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels (Calvin Perilloux)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 02:20:53 -0500
From: David Huber <n3uks.dave at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels

My standard way of removing labels is to soak them in PBW. For beer
bottles I have found that a 24 hr soak will remove just about
anything.
Sometimes there will be some residue left behind, but that comes off
easily with my bottle brush. Interestingly, I have not
had any particular issues with Sierra Nevada (the Pale Ale, at least)
bottles. Recently I have been removing labels from wine bottles
and I am encountering the same stubborn glue you mentioned, which a
PBW soak won't remove. The only way I've been able to get it off,
after a
soak, is by using a glass scraper, but this increases the level of
effort greatly.

I recently was scanning through Jack Keller's WineBlog and on June 20,
2006 (http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblog7.asp) someone
told him that xylol/xylene, which is a solvent you use to thin epoxies
and varnishes, takes that glue right off. You can get it at the
hardware
store.

Dave Huber
Jessup, Md

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

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 08:49:36 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jsrenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Bottle conditioning with brett?

"Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com> writes from Troutville, VA

> I made a biere de garde recently (currently "garding"). I plan to
> keg most
> of it. I was wondering if I could bottle condition some of it using
> brett.
> Has anyone done so? Caveats?

I have done this successfully with the originally English-isolated
Brettanomyces claussenii for a strong bitter from the Durden Park
Beer Circle booklet (Simonds bitter from 1880). I used no priming
sugar and after a couple of months it was well carbonated and
developing some mild Brett character. Not as strong as with B.
bruxellensis or B. lambicus. Some spice, leather (think shoe store),
fruit (maybe pineapple?). I like it and am looking forward to
following it over a year. It's now four months in the bottle.

I also did it with a porter, but with that one I used half the normal
priming sugar, and it was over carbonated.

I actually think that with your style, bottling with Brett. might be
more appropriate than kegging.

- ---
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, jsrenner at umich.edu
"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943

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

Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:07:53 -0500
From: stencil <etcs.ret at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels

On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:42:03 -0500,
in Homebrew Digest #5765 (December 07, 2010)
Doug Moyer wrote:

>>
>I've been using Straight A. Soaking in Straight A solution causes the labels
>to float off but the glue residue still needs to be carefully scrubbed

Saturate a square of paper towel with Goo Gone or paint
thinner (since that's what GG seems to be) and let it sit on
the glue patch for ten minutes. You still have to scrub
(scraps of wood whittled to an edge will help) and clean up
the GG itself (isopropanol in a spritzer works well.)

Swingtops forever.

gds, stencil

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

Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 11:37:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Calvin Perilloux <calvinperilloux at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Removing Sierra Nevada labels

Doug,

Unless Sierra Nevada changed their glue VERY recently,
their bottles have not posed too much problem for my usual
label-removing method.

I use ammonia in hot water, perhaps a cup or more of ammonia
in a 3-gallon bucket of VERY hot (e.g. 140F+) water, for hours.
There are some bottles where I have to resort to Goo-Gone,
but if I remember correctly, the Sierra Nevada bottles
only needed further soaking to remove the glue after the
labels come off. Keeping the water hot helps.

Calvin Perilloux
Middletown, Maryland, USA

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5766, 12/08/10
*************************************
-------

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5765 (December 07, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5765 Tue 07 December 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Bottle conditioning with brett? ("Doug Moyer")
Removing Sierra Nevada labels ("Doug Moyer")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 11:32:17 -0500
From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com>
Subject: Bottle conditioning with brett?

I made a biere de garde recently (currently "garding"). I plan to keg most
of it. I was wondering if I could bottle condition some of it using brett.
Has anyone done so? Caveats?

Brew on!
Doug
Troutville, VA
Star City Brewers Guild: http://starcitybrewers.org

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

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 12:24:55 -0500
From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com>
Subject: Removing Sierra Nevada labels

I've consumed a powerful amount of Sierra Nevada Celebration and Torpedo,
leaving me with lots of bottles.

Being the generous and helpful chap that I (sometimes) am, I would like to
remove the labels and give the bottles to some of the new brewers in our
club. (I keg...)

I've never encountered such an evil glue as is used by SN. The labels come
off with a bit of a soak, but they leave behind a thick layer of glue that
takes a lot of elbow grease and hot cleaning solution to remove (and heaven
forbid if you allow some of those glue clumps to cool off on the bottle - or
worse, IN the bottle - that's a bottle for the recycling bin at that point).

I've been using Straight A. Soaking in Straight A solution causes the labels
to float off but the glue residue still needs to be carefully scrubbed (and
sometimes there is still a faint marking where the glue was - even after
running the bottles through the dishwasher).

Any ideas?

(And, please, SN-specific. I know it is MUCH easier to get the labels off of
MOST other brands...)

Brew on!
Doug
Troutville, VA
Star City Brewers Guild: http://starcitybrewers.org

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5765, 12/07/10
*************************************
-------

Monday, November 29, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5764 (November 29, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5764 Mon 29 November 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Chlorine dioxide sources (Calvin Perilloux)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:11:46 -0800 (PST)
From: Calvin Perilloux <calvinperilloux at yahoo.com>
Subject: Chlorine dioxide sources

Karl,

I take it the "camping tablets" that Northern Brewer sells
are not what you're looking for with chlorine dioxide?
(Those tabs are $8.50 for 20. Same stuff as REI sells,
I think.)

Is there a reason those won't work for you? I ask because
that's one of the sanitizing agents that I haven't fooled
with at all, so I'm not familiar with why the camping tabs
aren't desirable. Perhaps because they're not pure sodium
chlorite but instead contain the cyanuric-acid-related
disinfectant as well?

