In the brew pot...
Now is the time to get those hop rhizomes in the ground if you are planning on cultivating them. See the January newsletter for information about Barry's experiences with hops in Kansas. Also, there are many other opportunities for brewing with herbs, fruits, and vegetables that you grow n your own garden. A light strawberry lager in June, or thyme & lemon verbena pale in August. Strawberries need to be planted right now also, and although it's a bit early for some of the more tender plants, the onset of spring provides a great opportunity for preparing the ground and planning your garden, as well as what kind of beers you're going to make with its produce. More information about combining gardening with beer can be found in the books:
The Homebrewer's Garden : How to Easily Grow, Prepare and Use Your Own Hops, Brewing Herbs, Malts by Joe Fisher, Dennis Fisher. Storey Books; ISBN: 1580170102.
Homegrown Hops : An Illustrated How to Do It Manual by David R. Beach. ISBN: 0962119504.
Happy brewing,
Glenn Hudspeth
Minutes of the March 8, 2001 meeting
Old business
Cleanup Crew: Jeff, Ellen, and Chuck.
Attendance: What they brought:
Dale Wheeler Munich dunkles
Pete Clouston California common
Barry Fitzgerald Hop scotch ale
Ellen Jensen
Dwight Burnham Smoked raspberry porter, Oatmeal stout
Jay Batzner
Chuck Epp English brown ale
Jeff Jensen
Joe Yoder Spruce beer, California common
Brian Hanks
Glenn Hudspeth Munich dunkles, Munich helles
Dough Holub
Trip to High Noon Saloon in Leavenworth on April 1 is set. 15-person van will be rented. Everyone present is planning to go.
Brewfest 2001 is Saturday, June 2, 2001. Rich has reserved the band.
Treasury: Barry reports that there were nine paid members before the meeting. Two more paid today, for a total of $681 + change.
New business
Further plans for Brewfest 2001: The LBG asks that as many members as possible brew a batch of beer for the Brewfest this year because with the reduced membership numbers, every keg is going to count. In the past there were around 14-16 kegs present at the festival. Barry will generously create the mug design again, and Ellen will check on the ordering of the mugs. Joe will reserve the pavilion.
Newsletter changes: The newsletter should incorporate a list of who brought what beer as an incentive for members to brew (although everyone is welcome whether they bring beer or not--not everyone always brings something).
Fox orders: Jeff is taking orders for a group order from Fox Equipment in KC. Fox specializes in kegging equipment.
Submissions: Glenn requests material for the newsletter.
McCoy's Brewpub in Westport: Barry reports that they have a really good winter warmer at the moment.
Replay Lounge in Lawrence: Jeff recommends their outdoor courtyard as a nice location during warmer weather. The Replay has the greatest number of tap handles of any location in Lawrence with the exception of Old Chicago.
Ellen moves to adjourn.
Tastings: Lagers
Home-brew example: Dale Wheeler brought a Munich Dunkles, and Glenn Hudspeth brought two lagers, a Munich Helles and a Dunkles. Recipes below.
Commercial examples: Pinkus-Muller Organic Ur Pils and Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
March Seminar: Water Chemistry by Jeff Jensen & Dwight Burnham
For this month's seminar, Jeff Jensen and Dwight Burnham provided us with a technical discussion of water chemistry and its influence on the resulting product. The seminar was so informative that it can unfortunately only be summarized within the confines of this newsletter.
