MysticMead

How many of you got out and brewed for Big Brew day 2010? How many of you know what Big Brew Day is? Well in 1998 on May 7th it was announced before Congress that it was National Homebrew Day. The American Homebrew Association created an event called Big Brew for the 1st Saturday in May as a way to celebrate not only in the United States but around the world. Since then, home brewers world wide have gathered together and brewed the same beers. The AHA selects 2 or 3 recipes for the everyone to choose from.

This year Big Brew was may 1st. Unfortunately I was unable to brew that day do to work interfering again (hate when work interferes like that). Even though I wasn’t able to brew, there were a bunch that did. Here’s a video of some guys that did it up right. They held their brew INSIDE at Saint Arnold’s  Brewery in Houston Texas. Check it out!

What exactly is/was the Reinheitsgebot?  It was a law put into place in Bavaria that dictated that beer cold only be made using Barely, Hops, and water.  Some say it went into effect in 1487 although most claim it was 23 April 1516?. The main reason it was put into place was to prevent brewers from using wheat and rye that was in shorter supply and needed to be used by bakers to produce food. Initially, this was only a law in Bavaria. However, the Unification in 1871 Bavaria insisted that it be mandated across all of Germany.  While it was a great idea to save wheat and rye for baking needs, the purity law led to the elimination of some German beers such as North German Spiced beer and Cherry beer.  Only a few beers not from Bavaria such as Kolsch and Altbeir survived.

In 1952, local beer laws all across Germany were incorporated into the West German Biersteuergesetz (Beer Taxation Law) and vorläufiges Biergesetz (Provisional Beer Law). The law initially applied only to bottom-fermented (lager) beers however other beers were added to the law shortly afterward.  Initially there was was a lot of objection to the law, however the objection was more of a disagreement over the amount of tax rather than ingredients.

In May of 1987, The European Court of Justice had a ruling that led to the Purity Law being lifted. This allowed the use of Wheat and Rye as well as other items that were previously forbidden. The ingredient requirements have since been moved from the Biersteuergesetz into the regular food additives laws, though beer brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot receive special treatment as a protected, “traditional” food. Most breweries in Germany continue to comply with the Biergesetz (beer law), often claiming compliance with the Reinheitsgebot even when it is patently incorrect (for example, for wheat beers)

While the purity law was in effect, it prevented competition from other countries that brewed using non-compliant ingredients. Countries such as Belgium or the United Kingdom commonly used wheat , rye, or soot and fly agaric mushrooms as preservatives. Some Scottish beers used Heather to provide bitterness as opposed to hops. All of these are beers from countries with long brewing traditions yet, were prevented from selling or importing beer into Germany. The penalty for not complying to the purity law? All questionable barrels confiscated with no compensation.

Personally, I’m glad it was lifted as it allowed one of my favorite German beers to be produced. That beer is the Hefeweizen. While I was stationed in Germany from 1990-1992 I had a chance to travel across the country and I drank many German beers.  A fresh Kolsch is incredible, yet a Hefeweizen and slice of lemon on a hot summer day is still one of the most refreshing beers I know of.  I attribute my love of home brewing to the incredible German beers I drank while there.

There’s a recipe floating around the internet on making a Pumpkin Mead by pouring a straight mead into a pumpkin and then sealing it up while it ferments. I will include it here as an example of WHAT NOT TO DO. seriously, making a mead requires fermentation. A by product of fermentation is CO2. If you were to seal a pumpkin while the mead fermented inside, it would build pressure to the point that it exploded. The end result would be a huge mess all over the floor, walls and ceiling.  If you wanted to make a pumpkin mead, follow the steps needed to make a Straight mead (I use clover honey for this) but add pumpkin chunks to the primary. The when you rack to the secondary add your spices. In this case the spices added will be nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and clove. I put them in a small hops bag and drop that into the secondary and rack the pumpkin mead over it. allow it to finish fermenting. then rack again to help the mead drop clear. Once clear bottle and let it age. Of course you can always let it bulk age in a glass carboy for a few months then bottle and enjoy.

Now for the recipe of what not to do. Seriously. DO NOT MAKE MEAD THIS WAY!!!

At it’s most simple, mead is a fermented beverage that uses honey as its primary source of sugar. (This compares most favorably with wine, where the grapes supply a ready source of sugar, and most unfavorably with beer or sake, where the sugars come from starch in grain which is transformed into sugar by enzymes or mold cultures.) Because the sugar is readily available, making mead is much easier to make than beer, but slightly more difficult to make than wine. There is no need to spend the entire day mashing grain, nor is there any need to spend an hour or more in a full boil as with beer. Honey also mixes well with other juices and sugar sources, and so leads to a great variety of fermentation experiments. One of the favorite of these are the various fruits, with strawberries leading the list.  I’ve also made meads with blueberry, raspberry, apple, cherries,and spices. I’ve had no small measure of success with several of these, and I have the ribbons to prove it.

A typical 5 gallon batch of mead starts with15lbs of honey. This will typically run about $30-40, depending on the source. (Remember, it takes over 2 million trips by a bee to a flower and back to the hive for each pound of honey, so don’t expect this stuff to come cheep!) This much honey in this much water will yield a fermentable liquid (called “must” like beer is called “wort”) with a starting gravity of about 1.100. Adjust this up or down depending on what you are trying to achieve. The higher gravities lead to a more wine-like drink, while lighter gravities can seem more like champagne, or alcoholic soda pop in the extreme.

As a process, start with the water. Bring your 4.5 or so gallons of water up to a steady, rolling boil. Because honey does not have sufficient nutrients to enable yeast to undergo a vigorous and healthy ferment, put perhaps 1 tsp of yeast nutrient, or 3 tsp of yeast energizer (follow package directions, but err on the side of less is better) into the vigorous boil. You will also find that the sweetness of the mead requires the sour tartness of some sort of acid in order to balance it out. I’ve added from 1 to 3 tsp of acid blend, grape tannin, citric acid, or a combination thereof to this rapid boil. However, the fermentation will be more vigorous if you wait until after fermentation to add the acid. It is also easier to blend the acid to your taste if you wait until after the fermentation.  Pour the honey into this hot bath, and turn down the heat. Cover the must and hold a temperature at least 175F. You can imagine that during those 24 million trips the bees made to gather the nectar to make the honey, that somewhere along the line, some sort of contamination managed to get into the honey. In fact, honey is actually well contaminated with bacteria, fungus, spores, bee parts, protein, and who knows what else, so steep the must at pasteurization temperatures for as long as half an hour, but for at least 15 minutes. Instead of steeping, you may choose to boil your honey for a while. This will make your final mead much clearer, but the penalty you pay will be a reduced (or non-existent) honey aroma profile: you will have boiled it all away. However, you can take the opportunity to boil and add Irish Moss. A white to yellow scum will rise to the top of the boil. Use a skimming spoon to remove this from the boil.  Chill the must as rapidly as possible, aerate, and add a healthy and vigorous yeast starter.

Because mead is a rather high gravity ferment, good yeast techniques are more important than in regular gravity beer ferments. This is good advice for all brewing, but at higher gravities, make sure that you pitch a sufficient quantity of yeast slurry. If in doubt, you aren’t pitching enough. The more yeast cells in your initial pitching, the faster and more complete your fermentation will be. Same with aeration. If you can inject filtered atmosphere (or ultimately, pure, medical quality oxygen), your yeast lag time (initial, reproductive) phase of the ferment will be minimized, and a healthier fermentation will be the result.

As far as yeast types go, I use only Whitelabs Sweet Mead yeast. I have had great results from this brand of yeast and it leaves a nice sweetness behind yet isn’t overly sweet. It also ferments out to around 15% alcohol. You can also find a Dry Mead yeast available from Whitelabs. If you want a VERY high alcohol VERY dry mead, you can of course use a champagne yeast. The choice is all up to you and what you prefer. My wife prefers a semi-sweet mead and so do I, so that’s what I make.

Mead making does take longer than beer making. This is true for a couple of reasons. First, it is a high gravity ferment, and by definition, this takes longer than a lower gravity ferment. Second, an insufficient yeast population is often used, resulting in an even longer ferment. Third, it is often true that the fermentation is done, but you simply find yourself waiting for the yeast and suspended protein to settle out of the liquid. (If you have some sort of filtration system that will remove these floaters, your wait will be proportionately shorter.) Finally, if you used too much yeast nutrient, it will take longer for the harsh, metallic “off-flavors” from these salts and chemicals to recede into background levels. If you used too little nutrient, then the yeast in your ferment is running a marathon with the nutrition of a candy bar. There simply isn’t a healthy enough environment for the yeasts pleasure. Just be prepared for a ferment to take 3+ months. Then you get to age it for another 3+ months ( aging a full year produces some incredible Mead).

Finally a note on adding fruits, spices, or herbs to your mead. Adding fruits adds nutrients, this gives the yeast more to feed on initially. It can also lead to a very vigorous, almost violent ferment. Use a blow off tube if fermenting in a glass carboy for the primary.  If you’re worried about the sanitation of the fruit, heat it up to pasteurization temperatures, but no higher. The pectin in the fruit may set, leading to a permanent haze floating in your mead. Adding pectic enzyme can prevent that from happening.I find that adding spices and herbs to the secondary extracts more of the flavor that adding to the primary. I normally add the spices to a cup of water and boil for 5 minutes, cool and then add it all to the secondary. If you add fruits or malt sugars, you can cut down on the yeast nutrients, as these sources bring much needed natural nutrition to the fermentation.

