FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
Good use for plastic bottles ("Dave Draper")
plastic bottles (Robin Griller)
Cleaning Conicals ("A.J deLange")
Re: Cleaning Conicals ("Dave Larsen")
Music To Brew By ("Dave Larsen")
Getting the word out (Joseph M Labeck Jr)
Conicals, carboys, cleaning ... ("steve.alexander")
Results of the 2008 E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition (Scott and =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ch=E9rie_Stihler?= )
Cleaning a Conical ("LANCE HARBISON")
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Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:12:46 -0600
From: "Dave Draper" <david at draper.name>
Subject: Good use for plastic bottles
Dear Friends,
Couple posts about using plastic bottles to bottle beer with in
recent digests.
I agree that they're not suitable for long-term conditioning and
storage, but one thing they are really good for is as an indicator
for when bottle conditioning is mostly complete. Use a couple
plastic bottles (I always used the approx. 1 litre size) in each
bottled batch, and you'll be able to tell how carbonation is coming
along by how taut the plastic bottle is. Right after you bottle,
it'll have plenty of give, and when carbonation is basically done,
it'll be quite solid. This way you don't have to spend a glass
bottle to test whether it's carbonated enough yet. The old adage is
"When it's hard, it's ready." :-)
Cheers, Dave in ABQ
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
David S. Draper, Institute of Meteoritics, Univ New Mexico
David at Draper dot Name
Beer page: http://www.unm.edu/~draper/beer.html
The one with the biggest starter wins. ---Dan McConnell
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Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:50:53 -0400
From: Robin Griller <rgriller at chass.utoronto.ca>
Subject: plastic bottles
Many of the Homebrew shops up here in Canada sell brown pet bottles for
homebrewing and, until I got into kegging, I used them a fair amount. They
were just fine for beer....I wouldn't use them for things I want to age in
bottle for a long time, but as someone else said, if you're drinking the
beer over a several month period they should be just fine.....
Robin
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:57:21 -0400
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Cleaning Conicals
Since cleaning of conicals is of interest and I have described in some
detail how I clean kegs I can describe how I clean a conical in little
space since it's done using the same equipment chemicals and procedure
(see Sat HBD) except that caustic enters the fermenter through a CIP
ball at the top and nothing is returned to the caustic supply tank. When
the caustic supply has been completely emptied I throw the lever on a
three way valve so the pump is being fed by the drain at the bottom of
the fermenter (instead of the caustic supply) and the caustic then
recirculates. It is important to prerinse with water first because
residual protein will cause the caustic to froth to the point where the
pump is trying to move foam which doesn't work very well. It is very
important to be sure that any CO2 remaining from fermentation or CO2
pressure emptying of the beer be drained from the tank in this step as
spraying caustic into a fermenter full of CO2 results in a very sad
picture unless there is a functioning vacuum release valve in place or
the fermenter is open to ambient pressure (CO2 + NaOH --> NaHCO3 +
vacuum). I usually recirculate the caustic for about 45 min. followed
by water rinse, acid mix (for beerstone) every third or so cleaning and
more water. Then a check of ports (carbonating stone, sample port) is
necessary as yeast may settle there. A quick pass with a brush followed
by lots of water takes care of that and the fementer is clean. The
relatively violent spray from the CIP ball (rotating) does all the work
and gets the unit clean without disassembly beyond carbonating stone and
Zwickle (all connections are 3A sanitary) ports. On brew day I
recirculate iodophor for an hour or so. This gets it into every nook and
cranny of which there should be precious few since all welds are
sanitary and that only leaves the 3A connection at the bottom where
drain and standpipe attach to the bottom of the cone. Periodic
disassembly and check of the gaskets on these completes the job. I tend
to soak 3A gaskets overnight in water to loosen any caked on material,
rinse with water, dry and reassemble. So far so good.
A.J.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:08:09 -0700
From: "Dave Larsen" <hunahpu at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Cleaning Conicals
> Forgive me for asking the obvious, but why do people fill their Conical
> with Star san to sanitise it?
>
> Once clean (Say using hot Washing soda), simply rinse, allow to drain
> and then using a hand sprayer spray starsan round all the surfaces, and
> allow to drain from the bottom valve . . . seems a lot more economical
> to me.
>
You fill it up with sanitizer to not only sanitize, but also to check
for leaks. All the fittings, such as the bottom dump and the rotating
racking arm, are screwed together with rubber seals. They can leak,
so you test it out with sanitizer first. It is much easier to fix a
leak before you put your beer in the fermenter.
I guess you could check of leaks with regular water, but then the
inside of your bottom dump and rotating racking arm are no longer
sanitary. You really cant spray inside of those with a hand sprayer.
I do use a spray bottle to spray underneath the fittings before I
attach them, and also to spray the rim of the conical before I attach
the lid.
Dave
Tucson, AZ
http://hunahpu.blogspot.com/
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:38:14 -0700
From: "Dave Larsen" <hunahpu at gmail.com>
Subject: Music To Brew By
Okay, let me pose this question. What music do you brew to?