LBG members, Doug Holub, and Jay Batzner (clockwise)
Jeff Jensen and Dwight Burnham (L-R) talk about water chemistry
Why is water chemistry during the brewing process even an important consideration? Simply put, the water chemistry affects every aspect of the process and final result, from the mash all the way to the glass. Very hard water, for example, often accompanied by a high pH, are a poor environment for diastatic enzymes to convert starches to sugars and could thus result in a poor mash efficiency. The addition, however, of a little gypsum and table salt to your brewing water, henceforth referred to by the appropriate term liquor, can accentuate the hop bitterness of a beer. Water chemistry plays a much more critical role for the all-grain brewer than for the extract brewer because manufacturers of malt extract add minerals to the mash, and the subsequent evaporation during the production of the syrup or powder results in the loss of the water only, leaving the minerals behind. All-grain brewers on the other hand are literally making beer "from scratch" and need to pay more attention to their water chemistry. Extract brewers can usually get by with the addition of gypsum and table salt, whereas the all-grain brewer will need to supplement these two with a few other minerals as discussed later. In all cases, the adjustment of water chemistry should be done purposefully and consciously, because playing around with water chemistry without first familiarizing yourself with what adjustments need to be made can lead to an overabundance of one particular mineral, which could at the very least result in a strange brew or even potentially ruin it completely.
There are several facets of water chemistry that need to be controlled by the brewer: mineral content, pH, chlorine content, and temperature to name a few. In order to adjust the mineral content of your liquor purposefully and consciously, you first have to know the mineral content of the source water you will be using, in mg/l or parts-per-million (ppm), as well as the desired mineral profile of the brewing liquor. The most common minerals that affect the brewing process are calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate, chloride, and bicarbonate. Once you know these values for your source water, you have to calculate its deficiency in each of these elements and add the difference to the original water to re-create the desired profile of your liquor. In other words, if you are using Lawrence tap water and you would like to brew a British pale ale, you should compare the mineral profile of Lawrence tap water to that of Burton-on-trent, where the classic pale ale comes from, and compute the amount of these minerals that you need to add to Lawrence tap water to make it match as closely as possible that of Burton-on-trent:
All values are parts-per-million (PPM)
Water Calcium (Ca) Magnesium (Mg) Sodium (Na) Sulfate (SO4) Chloride (Cl) Bicarbonate (HCO3)
Burton-on-trent 268 62 30 638 36 141
Lawrence 33.7 8.0 53.8 97.5 61.5 118.5
Difference (to be added by brewer) 234.3 54 -23.8 540.5 -25.5 22.5
From this table you can see that the brewer would need to compensate for a deficiency of Ca, Mg, SO4, and HCO3. There is an overabundance, however, of both NA and CL, so the addition of table salt (NaCl) would not serve the purpose of duplicating the water in Burton-on-trent. Because the mineral profiles of many different brewing cities around the world, as well as that of every water district in the United States are known and published values, the above calculations are simply a matter of doing a little research. U.S. water profiles are available from municipal water authorities and are free for the asking. The above values for Lawrence tap water were accurate as of July 2000 and reflect an average of water which is leaving both water treatment plants and "blends" within the distribution system. Unfortunately, however, the profiles of most tap water are constantly changing, and the above values differ greatly from those from October 2000, which were handed out during the seminar. During the winter, for example, salt runoff from roads affects the profile, and in the summer the amount of pesticides and herbicides increases significantly. The most reasonable approach to using tap water is to update your values from the municipal water authority on a frequent basis and treat those values only as close approximations.