Remember, Honey is the only food in nature that cannot spoil. It’s very hard to screw up to the point of having an infected batch of mead. Just use some common sense and keep anything coming into contact with the mead clean. Now sit back, relax and have a home brew (or 2)

Rich Webb gives a perfect explanation on history of Mead. It truly is one of the oldest and most Magical Drinks known to mankind.

The History and Magic of Mead

by Richard B. Webb

I’d like for you to think about mead, the drink of the gods, a mere beverage, but the source of love, magic, and wonder from time immemorial.

Among the many things which have made up the daily life of mankind through the ages, certain things have always been accorded a special place of importance. Basic elements such as air, fire, and water formed the groundwork of primitive science and magic, while commodities, such as salt, wine, bread, honey, and by extension mead, are woven into the myths, folk-lore, and religions of every civilization throughout history. From the Vikings, the Saxons, the Celts, and even the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans comes a rich history of mead making and drinking, a history that makes our society the richer for it.

Mead. The mere mention of the word conjures up visions of drinking vessels swaying high in the air, with throngs of Vikings singing rowdy songs into the night. Mead is the nectar of nectars, and one of the most natural drinks ever made by man.

Mead is a pleasant alcoholic drink made from diluted honey and water, fermented by yeast. It is possibly the earliest known fermentable, due to the lack of any kind of sweetener and the very few fruits known in ancient times. In fact, the Nordic countries did not even know of wine until trade routes were established between the north and the south.

Mankind’s first experiences with intoxication could have easily sprung from the spontaneous fermentation of honey in some old tree trunk containing a bee hive, diluted by rain water, with fermentation initiated by the wild yeasts which are around us in the air every day. The not unpleasant effect brought about by the consumption of this wonderful wild elixir would have seemed magical to primitive man, and in fact every culture seeks intoxicating substances with which to expand the mind. Early cave paintings have shown the collection of honey from hives. We can’t say for certain what the purpose of the honey collection was, but it is romantic to imagine the early peoples seeking out honey in order to ferment it, the intoxicating effects allowing these people to become closer to their gods. Eventually the drinking of intoxicating beverages became part of their culture, with rituals and traditions surrounding the creation and consumption of these substances.

Fermentation also served a public sanitation purpose. Unsafe water supplies called for purification. The process by which wine, beer, and mead is made destroys many pathogens which can make the water unsafe, leading to healthier water supplies.

Early meads (and beers for that matter) were heavily spiced to cover up the off flavors of fermentation contamination. This contamination would not be unhealthy, but it would perhaps be bad tasting. Yeast as the engine of fermentation wasn’t understood until the mid 1800′s. Before that, fermentation was hit or miss, often the result of dogma and habit more than any understanding of the process.

For the traditions associated with mead making and mead drinking, much comes to us from our Scandinavian heritage. Who would have thought that the bees, the moon and the magical brews of man could combine to add to the bliss, the lusters, and the memories of weddings? For mead is the beverage of love. Our phrase “honeymoon” comes from the revelous wedding celebrations of the Norse, who danced and drank until the mead and ale ran out, and woe be unto the host that didn’t have sufficient supplies to last the full cycle of the moon! The drinking of mead has also been held responsible for fertility and the birth of sons, a very important consideration when the male offspring accounted for much status in warrior clans. It was thought that if mead were consumed for one month (one moon) after a wedding, then the first child born to the couple would be male. Considering that the alcoholic content of mead often runs to twelve, or even fourteen percent by volume, this would prove to be quite a party. Successful male births were cause for further celebrations, and congratulations went out to the maker of the mead, as well as to the groom, who could now boast of his power, potence, and manliness. The use of special cups formed into tradition, and these cups were handed down through the generations, as if the cups and their contents were somehow responsible for the birthing of sons.

The idea that the drinking of mead could somehow influence the sex of the child is not as far fetched as it may seem at first. The acidity and the sweetness of the drink can influence the mother-to-be’s body acidity, and it is known that the acidity or alkalinity of the female body during conception can influence the sex of the newborn.

Other traditions called for the use of communal cups, called mazers, which were typically large, open vessels, usually the size and shape of a communion cup. The mazer was passed from hand to hand, with each person drinking from the cup offering a toast or prayer in passing.

In ages past, the making of spirituous drink was an art, as well as an arcane type of magic, regulated by custom, law, and superstition. Certain individuals were trained in this magic of turning honey into mead, a powerful conjuring that mystified the ignorant. The process by which the juice of the grape, the toil of the bee, or the grain of the field, were turned into mind altering substances was not well understood in ancient times. Yeast as an entity was not understood at all until Pasteur explained the process of fermentation in 1841. Until then, yeast was known by many other names, including Godisgood, a name which implies the level of knowledge about the process at the time. The addition of yeast was not known to the ancient Jews, and thus is not a kosher addition to wines. But we know that the addition of yeast, especially certain selected strains of this magical fungus, is critical to the character and flavor of even the simplest fermented beverage.

Perhaps someday you will try to make your own mead. You will then find out just how easy and fun it can be to participate in the magic of this historic beverage. As for trying to insure the sex of your subsequent children, I leave that experiment up to you.

Here’s some info I found on the net over the years. Hopefully it’ll give a decent understanding of grain and what different type can impart into a beer.  What grains will add color, which ones add more malty flavors, which ones add a nutty finish or chocolate overtones? Knowing the types of grain can be a lot of help in designing a custom beer.

Grain 101

American Malts

Pale Malt (2 Row, Klages)
The basic malt for brewing all grain beers from scratch. Being American grown, high in diastatic power, well modified and fairly neutral, Klages makes an excellent base malt. Best for both American Lager and Ale styles, Klages lends itself well to all beer styles.

Examples: Briess, Shreier, Froedterts. Froedterts is slightly darker than Briess and Shrier. It is currently used at the Baltimore Brewing Co and the Alleghaney Brewing Co, two quality German style micros. Alleghaney uses a decoction mashing program with this malt. Great Western is also a common variety of this malt. (Alleghaney Brewing Co has just been renamed as the Penn Brewery).

Wheat Malt (Malted Wheat)
Use to make wheat and weizen beers. Also, small amounts (3-6 %) aid in head retention to any beer without altering final flavor. Use 5 to 70 % in the mash, 40 to 70 % being the norm for wheat beers, combined with a high enzyme malt such as Klages.

Examples are: Briess (cattle feed due to excessive protein levels) Gambrinus (canadian, high protein wheat) Ireks (German), DeWolf-Cosyns. Imported varieties have lower protein levels. In Germany, a weizen must be of at least 50% wheat malt, as measured in the final beer. This means if a weizen is made of 55% wheat, and subsequently krausened with say Helles krausen, the amount of krausen must not reduce the final proportion of wheat to below 50%. Germans are like that!

Vienna Malt (Lightly kilned) 4L
Vienna malt is kiln dried at a higher temperature than pale malt yet still retains sufficient enzyme power for use as 60 to 100% of total mash grist. Vienna is a rich, aromatic malt that will lend a deep color and full flavor to your finest Vienna or Marzen beers.

Munich Malt (Domestic) 10 L
A little darker than our German Munich malt, use our Domestic Munich to add a deeper color and fuller malt profile. An excellent choice for Dark and amber lagers, blend Munich with German Pils or Klages at the rate of 10 to 60% of the total grist.

Darker grades of Munich are available from contential maltsters. Essential ingrediant in German Bock beers.

Carapils (Dextrin Malt)
Dextrins lend body, mouthfeel and palate fullness to beers, as well as foam stability. Carapils must be mashed with pale malt, due to its lack of enzymes. Use 5 to 20% for these properties without adding color or having to mash at higher temperatures.

Some brewers dislike the almost cloying sweetness that high amounts (10%) of Dextrin malt contributes.

Light Crystal (Caramel Malt) 10 L
5 to 20% will lend body and mouthfeel with a minimum of color, much like Carapils, but with a light crystal sweetness.

Also sold as CaraPils from the Dewolf-Cosyns maltster. My own opinion is that this is a much better choice in malt sweetness/body builder than the US Dextrin malt version.

Pale Crystal (Caramel Malt) 40 L
As with all Crystal malts, the character of this malt is contributed by unfermentable crystallized sugars produced by a special process Called “stewing”. 5 to 20 % Pale Crystal will lend a balance of light caramel color, flavor, and body to Ales and Lagers.

Caramel 40 is a mainstay malt in brewing of all types of ales. It can be used in British and American ales, and in conjunction with other malts in Belgian ales and German lagers. Hugh Baird Maltings in Witham , Essex, England make very fine high grade caramel malts. US domestic specialties are made from 6 row malt, whereas the European vesions are 2 row. This makes imported specialties a much higher quality product. The grain kernels are also plumper and as such will mill better than 6 row malts.