Dave
Tucson, AZ
http://hunahpu.blogspot.com/
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:52:55 -0400
From: Joseph M Labeck Jr <jmlabeck at joesjokearchive.ws>
Subject: Getting the word out
A short time ago, I had posted a comment that the HBD could perhaps use
a bit more publicity.
My talent is limited, but I designed a banner ad, and uploaded it to my
website
If you wish to use it, feel free to copy it.
I've also sent an email to one of the brewing podcasts, Basic Brewing,
suggesting a show about the HomeBrew Digest. The host, James Spencer,
seemed receptive.
I just think more people need to learn of it's existence.
Joe Labeck
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:58:21 -0400
From: "steve.alexander" <-s at roadrunner.com>
Subject: Conicals, carboys, cleaning ...
The archives contain a long and detailed discussion of the issues with
various fermenters. IMO small (even 1 or 2 bbl) conicals seem too
small to cause significant thermal circulation - which is undoubtedly
the reason why commercial 10-1000bbl "rainier" style fermenters are so
popular commercially. The conical bottom is certainly an advantage
for (clean) yeast harvest, but the importance of the for HBers is
dubious.
> If you want to test this out yourself, take a few bottles
> of your favorite beer and store them where you normally store beer
> for a year or two.
Try a month or two. Most plastics transpire oxygen. Some transverse
PET laminate bottles which are relatively impervious were under
development for commercial beer use (by SAB-Miller I think) but I
haven't seen these on the market ((perhaps never will given feedstock
prices)), Many HBers have the incorrect impression that oxygen won't
diffuse into a 2L pop bottle while under CO2 pressure - but this is
absolutely incorrect. A month in a PET bottle will ruin a beer IMO,
tho' plastics are probably fine during any fermentation phase. I'd
never consider plastic carboys for storage - but for fermentation they
are probably fine (ignoring that plastics can retain flavors and that
non-food grade plastics are a serious no-no).
I have a love/hate relationship with glass carboys. Heavy, and
dangerously slippery when wet, yet easily cleaned and the fermentation
activity is easily observed. I can't imagine using anything else for
my small scale winemaking which requires many months or years of
storage and has similar oxidation issues as beer.
Cleaning a carboy shouldn't be difficult, despite the small neck.
Rinsing with cold water and topping up with a caustic cleanser usually
removes everything in a few days, but a little light brushing speeds
his up dramatically. I'm not a fan of intensive scrubbing, but a
certain amount is needed, and as mentioned the common bristle brushes
are sub-optimal. Sometimes I'll insert a sponge and push it around
with a brush. I store carboys with a light chlorine bleach solution.
With steel/snake I agree that caustics (and certainly not chlorine or
rough scrubbers) is the way to go. An initial cold water rinse and
sponging does a lot of good, but leaves a noticeable film which the
caustics handle.
-S
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:14:11 -0800
From: Scott and =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ch=E9rie_Stihler?= <stihlerunits at mosquitobytes.com>
Subject: Results of the 2008 E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition
The results of the 2008 E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition are now in.
Please join us in congratulating Andrew Starsiak of Philadelphia, PA
for winning the Best of Show prize with a wonderfully crafted
American Brown Ale.
Complete competition results can be found at:
http://www.mosquitobytes.com/Den/Beer/Events/ETB2008/ETB2008.html.
Cheers,
Scott & Cherie Stihler
Fairbanks, Alaska
[2874, 324.9] Apparent Rennerian Statue Miles
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:25:32 -0500
From: "LANCE HARBISON" <harbison65 at verizon.net>
Subject: Cleaning a Conical
I built my own 20 gallon conical, which does not have a racking port, so
maybe mine is a bit easier to clean. So this is how I do it with about a
minimal amount of water. After kegging I lean the fermenter on about a 45
degree angle. Using a piece of thin stainless sheet I scrape off the dried
on kreusen. I try to catch it to prevent it from stopping up the bottom
drain. Once the heavy stuff is scraped off I alternate between water and a
scotch brite to finish the removal of the kreusen. This takes about 4
gallons of water. I then add about a 3 gallon solution of PBW. The scotch
brite soaks up enough solution to scrub the sides, if they need it. With
help from a brewing spoon I can reach the bottom of the conical. Note that
the welds are not really sanitary in nature so I pay special attention to
them. If necessary, I can lay the fermenter further on it's side to allow
me to reach all the way to the bottom with my hand for extra scrubbing.
When I'm comfortable with the cleanness I stand it back up and I begin
rinsing with hot water. This takes about 3 gallons and I'm then ready to
sanitize. Check out the January 08 Zymurgy for a picture of a copper ring
that I made to spray sanitizer on the walls of the conical. Using 3 gallons
of star san I use my pump to continuously spray the liquid into the top and
out the bottom. I use 3 gallons because that is enough to sanizite more
that one half of a corny.
Lance Harbison
Pittsburgh
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #5368, 07/13/08
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