The above overabundance of NA and CL in Lawrence tap water presents a unique problem. Ideally, the brewer would remove some NA and CL from the brewing liquor. This is unfortunately not a practical possibility for most homebrewers. For this reason, as well as the frequent variability of most tap water, using source water that has been stripped of its minerals by some sort of filtration is a more desirable solution than using straight tap water. There are many different types of filtration available, of which only a couple are appropriate. One type to avoid is the common water softener installed in many households. These filters pass the water through a salt bed, and essentially exchange all the ions with NA and CL ions. In the above situation, this would only compound the problem. If you have a home water softener, you would be advised in all cases to use the tap water before it passes through the softener. Carbon filters such as those attached to many kitchen sink faucets are useful only for removing colors, odors, and chlorine from tap water, and the resulting water has essentially the same mineral profile as the source water. They are therefore basically ineffective for adjusting the mineral content. Reverse osmosis/Deionization (RO/DI) filters are the ideal solution for filtering water for brewing purposes. Tap water is passed first through a sediment filter to remove large particles (e.g. "dirt"), then through a carbon filter to remove chlorine and odors The water then proceeds to a reverse osmosis filter, a semi-permeable membrane which strips the water of most molecules larger than the pores of the membrane. The final stage in this type of filtration is deionization which consists of chemical resins that remove both the remaining anions (positively charged molecules) and cations (negatively charged molecules) from the water. This process results in water that is totally stripped and for all practical purposes pure. RO/DI water is available from machines located at most grocery stores around town. When using RO/DI water, the values for your source water are simply zero since the water is basically pure:
All values are parts-per-million (PPM)
Water Calcium (Ca) Magnesium (Mg) Sodium (NA) Sulfate (SO4) Chloride (CL) Bicarbonate (HCO3)
Burton-on-trent 268 62 30 638 36 141
RO/DI source water 0 0 0 0 0 0
Difference (to be added by brewer) 268 62 30 638 36 141
After you have calculated the mineral deficiency of you source water, you know the parts-per-million of each mineral to add to your brewing liquor. To add minerals, brewers use different salts. The most common ones are listed below:
* Gypsum (CaSO4)
* Epsom salts (MgSO4)
* Non-iodized table salt (NaCl)
* Baking soda (NaHCO3)
* Calcium chloride (CaCl2)
* Chalk (CaCO3)
Most of these salts are very inexpensive and available from most home-brew shops, with the exception of Epson salt, table salt, and baking soda, which are available at grocery and drug stores. Be sure and acquire non-iodized table salt since iodine can inhibit yeast. Notice that when you add these salts to your liquor, you are adding two ions, a positive anion (e.g. Ca) as well as a negative cation (SO4). This can make calculating the amount of each salt to be added somewhat tricky. For this reason, brewing software can be very useful. In most of the programs the brewer can pick a target water profile (e.g. a brewing city or sometimes a specific beer) as well as the source water, and the software will tell you how much of each salt to add in grams, ounces, or volume equivalents to make the source water match the target water as closely as possible. ProMash is a typical (and quite good) brewing program and its output of water calculations for Burton-on-trent target water using RO/DI water are listed below:
Salt g / gal
Ca (PPM)
Mg (PPM)
NA (PPM)
SO4 (PPM)
CL (PPM)
Carbonate (PPM)
CaSO4 2.60 =
159.9
383.2
MgSO4 2.40 =
62.6
247.2
NaCl 0.00 =
0
0
NaHCO3 0.40 =
28.8
75.6
CaCl2 0.30 =
21.6
38.2
CaCO3 0.80 =
84.6
126.7
Totals
266.1
62.6
28.8
630.4
38.2
202.3
Note that the totals match very closely those of the target water, Burton-on-trent. A more exact match is impractical, if not impossible, using these artificial means. Brewing software will often further facilitate the water adjustment by calculating the amount of brewing salts to be added to both the mash and the sparge liquor. Based on a 3 gallon mash and a 7 gallon sparge, ProMash reports the following:
Salt
grams added to mash water
grams added to sparge water
CaSO4
7.80
18.20
MgSO4
7.20
16.80
NaCl
0.00
0.00
NaHCO3
1.20
2.80
CaCl2
0.90
2.10
CaCO3
2.40
5.60
In order to weigh out each of these amounts, the brewer obviously needs a gram scale. Although most software will list the values in ounces, the resulting amounts are too minuscule to be measured conveniently without a very sensitive, digital scale. The above values for CaCl2, for example, are 0.03 oz. added to the mash water and 0.07 oz. added to the sparge water. Volume measurements such as teaspoons are equally useless because the number of grams in any volume will vary too much for consistent accuracy, depending on how dense the salt is packed into the measuring utensil. If volume measures must be used, however, Papazian reports in his The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing the following equivalents:
The following added to 5 gal water increases (approximately) these mineral concentrations:
1 tsp. gypsum Ca by 55 PPM
SO4 by 135 PPM
1 tsp. table salt NA by 135 PPM
CL by 209 PPM
1 tsp. Epsom salt Mg by 52 PPM
SO4 by 207 PPM
1 tsp. calcium chloride Ca by 95 PPM
CL by 84 PPM
After salts are measured out correctly they are simply added to the liquor before heating and stirred vigorously to dissolve. That is, in essence, all there is to adjusting the mineral content of the brewing liquor.