Medium Crystal (Caramel Malt) 60 L
This Crystal malt is well suited to all beer recipes calling for crystal malt and is a good choice if you’re not sure which variety to use. 5 to 15% of 60 L Crystal malt will lend a well rounded caramel flavor, color and sweetness to your finest Ales.

Dark Crystal (Caramel Malt) 120 L
5 to 15% will lend a complex bitter/sweet caramel flavor and aroma to beers. Used in smaller quantities this malt will add color and slight sweetness to beers, while heavier concentrations are well suited to strong beers such as Barley Wines and Old Ales.

Victory Malt (Aroma & flavor malt) 25 L
A unique, lightly roasted malt that provides a warm “biscuity ” character to Ales and Lagers. Use 5 to 15 % to add a fuller flavor and aroma to Ales, Porters and full flavored, dark Lagers where a bigger malt character is desired without crystal malt sweetness.

D/C Biscuit malt fits in here also. Biscuity/toasted flavors and aromas result from the use of this malt.

Special Roast (Aroma & flavor malt) 50L
Pale roasted to lend an unmistakable, toasted malt flavor and aroma and amber, red-orange color to beer. At the rate of 3 to 10% Special Roast is an excellent addition to your Vienna, Marzen and Alt beers or in recipes calling for Amber malt.

Chocolate Malt (Roasted, black malt)
Being the least roasted of the black malts, Chocolate malt will add a dark color and pleasant roast flavor. Small quantities lend a nutty flavor and deep, ruby red color while higher amounts lend a black color and smooth, roasted flavor. Use 3 to 12%.

Chocolate is an essential ingrediant in Porters, along with Caramel malts. Used in smaller quantities in Brown ales, old ales and some Barleywines.

Roast Barley (Black, Unmalted Barley)
Use 10 to 12% to impart a distinct, roasted flavor to Stouts. Other dark beers also benefit from smaller quantities (2 – 6%).

Essential ingrediant in Stouts. Small amounts are OK in Porters, provided they dont overpower the chocolate/caramel notes. Rarely used in any Belgian ales or German Lagers

Black Patent (H ighly roasted black malt)
The darkest of all malts, use sparingly to add deep color and roast-charcoal flavor. Use no more than 1 to 3%.

Best used in trace amounts only, for color. Almost any contribution that Black Patent gives to beer can be obtained from using another malt with less harsh flavor impacts.

German Grain Malts

German Pale Malt (2 Row, Pilsner Malt) 1.8 L
A quality German two row malt. Produces a smooth, grainy flavor. Use in your finest German Lagers and Alt Beers.

Weizen – (Wheat Malt) ~ L
German Wheat malt is the perfect ingredient for Weiss, Weizen and Berl iner Weiss beers. Blended in proportions of 20 to 70% with pale malts, weizen malt is the perfect companion for German wheat strains for a full flavored, classic wheat beer.

Wiener – (Vienna Malt) 3 L
German Vienna is high in diastatic power, meaning you can use it as 100% of the total grist for a fuller, deeper malt flavor and aroma.

Munchener (Munich Malt) 6 L
A true Munich variety that has undergone higher kilning than the pale malt. German Munich still retains sufficient enzymes for 100% of the grist, or it can be used at the rate of 20 to 75 % of the total malt content in Lagers for its full, malty flavor and aroma.

Crystal – (Med. Caramel) 50 L
Use 3 to 20% of German Caramel malt to add color, sweetness and body to European lagers Viennas and Marzen/Oktoberfest lagers.

British Grain Malts

English Pale Malt (British, 2 Row)
Fully modified British malt, easily converted by a single temperature mash. Preferred by many brewers for full flavored ales. Pale Ale malt has undergone higher kilning than Klages and is lower in diastatic power so keep adjuncts to 15 % or less.

English Crystal (Caramel Malt) 37 L
Also known as CaraStan, use 5 to 20% of our English Crystal to add color and a full, toffee/sweet flavor to Bitters, Pale Ales and Porters.

Scottish Crystal – (Caramel Malt) 90 L
Will lend a deep amber to red color and a full bodied, toasted/caramel like flavor to the finest Scottish and European ales.

Chocolate Malt – ( Brown malt) 400 L
British Chocolate malt is ideal for British Porters and Brown or Mild Ales and even Stouts. It’s a little darker than domestic Chocolate malt yet it has a slightly smoother character in the roast flavor and aroma profiles. Highly recommended.

Belgian Grain Malts

Belgian Pils (European 2-Row) 1.8 L
This is an excellent base malt for many styles, including full flavored Lagers, Belgian Ales and European Wheat beers.

Aromatic (Mildly Kilned) 26 L
Used at rates of up to 10%, Aromatic malt will lend a distinct, almost exaggerated malt aroma and flavor to the finished Ales and Lagers. Aromatic malt also has a rich color and is high in diastatic power for aid in starch conversion.

D/C Aromatic malt. As the name suggests, adds aromatics to a beer. At 25 Lovi, it is grouped in the upper end of the “Munich Malts” category. It shows conversion by itself, with a diastatic power of 29, as compared to D/C munich with a DP of 50 and Pils with a DP of 105. When using Aromatic malts, be sure to calculate the additional extract and color that will be added, since this malt contributes both.

Biscuit Malt – (Pale Roast) 23 L
Biscuit is a unique malt thats lightly roasted, lending the subtle properties of black and chocolate malts. Used at the rate of 3 to 15 %, it is designed to improve the bread & biscuits , or toasted flavor and aroma characteristics to Lagers and Ales.

CaraVienne – (Lt. Caramel) 22 L
As with normal Crystal malts CaraVienne is non-enzymatic. It does, however, impart a rich, caramel-sweet aroma to the wort and promotes a fuller flavored beer at rates of 5 to 20 % of grist total.

D/C: CaraVienna, ~22 Lovi. Another excellent all purpose caramel malt. Can be used in high percentages (up to 15%) wothout leaving the beer too caramel/sweet. Good to use in conjunction with Munich malts and Pils malt for a Maerzen base. Also good for use in many Belgian style ales, in conjunction with other Belgian color malts.

CaraMunich – (Med. Caramel) 72 L
Use CaraMunich for a deeper color in Ales and Lagers, and in small amounts in Lagers. 5 to 15% will also lend a fuller flavor, contribute to foam stability, add unfermentable, caramelized sugars and contribute a rich malt aroma.

Excellent malt to use as a suplement to other caramel malts. I tend to use 7-10% caraVienna and 3% CaraMunich as a amber beer base which would include Munich and Pils malt.

Bamburg Rauchbier malt:
Green(?) malt is “kilned”/dryed over a beechwood fire. Some US brewers use malt smoked over Adler. Depending on the amount of smoking, the malt can be used in 100% of the mash, as some Bamberg brewers do, or used as a flavoring malt in the 10-30% range. Imparts a distinct smoked character to the beer. Rauchbiers should be based on a Maerzen recipe and adjusted using Rauchbier malt, which shifts the color from amber to dark amber/light porter.

Peated Malt:
sold by Hugh Baird. Adds Peated flavors, good in small amounts for Scottish ales.

Raw Wheat:
used in Wit biers at 45% of grist and in Lambics at 30%. Contributes a permenant starch haze to the beer.

Common Maltsters:

* Briess Malting Co: 29 S. Columbia St, Chilton WI, 53014
* Canada Malting Co: 21 Four Seasons Pl, Suite 325, Toronto, Ontario
* DeWolf-Cosyns (distributed by Shreirer)
* Froedtert Malt Corp: PO Box 712, Milwaukee, WI, 53201
* Gambrinus malting Corp: 1101 Industrial Dr, RR#3,C-86,Palisades, Armstrong, B.C., VOE 1B0
* Great Western Malting: PO Box 1529, Vancouver, WA, 98668
* Hugh Baird (distributed by Great Western)
* Munton & Fison (imported by Crosby and Baker ==$$$)
* Schreier Malting Co: PO Box 59, Sheboygan, WI, 53082

When I first found this article, the economy was booming. Today, the worlds economy is in the toilet and saving money any way we can is the smart thing to do. Brewing your own beer saves money. Why not save money on things that help you make beer. That will save you even more money in the end. Some of the data may be outdated, but most of it still applies today…..

The Frugal Beer Brewers Guide To Brewing Aids
by Robert W. Mech, rwmech@eagle.ais.net

First version, 11/1/94
Last revisision, 11/8/94

COPYRIGHT:
This entire document is Copyright 1994, Robert W. Mech. Where noted the original author(s) name appears with the text and may hold additional copyright information. This document may be distributed freely in an unmodified form so long as no money is charged for its distribution.
DISCLAIMER:
Robert W. Mech, and authors mentioned in this text are not responsible for any of the information contained herein. This text is for informational purposes only and the user of this document accepts ALL risks when assembling described devices. What this means is if you blow yourself up making this stuff, don’t cry to me.
INTRODUCTION:
This text was written in hopes of lessening the costs of beer brewing. Many brewing aids, such as fermentors, wort coolers, etc. can be made at home using parts from your local hardware stores. You should have a good idea of what you are doing before attempting any of this. You should have a good knowledge of beer brewing and how these parts work. To reduce the risk of having infected (bad) beer, all parts should be sterilized and cleaned THOROUGHLY before use. Caustic chemicals such as bleach should NOT be used on metal parts of any kind. These can lead to metal and chemical byproducts in your beer which could make you ill or even cause DEATH. Please use some common sense and caution when using or making these devices.
A BRIEF WORD:
Greetings fellow homebrewers. If you are reading this document you must at the very least be interested in brewing your own beer at home. When I started brewing beer in 1993, I found it to be an interesting and very rewarding hobby. However I found that the more I got into it, the more money I was spending. I looked around for different ways to save money. This came from making some of my own devices (Fermentors, Lauter Tun, etc.) and some of it came from finding used, or food grade items that did the same thing. After searching near and far, I finally came down to this. Writing an informational text file on how others can save a TON of money like I did. I hope that those of you serious about homebrewing, can make some of these items at home and save yourself a lot of money.