Friends of mine have used these tablets for yeast-washing,
though, so they do work for at least that.

If all you want is the sodium chlorite powder in non-pallet
quantities, maybe a Google search of some "MMS" quack sites
can help you. Nope, I don't know what MMS is, other than
some alleged cure for anything that ails ya, but there is
perhaps a reasonable chance that you can get sodium chlorite
from them, since that's the "cure" that they sell. Whether
the flake/powder form is of a reasonable purity, who knows,
but perhaps there is a reasonably simply way to check that
yourself -- or refer to the equipment-required process
described in "EPA method 327.0".

Calvin Perilloux
Middletown, Maryland, USA

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5764, 11/29/10
*************************************
-------

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5763 (November 23, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5763 Tue 23 November 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Re: PBW stains (again) (David Towson)
Source for chlorine dioxide? ("Karl Smith")

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 07:28:52 -0500
From: David Towson <davidtowson at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: PBW stains (again)

I see that my previous post did not carry the header information that
would have identified "Jon", so readers are probably wondering what
the heck I was talking about. "Jon" is Jon Herskovits of Five Star
Chemical Company. And I too suspected etching.

Dave

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

Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:07:52 -0500
From: "Karl Smith" <karl.r.smith at verizon.net>
Subject: Source for chlorine dioxide?

Source for chlorine dioxide? I have only found commercial quantities and
"camping" tablets.

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5763, 11/23/10
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5762 (November 17, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5762 Wed 17 November 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
Re: PBW stains (Fred L Johnson)
Re:Stains on Carboy (Pete Calinski)
RE: PBW (David Towson)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:22:28 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: PBW stains

The (inside) wall of Bill Erskine's carboy that had been filled with PBW for
many months, or perhaps years, has something on it that doesn't come off with
scrubbing. I suspect the alkalinity of PBW has etched the glass. Of course,
there's nothing harmful that can come to the beer or wine from such damage to
the glass, but the carboy may now be difficult (nearly impossible?) to clean if
it is ever used again as a fermentation vessel.

In case it is a calcium deposit, you might try soaking in a dilute acid or EDTA.

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:16:09 -0500
From: Pete Calinski <petec.100 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re:Stains on Carboy

I remember this coming up many many years ago. Some knowledgeable person
said to use BBs, i.e. those things used in an air gun. Put some (I don't
remember how much) in the carboy and keep rotating.

I am sure there are other things that could be used.

YMMV

Pete

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:40:32 -0500
From: David Towson <davidtowson at verizon.net>
Subject: RE: PBW

Jon - Thanks for your reply to my query. I enjoyed hearing your
discussion of sanitizing with Jamil and John on "Brew Strong".

My query was prompted by the following posting on the Homebrew Digest.

"Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:27:44 -0500
From: Bill Erskine <werskin at sympatico.ca>
Subject: PBW Stains on Carboy

Hi all,

I've left some PBW in carboys for many months (years) as I never got around
to cleaning them. I didn't think there was any risk to this, but now I am
realizing that after I clean them with my turbo scrubber, they look clean as
a whistle when they are still wet. However, when they dry there is a white
haze stuck to the inside of the wall of the carboy.

Questions:

1. What is this?
2. Is it dangerous to beer/wine?
3. How do I remove this. PBW is my go to cleaner for tough stains so I am
at a loss as to what to use.

Thanks to all who have suggestions.

Bill Erskine
London, Ontario, Canada"

At 11:35 AM 11/17/2010, you wrote:

>David,
>
>I don't believe that the pbw can etch the glass. It may precipitate
>out of solution and put carbonates or silicates onto the
>glass. However, storing tap water in glass for a year will do the same thing.
>
>What exactly is going on?
>
>Jon
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Towson [mailto:davidtowson at verizon.net]
>Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 5:58 AM
>To: Jon Herskovits
>Cc: David Towson
>Subject: PBW
>
>Will a solution of PBW etch glass if left in contact for many months
>(like a year)?

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5762, 11/17/10
*************************************
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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5761 (November 16, 2010)

HOMEBREW Digest #5761 Tue 16 November 2010

FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org

***************************************************************
TODAY'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

Contents:
PBW Stains on Carboy (Bill Erskine)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Financial Projection As of 13 Jun 2010
Projected 2010 Budget $3305.65
Expended against projection $2500.06
Projected Excess/(Shortfall) $ 422.01

As always, donors and donations are publicly acknowledged
and accounted for on the HBD web page. Thank you

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

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

Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:27:44 -0500
From: Bill Erskine <werskin at sympatico.ca>
Subject: PBW Stains on Carboy

Hi all,

Questions:

1. What is this?
2. Is it dangerous to beer/wine?
3. How do I remove this. PBW is my go to cleaner for tough stains so I am
at a loss as to what to use.

Thanks to all who have suggestions.

Bill Erskine
London, Ontario, Canada

------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #5761, 11/16/10
*************************************
-------

Home Brew Digest

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5773 (December 26, 2010)

Friday, December 24, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5772 (December 24, 2010)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5771 (December 23, 2010)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5770 (December 22, 2010)

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5769 (December 21, 2010)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5768 (December 20, 2010)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5767 (December 09, 2010)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5766 (December 08, 2010)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5765 (December 07, 2010)

Monday, November 29, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5764 (November 29, 2010)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5763 (November 23, 2010)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5762 (November 17, 2010)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Homebrew Digest #5761 (November 16, 2010)

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