Regarding pH, the magic number is 5.2 to 5.5 for both the mash and sparge water. In practice, the brewer will usually only have to adjust the pH of the sparge water, because calcium ions in excess of 50 PPM will react with the phosphates in the grist and lower the pH of the mash naturally. This amount of calcium is usually present already in the liquor or will be added added during mineral adjustment. Acidification of the sparge water is usually accomplished with the addition of liquid, food-grade phosphoric acid or powdered lactic acid. Very little is needed: around 5-8 drops in the sparge water to lower from a neutral pH or approximately 1/2 tsp. per gal. lactic acid. The pH can be tested with strips or an electronic meters. Be aware, however, that temperature affects pH, and a sample of the mash tested at 152 degrees or sparge water tested at 175 degrees will not give a true indication of the pH. It is best to let the sample cool to ambient temperature before testing.
The third chemistry parameter that needs to be taken into consideration is the chlorine content of you water. A high chlorine level could inhibit yeast activity and/or lend a phrenolic off-flavor to the finished product. Chlorine can be removed by boiling, letting the water sit overnight, or charcoal filtration. The last parameter that needs to be controlled by the brewer is water temperature, which of course affects the pH reading as well as enzyme activity.
As a follow up to March's seminar on water chemistry, Pete Clouston reports that the March/April issue of Zymurgy has an interesting article. An identical IPA recipe is brewed with water treated like famous brewing cities. The resulting beers are then compared.
Necessary equipment:
Gram scales for the accurate measurement and dispensing of mineral salts can be ordered from many scientific supply outlets, such as Edmund Scientific. Unfortunately, reliable gram scales are rather expensive. Greg Noonan in his New Brewing Lager Beer gives plans for constructing a simple yet accurate scale:
1. Take a 10" thin wooden dowel and screw in small brass hooks on each end.
2. Make two "trays" from old butter dishes and fishing line, and suspend one from each brass hook.
3. Using a string with a noose tied on one end, balance the dowel and mark the spot in the middle where a third brass hook can be screwed from which the balance will be later suspended.
4. Suspend objects of known weight on one side and measure your mineral salts on the other side. Weights can be purchased for this purpose, or coins in good condition can be used. A dime weighs 2.27 g, a penny weighs 3.1 g, a nickel weighs 5 grams, and a quarter weighs 5.6 g.
RO/DI units can be purchased for a very reasonable price and are often employed by those keeping saltwater or freshwater planted aquariums. A very reputable manufacturer of these filters is Spectrapure. The least expensive model only produces 15 gallons per day, but this is of course more than enough for a 5 gallon batch. One disadvantage of RO/DI units is that the units produce 4 gallons of "waste" water (a concentrated solution of all the minerals stripped from the water) for every gallon of product. If the brewer washes clothes or waters the garden with the "waste" water, then the impact on the water bill will not be so great.
Summary and additional information by Glenn Hudspeth
Articles & Brewing Information
Dry Hop and Clarify Your Beer at the Same Time
At the January meeting several members expressed dismay at the tendency of pelleted hops to float while dry hopping. One way to prevent this is to use gelatin finings at the same time. Gelatin has a positive charge and attracts large particles such as yeast, causing them to drop out of suspension. This process works very well on floating or suspended hop particles. Two kinds of gelatin are commonly used: ordinary unflavored gelatin from the grocery store (e.g. Knox brand) or a food-grade gelatin from the home-brew shop. Both work fine. Although directions for use differ according to the source, I have had good results by stirring 1/2 tsp. up to one full packet into 1 cup cold water (per five gallon batch). Allow to rehydrate for one hour and then heat gently until gelatin dissolves. DO NOT BOIL, which will break down the gelatin. Add both the hop pellets and the hot gelatin mixture to the second carboy while racking from the first, allowing it to mix around naturally. Since gelatin finings work best below 50 degrees, place the carboy into a refrigerator and allow to cold condition for one to two weeks, rocking the carboy gently once a day for each of the first three days. Naturally, you will want to make sure that the beer is almost fully attenuated before placing it in the refrigerator. During the cold conditioning, you will see the beer clarify gradually from the top down. The pale ale in the picture on the left is in the refrigerator and has been cold-conditioned for one week after adding gelatin finings and 1 oz. of Cascade hop pellets. Notice the green layer of hops on the bottom, the absence of any floating at the top, and the clarity of the beer (the haze is simply condensation on the carboy resulting from the open refrigerator door). After one to two weeks, bottle or keg as normal and enjoy your extremely clear, dry-hopped beer!