I would also like to thank ALL of the people who sent me info for this project! Your submissions and ideas made this guide possible! Even if your submissions did not make it in the guide, believe me, they were useful! Thank you all!

Please feel free to send me new additions to this guide, and also your comments. I welcome all constructive comments. Anyone who wants to flame me for any of this can send it to /dev/null.

Hoppy Brewing,
Robert Mech rwmech@eagle.ais.net
FERMENTORS:
Fermentors are used for turning your wort into beer. Many different people have many different idea’s about what a fermentor should be. Basically, most people use a large food grade BUCKET. Yes, a plain old bucket. Most of them have air tight lids, and an air lock on them. Homebrewing supply stores can charge the average Joe anywhere from $5.00 to $15 for this bucket. The airlock which is rather inexpensive runs from $.50 to $2.00 for the inexpensive brands. As this might not seem like a lot of money, the more you get into beer brewing the more fermentors you may want to have on hand. These buckets also serve for “Bottling” buckets, as they have a spigot at the bottom of them so you can bottle your beer after racking. These buckets will soon start adding up, and costing you over 100 dollars. Well you can actually obtain these buckets for free. Yes, you heard it right, for FREE. How? Well think of it this way, how could that company stay in business just selling these buckets to homebrewers? It cant. Well then who do they sell them to? Answer: Food Wholesalers. The people who sell food in large quantity to restaurants, deli’s, etc. You might have even seen them before if you have ever been in the back of a restaurant. These restaurants usually just discard them after they have used the food out of them. PRESTO! Free buckets. Simply talk to a larger restaurant near you and ask them if they have any food grade buckets around that they were going to throw out. Most of them will have them and will be more than glad to let you have them. Saving yourself money.

NOTES: You will need clean these buckets using some sort of bleach or other sterilizing solution. If you don’t want the labels on them try soaking them overnight in your bathtub in bleach, this will clean the bucket, and your tub! Then drill a hole in the top and add your airlock. If you are using it as a bottling bucket then put the hole near the bottom on the side and buy your spigot from your beer store for under $5. Also, you shouldn’t use ones that have had anything in them that could “taint” the bucket. Stay away from ones that have had things such as pickles, mustard, relish, etc. However some of them have things such as ketchup, vegetables, and other syrups, which leave no trace of smell whatsoever. Happy hunting!

Comments From Fellow Brewers:

**** This Article Was From: Mark Bellefeuille (mcb@mcdpxs.phx.mcd.mot.com)
Get your 5gal buckets from the local doughnut shop or the supermarket bakery. If they charge you anything for them, go to the next store. The ‘club’ stores usually will give you ‘lots’ of them at once.

**** This Article Was From: manteufe@mr.med.ge.com (Thomas Manteufel)
Food grade buckets can be bought for as little as a dollar from restaurants, or may even be had for free from places like donut shops. Hang around the local recycling center and look for them in the garbage. You can clean them out and use a dilute bleach soak to remove most of the residual odors. Empty the bucket and let it sit in the bright sunlight for a few days to remove the bleach odor. You can buy a plastic spigot for a few dollars at the homebrew shop and mount it in your bucket for a bottling bucket. If you have the lids for the buckets, you can use them to store grain.

**** This Article Was From: drmech@freak.ais.net
Try white caste. They usually sell them for $1 a piece!
GLASS CARBOYS:
I got this idea after fermenting my first batch of hard Cider. Ever notice what a glass carboy looks like? One of those big water bottles for water coolers, only glass. Well, that’s about what they are. Its just your secondary fermentor, and being glass, making it extremely easy to clean and sanitize. Most beer stores charge in the upawrds of $20-50 for one.

Here are 2 alternatives:

* Find yourself someone who works for a glass recycler. Many times you find these bottles turn up in there. A recycler will charge you considerably less for them than your beer store will.
* Use Cider bottles. Drink (or in my case, ferment) a few gallons of apple cider/juice. You can soak the bottles in bleach and reuse them as smaller carboys. Most people ferment in 5 gallon quantities, so you would just need to get 5 gallons of cider. If you happen to catch it on sale, you can get them for $1 or not on sale, for about $4. If you have relatives, tell them to drink apple cider and save you the glass bottles. Then it costs you $0. Soaking them in bleach cleans them thoroughly, and also removes the labels. SAVE THOSE CAPS! They make a nice top to them, however DO NOT SOAK THEM IN BLEACH, since they are made of aluminum. Plastic wrap and a rubber band over the top makes them air tight. If you are daring enough, you can even find a cork and put an airlock on each one!

LAUTER TUN:
This is one of the most expensive items a novice beer brewer will come to buy. Its basically a large strainer for removing the malt, and syrup from the grain (wort). Many beer stores will try and convince you that you need a complex “bucket” with a strainer and a spigot on it. These can run from $40 to $100 depending on what kind/size you want. Here is the most common alternative to this.

Obtain yourself a NEW cooler. If you shop for it a the END of the summer, you can obtain one for as little as $5. If you recently got married like myself, you could get one as a wedding gift (or two of them as in my case) . Now that you have your cooler, you have several choices of how you want to make the strainer. I have had several recommendations. The easiest, but more expensive method is to purchase an “Easy Masher”. This basically is a copper tube and spigot, with a wire mesh over it to filter the wort out of the grain. This usually comes with instructions of how to install it into a bucket or cooler. The easy masher costs about $25-$30.

Another method is to measure your cooler, and go to your hardware store and buy copper tubing. Then find the smallest drill bit you can, and put holes along the tubing. Then attach a copper spigot, and there you go. This method ranges from about $10 total to about $25 dollars total.

I personally recommend the easy masher, simply because it saves you the work of drilling holes, etc.
WORT COOLER:
This is another extremely expensive item you can make yourself for considerably less money. Basically, its a coiled brass/copper tube, that goes into your wort, to cool it so you don’t have to wait hours for it to cool naturally. You can make this yourself with about 10′ of copper tubing, and some garden hose. One of these devices will cost you about $50 at your local beer store.

Simply go to your local hardware store and find some copper tubing that you want to use. Clean the outside of it well before using it in your wort. To make it coiled you can do a couple of different things. I used a 2 liter bottle and wrapped the copper tube around it to make it a nice coil. You can find someone who has a pipe bender and get it even more precise. Or, you can ask the Hardware store if they can do it. Either way, shape does not matter, so long as it allows the wort to flow around it. Make sure that you leave enough room so that BOTH ENDS stick out ABOVE your bucket. You don’t want the garden hose in your Wort. After coiling it, or whatever shape you have chosen, cut the garden hose so it is short enough to reach to your sink without being too long. Both ends should be able to reach to the Faucet, and the sink. Then Attach the garden hose to the brass tubing with some clamps. Here is a brief and simplified picture of what it should look like.

#########
#
####### # – Garden Hoses
#   #
! ! – Hose Clamps
|_|
|_| – Coiled Copper Tubes
|_|

So sue me, I’m not an artist. In any case, it should look vaguely like that when its done. To use it, you may need an adapter so the end of it will attach to your faucet. Then just turn on your water on cold, and the cold water will flow through the copper cooling your wort of quickly, so you can pitch yeast in a few minutes, not a few hours. Total parts should costs you about $15.

**** This Article Was From: Robert Parker (parker@mote.Berkeley.EDU)
here’s an idea for cheap wort chilling: set the brew kettle in a plastic tub (e.g. small garbage bucket) on bricks or something so it doesn’t melt the bucket, fill the bucket with water with obvious restriction of levels so that it doesn’t exceed the level of the top of the kettle, maintain a slow trickle of hose water while stirring the wort. to reduce infection concerns, drill a hole in the kettle lid, insert a long handled spoon (from the bottom of the lid so only the handle and not the spoon part needs to fit through), and stir away while the kettle is covered. works great! if you’re concerned about drilling a hole in your lid, buy a small rubber stopper that you can use when you want a solid lid. the cost of this option is virtually zero since you likely have a suitable tub already.

by the way, this is not my original idea. i got it from the hbd quite a while ago but haven’t seen it discussed other than the one time. i don’t remember the original post author.
BOTTLES/KEGS/STORAGE:
Most of the time your can obtain bottles from recycle facilities and bars for just pennies. Here are the words of others on the subject.

