A few sanity checks
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:12 pm
A few EO year sanity checks to gather some thoughts and relate some experiences
1. Ascorbic acid
- I have been catching up on forums read the last couple of weeks, and read more times that I can count that AA is a "superoxidizer". Despite this being accompanied of a book reference in at least one occasion, the said reference did not elaborate much.
My thoughts based on literature I read:
- It can be beneficial in the mash as shown by the AA oxidase paper of Kanauchi (Bamforth)
- Worst case dehydroAA reduction will convert it back to AA, which will, again, be a great antioxidant; so worst-case (assuming one does not go high enough to affect flavor) it has a sort-of-buffering effect; ie, there will not be extra oxidation as a result of its addition. Admittedly, AA is a "fickle" friend but leads to no harm.
2. Brewtan B
- I have used Brewtan B in the boil - dosed per Ajinomoto/ Foremanek recommendations in many beers during 2017. Unfortunately, in some but not all beers you can taste the tannins (the coming and going of the off-flavor confused me and thus took me a while to isolate the culprit). So, no Brewtan B in the boil for me ever again.
- Given that gallotannins appear to hydrolize during the boil, other vendors (Tannox) recommend using it in the last 5 min. A paper identified 3 min before the EO boil as the sweet spot; maybe that was my mistake but I do not have the time to research this too, and Whirlfloc always worked for me.
3. Boiling process
- I finally settled on a boiling process. It took me a while because with some malts, I was not boiling hard enough leading to some cloudiness. I know all of you are doing something similar
- I am doing 60 min for all beers, 30 min fully covered (peaking from time to time to monitor boilover) and ensuring the temp gauge is at boiling temp; then 30 min uncovered with the immersion chiller. It is about a 7% evaporation in total.
- I find myself collecting the gelatinous hot break during the uncovered boil for no reason (given that I would collect it anyway when I empty the kettle)
- Like a drunk who cannot refuse a free/ cheap drink, despite years of saying that I always brew with Weyermann, I keep accepting free malt or buying very cheap malt --pinky promise will always use W from now on-- I know it is not the only malster who makes good malt but lost the will to tweak my process every time I get a new malt.
4. Spunding valve
- I have had the cheap contraption that a few of you have pictured (no, not yours Nico, that is my Walhalla...), and it does work well for me BUT is foams a little at the beginning. I have not been able to avoid the foam so I just submerge the connection part in iodophor (no disconnect, manometer and regulator above the surface).
- Keep hoping that I will come up with a process that won't allow foam to come up but nothing yet.
- NOTE that it foams because the gas tube is cut to the bare minimum, if not cut I would see beer coming off the valve...
- YES - I know I do not have to fill the keg to the top, but I keep doing it
If you have any thoughts, experiences, please let me know.
Merry Christmas and an awesome 2018 to all !
Ricardo
1. Ascorbic acid
- I have been catching up on forums read the last couple of weeks, and read more times that I can count that AA is a "superoxidizer". Despite this being accompanied of a book reference in at least one occasion, the said reference did not elaborate much.
My thoughts based on literature I read:
- It can be beneficial in the mash as shown by the AA oxidase paper of Kanauchi (Bamforth)
- Worst case dehydroAA reduction will convert it back to AA, which will, again, be a great antioxidant; so worst-case (assuming one does not go high enough to affect flavor) it has a sort-of-buffering effect; ie, there will not be extra oxidation as a result of its addition. Admittedly, AA is a "fickle" friend but leads to no harm.
2. Brewtan B
- I have used Brewtan B in the boil - dosed per Ajinomoto/ Foremanek recommendations in many beers during 2017. Unfortunately, in some but not all beers you can taste the tannins (the coming and going of the off-flavor confused me and thus took me a while to isolate the culprit). So, no Brewtan B in the boil for me ever again.
- Given that gallotannins appear to hydrolize during the boil, other vendors (Tannox) recommend using it in the last 5 min. A paper identified 3 min before the EO boil as the sweet spot; maybe that was my mistake but I do not have the time to research this too, and Whirlfloc always worked for me.
3. Boiling process
- I finally settled on a boiling process. It took me a while because with some malts, I was not boiling hard enough leading to some cloudiness. I know all of you are doing something similar
- I am doing 60 min for all beers, 30 min fully covered (peaking from time to time to monitor boilover) and ensuring the temp gauge is at boiling temp; then 30 min uncovered with the immersion chiller. It is about a 7% evaporation in total.
- I find myself collecting the gelatinous hot break during the uncovered boil for no reason (given that I would collect it anyway when I empty the kettle)
- Like a drunk who cannot refuse a free/ cheap drink, despite years of saying that I always brew with Weyermann, I keep accepting free malt or buying very cheap malt --pinky promise will always use W from now on-- I know it is not the only malster who makes good malt but lost the will to tweak my process every time I get a new malt.
4. Spunding valve
- I have had the cheap contraption that a few of you have pictured (no, not yours Nico, that is my Walhalla...), and it does work well for me BUT is foams a little at the beginning. I have not been able to avoid the foam so I just submerge the connection part in iodophor (no disconnect, manometer and regulator above the surface).
- Keep hoping that I will come up with a process that won't allow foam to come up but nothing yet.
- NOTE that it foams because the gas tube is cut to the bare minimum, if not cut I would see beer coming off the valve...
- YES - I know I do not have to fill the keg to the top, but I keep doing it
If you have any thoughts, experiences, please let me know.
Merry Christmas and an awesome 2018 to all !
Ricardo