BeerTools Discussion Forum

Uban, Wheat beers fermented with German yeasts tend to be phenolic. If you put chlorine into the mix they combine to for a chlorophenol compound that is medicinal, plastic or "band-aid" aroma and flavor. I still have some old bottles that I keep if anyone has not tasted it before. Since th...

blue, You are on the right track by chilling the beer. This should percipitate most of the solids. But it sounds like you are extracting too many tanins from the malt. You need to keep the mash temperature between 120 - 158 deg F. You should also condition (adjust) the mash (sparge water) to a pH < ...

Chris,

I had a full page post and........my modem disconnected ! It was real good stuff too. i have a few days off so I will try and recreate it.


Good brewing,

Tom F.

Chris, It is the trub. There are at least a couple of reasons for your end result. The trub carries some nutrients from the kettle into fermentation that are required by the yeast to help produce a good fermentation. Secondly is that the trub helps to collect (filter) the yeast out of the fermented ...

Beer, Remember that alcohol is a waste product of yeast and that fermented beer has been depleated of the nutrients required for growth. Now if you are getting some carbonation your yeast are alive. Belgian ales take a long time to mature if they are bottle conditioned....this is normal. The brewery...

Blue, The method that we employed in the brewery was to close the valve on the vent pipe to seal (bunged) the tank before cooling. We did this before fermentation was completed to keep a slight head pressure in the tank. Head pressure in your carboy is not as critical as it is when using a tank. If ...

Hair, You can minimise the sediment (trub and yeast) from the beer by re-racking it off the sediment cake. The trick is to clear the beer by cooling it down as low as you can get it. I live in Seattle (not cold in the winter but cool) so I brew during the Fall, Winter and Spring. Cooling the beer dr...

Antin, My first impression is (was) fusil alcohol which is a warming or tingling on the tongue. However when you listed iodine (iodine based sanitizer) I thought of phenols. High concentrations of iodine can taste phenolic in nature. Third is the isopropal may not be poisonous in its 'natural' state...

Bru, When a hydrometer is used to measure gravity there are three things that need to be taken into account. First is temperature (60 deg F for SG readings and 20 deg C for Brix or Plato readings), second is carbonation (de-gas the sample by agitation) lastly is the amount of unfermented sugars that...

Bru, The only way that the 'true' alcohol level of a fermented product can be determined is by distillation. Far removed from what a homebrewer and most small craft brewers can do or afford. I have trained and worked a pro brewer but this is one of those subjects that is still muddy. The problem is ...

Lou,

Here are a few tips on mashing. Mash hotter (up to 158 deg F)and mash thicker in a ratio of 2 r lbs.water /1 lb. grain (1 qrt./lb of grain). these conditions favor thicker maltier beer.

Let me know if you want the full explaination on the whys.

Good brewing,

Tom f.

C, Raw honey contains a relativly large amount of bacteria. Adding this directly to your finished beer may spoil the batch. If honey is to be added it should be in the kettle during or just after boil. If you really want to add honey on the cold side you need to do what the Mead makers do. They ethe...

Sage, Czechs are not Germans, so the German Laws did not apply. Secondly you would be hard pressed to find a modern German production beer that follows this law, as it is written. But you hit on a bigger subject, two actually. First about priming. Fermented beer by kraeusening with greener or activl...

T, Lets do some defining. Brewery kegs are (almost always) constructed of 304 stainless steel. Some may have been alumininum with plastic liners, but not many. Beer kegs come in six different types- American Sankey, European "Sankey", Hoff-Stevens, Golden Gate,Spears and stainless Casks. T...

Chimp, Here are some pointers on beer transfers kegging and carbonation. Beer absorbs and retains more CO2 (in solution) the colder it is. So you need to cool your beer down as close to 33 deg F as you can before a transfer, filtering kegging or bottling. Cooling also helps to clear the beer before ...