**** This Article Was From: mudgett@bose.com (Mark Mudgett)
Where to get bottles? 750 ml American sparkling wine (“Champagne”) bottles usually accept crown caps as used in homebrewing. Great homebrew bottles, and free from caterers, hotels, etc. Check into facilities and agencies serviceing the WEDDING business, make advance plans to get them from NEW YEAR’S EVE celebrations, or any other “bubbly” occasion. The bottles will otherwise be treated as trash. You can often find them in matched styles, by the case, with carton included.

**** This Article Was From: “DEV::SJK” (SJK DEV.decnet@mdcgwy.mdc.com)
Kegs: Kegs can readily be had for much cheaper than most people think. A cheap source of half-barrel kegs for conversion to a kettle are scrapyards. Some places have piles of these things, usually for $10 apiece. Call first and describe what you’re looking for (“beer kegs” usually works). I was surprised, but scrapyards really do know what they have on hand, so call.

Cornelius kegs in better condition than the reconditioned ones my homebrew store sells for $30 can be had at almost any scrapyard for $5. These are even more commonplace than Sankeys. Call and ask for “soda kegs”. ALWAYS ask for prices over the phone as sometimes the price inexplicably goes up by the time you get there. Rinse out the vestiges of syrup that WILL still be in the keg, add a (for me) $3.25 gasket kit, and on you go. I don’t bother replacing the poppets because my homebrew store charges $4 apiece for them (!). As the poppets don’t seem to pick up much soda smell, I just boil them briefly (1-3 minutes) in some baking soda and water.

**** This Article Was From: Brew Free Or Die 04-Nov-1994 1454 (hall@buffa.enet.dec.com)
Keg Pressure Tester and Relief Valve

Here are plans for a Keg Pressure Tester and Relief Valve that you can attach to your soda kegs to read the internal pressure. It is similar to one that was described by Dan Fink in an issue of Zymurgy. It has multiple uses. You can check keg pressure with it, to see if your keg has developed a leak, or to see if CO2 is going into solution. (Note: the valve on a CO2 regulator doesn’t perform this function. It tells you how much CO2 the regulator will attempt to place in the keg when it is attached). You can use it to bleed pressure from the keg via the needle valve, if your keg is old and doesn’t have a pressure relief valve built in (not recommended). If you are transferring beer from one sealed keg to another, you can crack the needle valve just barely to allow built-up pressure in the receiving keg to escape slowly. Otherwise, when pressure was equal in both kegs, the transfer would stop.

The prices and catalog numbers are from Foxx Beverage Corp, September, 1991.

ITEM    CATALOG #       DESCRIPTION                                                  COST
1            07C07-115       Ball Lock Disconnect, Gas, 1/4″ MFL             3.13
2            05B01-215       1/4″ FFL x 1/4″ FFL Swivel                                1.21
3            05B01-183       1/4″ MFL x 1/4″ MPT Male Half Union            .28
4            05B01-105       1/4″ Female Pipe Tee                                            1.11
5            03G07-142       Gauge, 1/4″ MPT, 0-60 PSI                               4.35
6            05B01-224       1/4″ MFL x 1/4″ MPT Brass Needle Valve    3.50

Cheesy ASCII Graphics (redundant term) follow:

——
_____   -\__/-  /–   ———–  _/      \
| —   _/–\_  \__   |    4    |  _    5   |
/   \                  —-   —-   \      /
|   |      2       3      |   |        —–
|   |
|   |                      | |
|   |                      | __|
| |
1                         \ /

6

The quick-disconnect (item 1) can be ball or pin. Its outlet is 1/4″ male flare. The 1/4″ FFL x 1/4″ FFL swivel (item 2) and the 1/4″ MFL x 1/4″ MPT male half union (item 3) are there simply because there was no other way I could find to connect the pipe tee’s (item 4) 1/4″ female pipe threads to the quick disconnect’s 1/4″ male flare threads. The gauge (item 5) and the needle valve (item 6) had male 1/4″ pipe threads, so it was easier and cheaper to just use those and adapt the pipe T to the Q-D.

Seal all pipe threads with Teflon tape and away you go. Enjoy!

Picnic Tap and Hose Rinser

In HBD #1438, new kegger Bill Rust solicited clever ideas on how to clean picnic tappers. I know where he’s coming from. Soda kegs are very convenient, but I always hated drawing one or two pints and then be faced with cleaning the picnic tap. I never felt comfortable leaving it on the keg with its beverage line full of beer, and I quickly grew tired of partially dismantling it to rinse it out. So, a few years ago, I designed this gadget to make my life easier.

As with the Keg Pressure Tester and Relief Valve plans that I posted in HBD #1422, the prices and catalog numbers are from Foxx Beverage Corp, September, 1991.

ITEM    CATALOG #       DESCRIPTION                            QUAN    PRICE
1a                   Snap Nipple                                1      ~2.00
1b                   Washing Machine Quick-Disconnect           1      ~5.00
2       05B01-296    3/4″ FHT x 1/2″ FPT Adapter                1       1.22
3       05B01-160    MP Reducer 1/2″ MPT x 1/4″ MPT             1        .93
4       15E04-450    Ball Lock Adapter 1/4″ FPT x 9/16-18 Male  1       4.48
5       15E04-304    Liquid Tank Plug Assy, Cornelius Ball      1       4.79

________
|        |
\      /
/      \    1a  Stays attached to faucet
\      /
——
DEFINITIONS
Q-D        Quick Disconnect           ___________
FHT        Female Hose Thread        <           >  1b
FPT        Female Pipe Thread         |         |
MPT        Male Pipe Thread            \       /
MP         Male Pipe                   ———
9/16-18    9/16″ diameter,            |         |
18 threads per inch        \         /   2
|       |
|       |
_________           This whole assembly
|       |    3       clips onto Item 1a
———
|       |    4
_________
|       |
\     /     5
/     \
\     /
—–

Items 1a and 1b are often packaged as a set and can be found in most home improvement stores. The Snap Nipple (Item 1a) screws onto your sink faucet and stays there. The Washing Machine (or dishwasher) Quick-Disconnect (Item 1b) snaps on and off the snap nipple in the same manner as a ball-lock soda disconnect. There are two types of these available. One has a small diameter snap nipple and a smooth white plastic disconnect ring. The other type has a larger diameter snap nipple and a white disconnect ring with ridges on it. This second type of disconnect incorporates an aerator. If you are installing a snap nipple to your faucet, and you have to remove an aerator from the faucet to do it, continued domestic bliss dictates that you use the second type.

Item 2, the 3/4″ FHT x 1/2″ FPT Adapter, adapts (duh!) the quick-disconnect’s 3/4″ male hose threads to the MP Reducer 1/2″ MPT x 1/4″ MPT (Item 3). The reducer is a means of adapting from 1/2″ threads to the 1/4″ threads of the Ball Lock Adapter 1/4″ FPT x 9/16-18 Male (Item 4). The Liquid Tank Plug Assy, Cornelius Ball (Item 5) then threads onto the ball lock adapter.

I keep this gadget in a kitchen drawer where it’s handy. After I’ve drawn a pint from a keg, I remove the picnic tap, line and disconnect and bring it to the kitchen sink. I attach the keg disconnect to the gadget, attach the gadget to the faucet, turn on the faucet, and then run water through the picnic tap and line to rinse it out. I know it isn’t sanitized, but at least it’s somewhat clean.

I use quick-disconnects in many places in my brewery. My jet bottle washer has one attached and snaps right onto my kitchen faucet for quick use, then snaps off. My wort chiller has a snap nipple on it, and I attach it to the faucet with a washing machine hose with Q-Ds on each end of it. I have a hose sprayer with a snap nipple on it and, using the chiller’s washing machine hose, I attach the sprayer to the hose and the hose to the kitchen faucet, to facilitate cleaning out kegs and spraying the cat.

Obviously, with a small change of parts, this gadget could also be used with pin-lock disconnects.

Enjoy!
GRAINS/MALT/HOPS/YEAST:
**** This Article Was From: “Jim Ellingson” (jimme@s1.arc.umn.edu)
For any most any kind of purchase, the more you buy, the more you’ll save. Of course, there’s overhead involved in trying to split up 40 pounds of Cascades, but you’ll get them for $3 a pound. Likewise the 3000 pounds of 2-row malt for $6 a bushell or 0.18 a pound.

So, once a year or so, someone in my club will organize a group by of (say) 50 pounds of hops or 2000 pounds of malt. If I run out before the next group buy, I’ll get together with 1-3 other brewers and split a pound or 2 of hops or a 110 pounds of DWC malt.

Many shops will sell you a pound of hops for something like $10-$12. There’s an add in Zymurgy or BT for a company that will sell pounds of Cascade and N. Brewer for < $4.

When I first started buying by the pound, I always found a fellow brewer to split it with. Now, I often use the whole pound myself. Note that I never buy the “Super high alpha” hops like Chinook, etc. At .60 an ounce, I can afford to use 2x as much N. Brewer or whatever to get my bitterness.

Call around. The price per bucket will vary from $70-120 for $60. If local suppliers won’t deal, hit the 800 numbers.

Of course there’s an assumption here. IMHO, the best way to extract brew is by using light, unhopped malt extract as a base and then getting the color, character, bitterness and hop flavor/aroma from specialty grains (using the “T-bag” technique) and from hops. Since every batch will require 4-10 pounds of “base malt extract” I may as well buy it in bulk.