Submitted by: Glenn Hudspeth
Festivals and Competitions
Quad States Brewers Challenge: Hosted by the Foamy Express Ryeders of St. Joseph, MO. Winner of the Best of Show recipe will work with the brewer of the Belt Brewing Co. to produce their recipe as a seasonal special.
Submitted by Pete Clouston.
2001 AHA National Competition Entries due April 4-13. Our regional site is Bacchus & Barleycorn, so it's easy to enter.
Other competitions from the AHA Calendar
Recipes
Am Anfang gab es nur dunkles Bier... , Glenn Hudspeth
Batch Size (GAL): 5.25
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Actual OG: 1.040 Plato: 9.96
Actual FG: 1.012 Plato: 3.07
IBU: 33
Grain/Extract/Sugar
4.00 lbs. Pilsener Malt(2-Row)
3.50 lbs. Munich Malt Germany
1.00 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium
0.25 lbs. Crystal 75L Great Britian
0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt Belgium
Hops
0.50 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 2.1 HBU, 90 min.
0.75 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 3.1 HBU, 60 min.
0.75 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 3.1 HBU, 30 min.
0.25 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 1.0 HBU, 0 min.
Yeast
WYeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
Dann schuf Gott das Helle und es war gut... , Glenn Hudspeth
Batch Size (GAL): 5.50
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Actual OG: 1.048 Plato: 11.86
Actual FG: 1.012 Plato: 3.07
IBU's: 32
Grain/Extract/Sugar
7.50 lbs. Pilsener Belgium
1.00 lbs. Munich Malt Belgium
1.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
Hops
0.50 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 2.1 HBU, 90 min.
1.00 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 4.2 HBU, 60 min.
0.25 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 1.0 HBU, 30 min.
0.25 oz. Hallertauer Pellet, 4.2%, 1.0 HBU, 15 min.
Yeast
WYeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
Recent Beer News courtesy RealBeer.com
Beer drinkers toast Greenspan
MAR 20, 2001 - Fed chairman rates higher than stock market in Sam Adams' poll
MGPE wins battle for Whitbread pubs
MAR 20, 2001 - Nomura's bid to acquire 3,000 more pubs comes up short
Controversial beer ads OK'd
MAR 14, 2001 - Posters rejected by London Underground deemed light-hearted
A Bud by any other name...
MAR 9, 2001 - Czechvar 'is what you think it is'
Beer taxes frozen
MAR 9, 2001 - But U.K. beer drinkers still face higher prices
Museum saves bottles, not beer
MAR 8, 2001 - King & Barnes beer will be dumped before labels go on display
Boston Beer teams with film stars
MAR 5, 2001 - Sam Adams beer sponsors Project Greenlight
Poles crackdown on beer ads
MAR 3, 2001 - Laws would restrict what's in advertisements, where they are shown
Facelift for Jefferson beer cellar
MAR 2, 2001 - A-B donates $20,000 to project at Monticello home
Copyright 2001 by Real Beer, Inc.
Discount Days at Bacchus & Barleycorn
LBG members receive a 10% discount from Bacchus & Barleycorn, April 9-14. Please show membership card or bring newsletter. Bacchus & Barleycorn is located at 6633 Nieman Rd. in Shawnee (913-962-2501).
March 2001
Moderator: Officers