This isn’t so simple. If you want it bagged or boxed, you’ll be hard pressed to get it for less than .30-35 a pound for US 2-row. But the deal still holds. If you’re willing to put together an order for 500 or more pounds, you should be able to find someone who’ll give yo a price break on it.

If your area is like mine, then you’ve seen a 300% increase in the number of homebrew supply retailers in the last couple of years. Some of these folks are rather greedy, and they’re using their retailers association to put the screws to some of our best suppliers. A semi-local maltster with whom I used to deal directly, has upped their minimum order from 50 to 200 pounds. Also, to get the price I was getting at 500 pounds, I now must purchase at least 1000. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m very annoyed by all this.

I get rolled oats for about .50, rolled rye for .60, and rolled wheat and barley for 80 cents a pound. This is considerably cheaper than at my local home brew shop.

This is covered in the Yeast FAQ. IF you don’t have much trouble with infections (i.e., almost never) then you might try racking the new beer onto the yeast cake from the secondary of a previous batch. If you don’t use a secondary, you should *wash* the yeast/dreggs/trub from the primary. (Washing is also in the FAQ.)

Some clubs maintain a yeast bank. They cover some of the cost with slightly increase membership dues.
AERATION/AIR PUMPS:
The most common way to aerate your wort, is just to take a fish air pump, and a fish air stone (available at any pet store) and to use it in your wort after cooling.

**** This Article Was From: COYOTE (SLK6P@cc.usu.edu)
The patentded (not) little bit of racking type tube with holes in the sides. Place at the end of a racking hose when drawing off cooled wort into a primary before pitching yeast. The holes draw in air as the wort passes- thusly airating it. Simple, cheap, effective. Personally I think all the airstone crap is overkill. But that’s one hopheads opinion.
FILTERS/FILTERING DEVICES:
One simple way to clear up your beer is the use of finings. Most people use gelatin, however there are several other types available. Check with your local homebrewing store as to what type you should use. If you don’t like the idea of animal parts in your beer (what most finings/gelatins are made of). You could always go with a filtration system.

WINE FILTER SYSTEMS REVISITED By Don Schiller Updated for net use on 30 Aug. 94

Why do I want to filter my wine? Filtering cleans the particulates from the wine. A tight filtration will remove most yeast cells. The wine will be clear, with less chance of refermentation starting and look more appealing.

Why should you spend money on a filter rather then just wait for the wine to clear? Some wines will clear nicely with just time. Some wines will need a fining agent to help with the clearing process. Some wines can stand bulk aging and clearing with no problem, and may benefit from the aging. Other wines, the more delicate fruit and some white wines should be cleaned and bottled quickly to preserve the fresh taste. Filtering is the best way to reduce the time needed to clear the wine.

Can’t I just use a coffee filter or paper towel to filter my wine? While a coffee filter or paper towel will remove some particles from the wine, there is also a chance of inducing oxidation or bacteria into the wine. The coffee filter is very ‘loose’ and will only filter the larger items. Smaller particles and yeast cells need a much tighter filtering to be removed, a 1 to 0.2 micron filter can be used for this.

There are several types of wine filters available, ranging from gravity feed to wine pressurized through multiple filter plates systems. There are two common types of wine filter systems generally used by Purple Foot Wine Club members, the first, a double filter and plate system with air or carbon dioxide (CO2) pressurizing the carboy and forcing the wine through the filter. The second system is a motorized pump system that pumps the wine through a filter cartridge in a housing. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. For the CO2 system, cost is $100.00 and is slow enough to allow filtering and bottle filling in one step, but was more work to set up before filtering the wine. The motorized system was faster, but costly at about $300.00-400.00.

For some time, I had been working on a filter system similar to the pump and filter cartridge system but less costly. Now that I have completed mine, I am passing the information along to you. If you are mechanically skilled, it is quite easy to build. The cost is about $100.00 (excluding cartridges) and does the job about the same as the motorized filter system. If you chose to make it, let me know your results.

Here is what you need: Self priming pump and motor. A small pump and motor is available from Fleet Farm, Northern Hydraulic and maybe Grainger for about $60.00 (I bought a SIMER #M40 that will pump about 360 gallons per hour, on sale for $54.00). Self priming does two things, it will draw the wine into the pump without needing to manually siphon it, and will create a better pump output pressure. The pump instructions tells you to oil the pump before using. DO NOT oil this pump. If you can find a pump system that is rated food grade and can deliver about 25-40 psi, that is what you need.

Filter housing. I bought an Omni housing at Menards for about $10.00. You also need the wrench for about $3.00. There are several other brands on the market, some housings are clear, some not, it should not make a difference. Be sure to get one with 3/4″ pipe connections that will take the standard 10″ filter cartridge.

Pressure gauge. A pressure gauge rated for 60 psi or less will help you to know when your filter cartridge is plugging up. Presque Isle has a 60 psi gauge or buy one locally. Buy whatever type connectors is needed to connect the gauge to the tubing. The gauge is not a necessity, but is nice.

Connectors/Tubing. You need two plastic garden hose connectors, (your pump connectors, if you get a different type pump, get the proper connectors), two plastic connectors with a 3/4″ thread on one end, the other end is barbed push on, (your filter housing connectors), a “T” barbed push on connector (for a pressure gauge), and food grade vinyl tubing, 5/8″ inch diameter. You may need 10-15 feet depending on your setup. When you buy these items, make sure your pump, filter housing, connectors and tubing will work together. NOTE: You can make your tubing connections using copper parts, but I prefer to use food grade nylon.

Filter cartridge. For filtering, you need a 1 micron or finer cartridge. I ordered my cartridges from Presque Isle, 1-800-488-7492. The 10″ cartridges are available in 1, 0.45, and 0.2 micron sizes. I use the 1 micron size for most filtering, but could use the 0.45 and 0.2 micron for finer filtering. Cartridge prices range from about $7-30.00 depending on micron size and capacity.

Miscellaneous Parts. You will need 5 hose clamps that will fit over the tubing when installed over the barbed connectors and a little Teflon tape to install the filter connectors.

Hooking it all together. I first started by making a frame on which I could mount the filter and pump. I used a piece of plywood 1′ X 2′ X 1/2″ and built supports to make a stand. I made a bracket to hold the filter onto the plywood and secured the bracket and filter to the plywood. A couple large hooks should be able to do the job. Secure the motor/pump to the plywood on the opposite side of the filter. Using Teflon tape, install the filter connectors into the filter input and output openings.

Measure the distance between the pump output and the filter input. This will be about 1-2 feet long allowing for a bend radius. Cut this tubing to length, and cut two more short pieces of tubing about 2″ long. Install one garden hose clamp to one end of the long tubing. Heat the other end of the tubing and the two short pieces in boiling water for a few minutes. CAUTION, THIS TUBING IS HOT AND CAN BURN IF HANDLED IMPROPERLY. This will soften the tubing enough to push it over the barbed ends of the “T” connector. Connect the tubing from the “T” to the filter input connector you have already installed. The gauge is connected onto the tubing on the tee end. (SEE DRAWING)

Determine the length of tubing needed from your supply carboy into the pump. Cut the tubing to length (or in half), and install the garden hose clamp on one end. Screw that end onto the pump input side. This is your input hose. Heat one end of the other tubing in boiling water. Push the tubing onto the barbed end of the filter output connector. This is your output hose and will output filtered wine into a clean carboy.

Secure all connections to the pump, filter cartridge and all connectors. Fill a pail with about 4-5 gallons water. Add about 1 teaspoon metabisulfite to the water. Put the input and output hoses into the pail of water. With no filter cartridge installed in the housing, plug in the power cord to the pump motor. The pump will draw water up the tubing, into the pump. The water will be pumped into the filter housing, the output hose, and back into the pail. Run this 5-10 minutes, flushing out the system and checking for leaks. Seal any leaks that you find. Dump the water, and refill with clean water. Run pump again for a few minutes to flush system. Remove power and drain water from tubing and filter housing. (Optional-rather then plugging the motor power cord in and out, you could add a switched outlet to the wooden frame. Plug the cord into the outlet and use the switch to turn the motor on and off. This works very well for turning the motor off as the supply carboy is emptied.)

To prepare to filter wine, install a cartridge into the filter housing. Fill the supply carboy with water. Put the output tubing into the empty carboy and the input tubing into the supply carboy. Run pump until supply carboy is empty. Do this each time BEFORE and AFTER filtering wine-it cleans the system.

Now rack the wine to be filtered into your supply carboy, sweeten, add chemicals, etc. as needed. Be sure to add metabisulfite (because the filtering does have a tendency to bubble at the beginning and end of the carboy, you may want to increase the metabisulfite to 75ppm to help reduce oxidation). Prepare a carboy to receive the filtered wine. Plug in the cord for the pump motor. The wine will be filtered and pumped into the carboy. Remove power as the supply carboy is emptied.

The filter cartridges can be used to filter 50-600 gallons of wine depending on the cartridge and the wine being filtered. Since you may not be ready to filter that much wine, you might want to make a container to store the cartridge. Using 3 inch PVC pipe, cut to about 12 inches long (22 inches to store two cartridges). Cement a cap on one end, and make a removable coupling on the other end. The cartridge can be stored in the pipe in a solution of 1/4 tsp. metabisulfite in water.
MISC. ADVICE FROM OTHERS:
**** This Article Was From: usfmczgm@ibmmail.com
major tip! when using round coolers for mash tuns, remove the plug from inside the lid and fill the lid with expanding insulating foam, these coolers are designed to vent heat to keep the cold in, it is a great design for cold foods, not so great for 158 degrees. leave the plug out until the foam cures, you may have to do this a couple of times ti fill the lid, but it works!

**** This Article Was From: evanms@lcac1.loras.edu (Mark Evans)
Flea markets and garage sales are an overlooked source of cheap homebrew equiptment. I have partially outfitted my homebrewery with various articles purchased at these venues. Many sturdy and usable large pots and other adaptable articles are to be had in these places. One has to have a quick and discerning eye. An other excellent but more elusive source are the basements of our “forefathers.” I used to be a house painter and I worked for many elderly people. On many occasions I found myself in cluttered basements, cleaning brushes or rummaging through old paint cans. Several time I found wine making equiptment–probably from the depression or around prohibition. >From one kind old old lady I purchased four blue glass five gallon carboys for $5–for all four of them! she was glad to be rid of them. Remember: somebody is getting into a hobby as someone else is getting out. that cast off equiptment is available somewhere for a song and a dance!

**** This Article Was From: manteufe@mr.med.ge.com (Thomas Manteufel)
The smaller size milk crates work well as carboy holders. You can get them for free, or a slight civil fine, if you steal them. I recommend buying the cheap generic crates at department stores. For only a few dollars, they have the advantage of being legal. Rubber bungee cords can be used to help hold the carboy into the crate. Use two opposite each other in a crossed “U” shape.

Never underestimate garage sales, rummage sales and flea markets. I bought a 5 gallon carboy for 50 cents because it needed a good cleaning. Ten minutes and a carboy brush brought it back to useful life.

Save the cost of a grain mill and have the homebrew store where you buy your grain crush it for you. Store it well and be prepared to brew; it will pick up moisture rapidly.
A FINAL WORD:
Well for those of you who decide that I’m totally nuts and you want to waste your money by buying this stuff from your beer store. DONT! Just tell me what you were intending to buy, Ill send you the homemade brand and keep the difference. I would be more than happy to waste your money for you! For those of you that are now rubbing your hands together waiting to run to the hardware store. Good Luck!

Many years ago I came across this article on priming and added it to the old Mysticmead Forums. It has so much useful information that I made sure it was saved and now added to my new Blog. I didn’t write this and have included the Authors name so he gets the proper credit.

A Primer on Priming

by Mark Hibberd (Bayside Brewers Club, Melbourne, Australia)

Most homebrewers carbonate their beer by adding priming sugar at bottling time. Usual instructions call for about a teaspoon of sugar per bottle. But exactly how much sugar is needed and what types of sugar are suitable? And what can you do if a beer is over- or under- carbonated?
Carbonation levels
The amount of carbon dioxide in a beer can usefully be described in terms of the volumes of CO2, i.e. how many volumes of CO2 (at atmospheric pressure) are dissolved in one volume of beer. This terminology is familiar to those who keg. Charts for kegging systems show the gas pressure to apply at each temperature to achieve a particular carbonation level. If this pressure is held for several days, the carbonation reaches its equilibrium value, i.e. the beer will absorb all the CO2 it can at that temperature. In bottle conditioning, the CO2 is produced by the fermentation of an accurate dosing of priming sugar.

Just as each style of beer has its own balance of hops and maltiness, so the appropriate level of carbonation varies from beer to beer. British ales should be less carbonated than lagers or wheat beers. The accompanying table shows typical carbonation levels for various styles of bottled beer. Exact values are a matter of personal preference, but you can see that a good starting point for a homebrew is 2.4 volumes CO2.

Typical CO2 levels in bottled beers
——————————————-
Beer style                      Volumes CO2
——————————————-
British-style ales                        1.5 – 2.0
Porter, stout                                1.7 – 2.3
Belgian ales                                  1.9 – 2.4
European lagers                         2.2 – 2.7
American ales & lagers            2.2 – 2.7
Lambic                                           2.4 – 2.8
Fruit lambic                                 3.0 – 4.5
German wheat beer                   3.3 – 4.5
——————————————-

How much priming sugar
To achieve a particular carbonation level, you need to know the initial CO2 content of your ‘green’ beer as well as the amount of priming sugar that will give the additional CO2.

Green beer, i.e. beer that has finished fermenting and is ready for bottling, is saturated with carbon dioxide because it has had CO2 bubbling through it continuously during fermentation. This amount of CO2 can be estimated from the accompanying table. It shows that the CO2 level depends on the temperature (at which fermentation was completed) and explains why a sample taken from a secondary fermenter at 2 degC (36 degF) tastes much brighter than a sample from an ale fermenting at 20 degC (68 degF). For the following example, we will assume an initial 0.9 volumes CO2.

———————–           ————————
Temp (degC)    Vol. CO2            Temp (degF)    Vol. CO2
———————–            ———————–
0        1.7                                                        32            1.7
2        1.6                                                         35            1.6
4        1.5                                                         40            1.45
6        1.4                                                         45            1.3
8        1.3                                                         50            1.2
10        1.2                                                      55            1.1
12        1.12                                                    60            1.0
14        1.05                                                   65            0.92
16        0.99                                                  70            0.85
18        0.93                                                  75            0.78
20        0.88
22        0.83

Solubility of CO2 in beer at atmospheric pressure

Determining the amount of priming sugar is based on the fact that adding 4 grams of sucrose (cane/beet/granulated sugar) per litre will ferment to give 1 volume of CO2:
4 g/l (1/2 oz/US gal) sucrose –> 1 vol. CO2

For our sample homebrew with a final 2.4 volumes CO2, we subtract the initial 0.9 vol. CO2 in the green beer to find that we need another 1.5 vol. CO2. This is achieved by adding 1.5 x 4 = 6 g/l (0.8 oz/US gall) priming sugar. It can be added directly to each bottle (4.5 g per 750 ml bottle) or by bulk priming the whole batch.

For bulk priming (in this example, 140 g for a 23 l batch or 4 oz for 5 US gall), the sugar is dissolved and sanitised by boiling in about 500 ml (1 pint) water, then cooled and added to a clean fermenter. The green beer is then racked into this fermenter with the hose outlet resting on the bottom so that the swirling mixes in the priming sugar. It is then bottled in the usual way.Bulk priming has the advantages of sterilising the sugar, consistent carbonation for all bottles and not having to worry about siphoning yeast sediment at the end of bottling. It’s also simpler if you want to fill a number of different sized bottles. Balanced against this are the risks of oxidation with the extra racking as well as the additional time involved.

Variations in the priming rate as small as 1 g/l (0.1 oz/US gall) can produce noticeable changes in the final CO2 levels (0.25 vol. CO2) so that reasonably accurate measurements are required to obtain consistent results.

This simple method of calculating the priming rate can be complicated by the CO2 generated by the slow breakdown and fermentation of dextrins, particularly in strong all-malt beers. This is rather difficult to estimate. Although it will be negligible in most beers, it is said to be sufficient to fully carbonate some high gravity beers that are stored many months before drinking (maybe producing up to 1 vol. CO2).
Types of priming sugar
The above calculations are based on using fully fermentable sucrose (cane/beet/granulated sugar). Icing sugar should be avoided because of the small amounts of cornstarch added to prevent clumping.

Many homebrewers prefer glucose or dextrose (corn sugar) because of the ‘cidery’ flavour supposedly imparted by sucrose, although, if present, this ‘flavour’ can probably only be detected in lightly hopped lagers.

Dextrose is also fully fermentable but its chemical composition means that an extra 15% (by weight) is needed to get the same carbonation level as with sucrose. It’s easiest to do the basic calculation for sucrose and then add 15%. In the above example requiring 6 g/l (0.8 oz/US gall) sucrose, you would need 7 g/l (0.9 oz/US gall) dextrose.

Particularly for ales, some people enjoy the note added by using brown sugar or Demerara sugar for priming; the same weights should be used as for white sugar. For the adventurous, syrups can also be used, but the weights need to be increased to account for the water and different types of sugars present: honey (suggested extra 40% by weight), genuine maple syrup (+50%) or molasses (+80%). Furthermore, the results will be less predictable and carbonation will take longer. Some report that molasses produces a very unpleasant overpowering taste that only moderates after many months. You may need to experiment.

Finally, the all-malt purist may want to prime with malt extract, either dried (+30%) or liquid (+40%). Again the results may be variable, depending on the type of malt and the amount of water present. More involved methods include adding unfermented or actively fermenting wort (krausening); details can be found in good brewing books.

If you want to do your own tests on the relative effectiveness of various priming agents, you need to know: i) its strength at increasing specific gravity, and ii) its fermentability. To calculate the increase in specific gravity, take a litre (quart) of fresh water and dissolve the priming agent at the rate of 120 g/l (1 lb/US gall). For sucrose, this should give a solution with a gravity of 1047. Other sugars will tend to give lower values. The fermentability of simple sugars including honey is very close to 100%. Priming agents containing more complex sugars such as malt are not fully fermentable and the exact value will have to be estimated as best you can, but 80% is probably a good starting point.

To see how to use these numbers, take the example of a dried malt extract which gives a gravity of 1042 when dissolved at the above rate and assume its fermentability is 80%. If used for priming at the same rate as sucrose, the carbonation level will be 42 x 80/(47 x 100) = 0.71 times that with sucrose. To get the same carbonation level as with sucrose, it would have to be used at a rate that is 1/0.71 = 1.4 times larger.

Measuring priming sugar
The most accurate method of measuring priming sugar is by weight but for bottle priming the most convenient method is by volume using a measuring spoon. Much confusion arises here because the same spoon holds different weights of different sugars.

Measurements show that a standard (5 ml; 1/6 fl oz) kitchen teaspoon holds 4.5 g (1/6 oz) of sucrose but only 3.4 g (1/8 oz) of dextrose or glucose powder. This difference is sufficient to explain the changes homebrewers report when switching from one priming sugar to another, particularly as many kit recipes suggest rather high priming rates to produce a beer ready for drinking soon after bottling; these beers often become over-carbonated after a few weeks/months.

Another useful ‘spoon’ is a homebrew bottling measure, which holds 6 g (1/5 oz) of sucrose (4.5 g; 1/6 oz dextrose) on one side and 3 g (2.3g dextrose) on the other. Thus, either a standard teaspoon of sucrose (4.5 g; 1/6 oz) or a generous bottling measure of dextrose (5.2 g; 1/5 oz) per 750 ml (26 fl oz) bottle will give the same final level of carbonation (+1.5 vol. CO2). But if the sugars were reversed (teaspoon of dextrose or bottling measure of sucrose), the final beer would be under- or over-carbonated by 0.4 vol. CO2.

For really reliable results, you need to know exactly how much priming sugar your measuring spoon holds. If you have accurate scales, you can check directly. However, it’s best to average by adding, say, 20 scoops to a small container and weighing them all at once. If your scales aren’t accurate enough, you could ask your homebrew shop to do the weighing. Or buy some good scales – they’re also useful for weighing hops and letters!

For comparison with the priming rate suggested above, it is useful to note that the 3/4 cup corn sugar (4 oz. dry weight) per 5 US gallons called for in many American recipes is equivalent to a priming rate of 6 g/l.

Problems
Sometimes things just don’t work out and you find a whole batch is over-carbonated. It may have occurred because of bottling too soon, over-priming or possibly because of an infection. In any case, the batch can be saved by releasing some of the pressure. With swing-top Grolsch bottles, just release the pressure momentarily a number of times over several days. For crown-sealed bottles, it’s best to cool them as much as possible to avoid gushing. Prise off the caps but leave them sitting loosely in place to minimise possible contamination of the beer. The time to wait before resealing with new caps can only be determined by trial and error so experiment with one bottle at a time, starting with 10 to 30 minutes.

On the other hand the beer may be under-carbonated or even flat. The simplest explanations are that you forgot to prime or that the caps are not sealing properly. But it may also be that they just haven’t had time to carbonate properly in which case you’ll probably be able to taste the sugar. The bottles should be held at the yeast fermentation temperature for a few days for an ale yeast to several weeks for a cool-fermenting lager yeast. A longer time may be required if the beer sat for a long time before bottling allowing more of the yeast to sediment out. But there should always be enough yeast left to do the job provided they are given sufficient time. If you’re really worried, it is possible to add extra yeast – a few grains of dried yeast or drops of liquid yeast. But extra priming sugar should only be added as a last resort after waiting several weeks. Otherwise you may end up producing a batch of grenades.

In conclusion, a teaspoon of sugar per 750 ml bottle is a good rule of thumb and if you’re happy with the result then stick with it. But if you’re having problems, I hope that the factors discussed here will enable you to consistently produce beer that is carbonated the way you like it. Otherwise you may have to delve into the joys of kegging, which also avoids all that bottle washing!

Finally, thanks to the many homebrewers who have helped me in putting together this article by passing on their own priming experiences. I’d be glad to hear any further comments you may have. Please send by email to mfh@dar.csiro.au or c/- Bayside Brewers Club, PO Box 175, Chelsea 3195, Australia.

Conversion factors
The article was originally written in metric units. The conversions to US measures are approximate and are based on the following conversion factors. The factors for Imperial (British) units are included for completeness.

1 oz (weight) = 28.4 g
1 US gall = 128 US fl oz =  3.8 litre
1 Imperial gall = 160 Imp fl oz = 4.5 litres
1 US fl oz = 29.6 ml
1 Imp fl oz = 28.4 ml

Today is an amazing time. With all the technology available to us, what was once a time consuming task can now be accomplished fast and more accurate with the use of computers. So it’s not surprising at all that there are several programs out there that are made for the home brewer. I do not claim to know everything about the Brewing software that is available, but I have tried several and some of my favorites are listed below. If you have any brewing software that you think should be added, please let me know in the comment section and I’ll add it.

Beersmith.

This is my favorite. Beersmith can do it all including converting from All Grain to Extract or partial mash or any way between the 3 types.  you can find the program at   http://www.beersmith.com They have a trial period of 21 days on the software and I’m sure you’ll find it as useful as I did and buy it… they also have a TON of recipes on the website ready to import into the program.  HIGHLY recommend this program..

ProMash.

Promash was the first program I used.. I still love it but I don’t use it anymore… there are some things I liked about it. You can take a temp reading of your wort and then an SG reading.. you input the temp and SG into Promash and it would do the corrections for you and give you the adjusted SG. If you have an older Palm Pilot they have some freebie apps available to assist in your brew session. .   http://www.promash.com

Strangebrew.

I never really tried Strangebrew but I do know they are part of the BeerXML guys and that alone means they really deserve to be looked at. Who knows, maybe I’ll add the review section to the site again and start doing software reviews… check this one out at http://www.strangebrew.ca/

SUDS.

SUDS has been around for a LONG time… they currently have over 2500 registered users… it’s not a bad program at all… you can find it at http://www.oldlib.com/suds/index.html

QBrew. I haven’t looked at this one BUT… it is the only one I’ve seen that is made to run natively in Linux…they even have a mac OS version as well as a Windows version… If it runs native in Linux, then it has to be worth a look…  http://www.usermode.org/code.html

Brewzor.

Brewzor for Android. This is a great Program for your Android based phone (Android > iPhone). It can do it all.

• Strike Temps
• Gravity Corrections
• Mash Infusion
• Decoction Volumes
• Batch Sparge
• Boil Off
• Kettle Volume from Height
• Kettle Height from Volume
• Carbonation
• Hydrometer Corrections
• Alcohol / Attenuation
• Refractometer
• Unit Conversion

like I said, it can do it all. The best part is, it’s on your phone so there’s no need to carry a laptop out to the brew area! You can find it in the Android Market. Oh yeah…. It’s FREE

I realize that there are some people that come here that dont know the basic brewing terms… so here’s a list that’ll help ya out…

Wort (pronounced wurt)= the sweet liquid before adding yeast that becomes beer.
Must = the diluted honey mixture before adding yeast that becomes Mead.
pitching yeast = the simple act of adding yeast to the wort or must…
dry hopping = adding hops AFTER the boil is complete…. some add them and let them steep like a tea then remove before transfering to the primary. others add them to the primary
Primary = the first bucket or carboy used in fermentation. most use a bucket for this.
Secondary = a bucket or carboy used for a secondary fermentation or clearing stage. for meads there is always a secondary..sometime more racking is needed to get a crystal clear product
Racking = Siphoning the wort/beer must/mead from one container to another. Normally done after the primary fermentation is complete to get the beer or mead off of the dead yeast cells. this allows more complete clearing. with beer racking is normally done to transfer to a bottling bucket since most have dropped clear in the primary.

fermentation bucket= a 6 gallon food grade plastic bucket with a lid that seals airtight..there is a hole in the lid to attach an airlock. some have a spigot at the bottom…most don’t.

Carboy = a 5-6 gallon glass bottle… looks just like the bottles of water on a water cooler in the office. you need a stopper to seal the top. stoppers come with and without holes for airlocks. airlocks are REQUIRED during fermentation.

Airlock= or and airlock is a simple device that uses a water barrier to keep outside air from entering the fermentor and allowing CO2 that is produced during fermentation to escape. if CO2 wasn’t allowed to escape, you would have a very explosive time bomb sitting there. a plastic bucket would blow the top off while a glass carboy would explode sending glass shards everywhere. including sticking them into cinder blocks. for this reason, I recommend primary fermentation in a plastic bucket unless you use a blow off tube on the carboy.

Blow-off tube= used with a glass carboy during the initial part of the primary fermentation. fermentation can be very aggressive and a large diameter tube jammed into the neck of a carboy will allow large quantities of foam to flow out and away from the carboy without clogging up. this keeps the pressure from building to dangerous levels. the opposite end of the blow-off tube is normally placed in a jug of water forming a oversized airlock. I use this setup exclusively when fermenting mead that involve fruits of any kind.

there’s a starter list… if I come across anymore basic terms or if anyone has a question about what term means…feel free to ask… I don’t bite……. much