Hot Side Aeration Controversy

There is a controversy in brewing about Hot Side Aeration (HSA), and whether or not it affects the brewing process. It is an ongoing thing, and people have argued for either side.

First, before I talk about the controversy, I should answer the question: what is HSA? The basic premise of HSA is oxidation. Oxidation is the enemy of beer. As beer ages, the oxygen causes it to stale, with either sherry or cardboard flavor notes. Where HSA comes in is that some people have noted that if the mash or wort is exposed to oxygen when it is warm, it oxidizes much faster, shortening the life of the beer. One who is worried about HSA is very careful not to splash the mash while stirring or mixing it, or splashing the wort while it is hot, like during the boil.

Important people in brewing have professed the dangers of HSA. For instance, the late George Fix wrote the following in his book, Principles of Brewing Science, on page 130:

Hot-side aeration is fundamentally different [than cold-side aeration] because of the speed of redox reactions that occur at elevated temperatures. For example, introducing 1 mL of oxygen per liter of wort at 70°C will start reactions that consume free oxygen in seconds. The oxidized wort constituents will ultimately cause flavor problems in packaged beer via the chemical mechanisms described in the next section. Doing the same for wort at 20°C will have virtually no effect.

He then goes on in much detail about the mechanisms of HSA.

There are some, however, that claim that HSA is a bunch of horseshit. A quick search around the web revealed several forums, discussing the other side of the issue, including here and here.

I used to be worried about HSA. In fact, I remember when I tried decoction mashing. When you decoction mash, you pull the thickest part of the mash to be boiled and then returned to the mash. Pulling the thickest part of the mash, for the homebrewer, involves taking a strainer, scooping deep into the bottom of the mash. and letting it drain into the mash. It does nothing but dripping and splashing. I remember frantically posting to the Home Brew Digest about my fears. They said, don't worried about it. But, worry I did.

Recently, I was listening to Brew Strong, a online radio show on the Brewing Network, starring Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer. On a show specifically dedicated to HSA, they covered in detail the concept of HSA, with the head of the Brewing Science program at UC Davis, Dr. Charles Bamforth, looking at both sides of the controversy. Basically the conclusion they came to was this: Don't do anything stupid, like vigorously aerate the wort. However, there are much much worse things to worry about. Don't fear HSA using normal brewing practices.

Quick Tip: Boil Worts Made with Pilsner Malt Longer

The more pale the malt is that goes into beer, the more DMS precursors they have. Worts that are made of these malts need to be boiled longer to drive off these volatiles. The general rule is this: A typical boil is 60 minutes long. However, if you use a Pilsner malt, boil it for 90 minutes. Of course, this must be done with the lid off, and vigorously.

A Pet Peeve: Wine Glasses

Okay, this is going to sound stupid, but it really bothers me. Julie and I went to an Italian restaurant the other day and I ordered a glass of wine, a nice Pinot Noir. I was really looking forward to it.

Typically, when I order red wine, I like to give it a swirl, so it moves slowly around the big bowl of the glass, and stick my nose way down in the thing to take it all in. I then take a sip, roll it around my mouth, and savor the flavor. It is my ritual every time I order wine.

Unfortunately, when I got the Pinot at this restaurant, it was in this little tiny white wine glass, filled almost to the top (which I still question was even a 6 oz. pour). How was I supposed to give that a swirl? What about sticking my nose in that little tiny glass? I did not want to soak my schnozzle and get a snoot full of wine. It made me mad. How can a restaurant that has any kind of wine list do that? Invest in some damn red wine glasses, for Christ's sake!

Anyway, it may sound really picky, but it is just a pet peeve of mine. If I'm going to spend money on wine at a restaurant, I want to enjoy it.

A Quickie: The Beer Mapping Project

I love maps. In fact, I studied geography and cartography in college, and even worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for a while, writing mapping software. That is why I got excited when I discovered The Beer Mapping Project. This is an online site that maps breweries and brew pubs, organizing them by city and region. It utilizes Google Maps to do this.

Check it out right here: http://beermapping.com/

Mahna Mahna

Carnival Elation Pictures

Well, we are back from our cruise on the Carnival Elation, to Catalina Island. Here are some pictures:

On this trip we sailed on the Carnival Elation.

Here are Julie and I at sail away. We have a tradition that we always drink champagne.

Towel animals! Towel animals! Towel animals!

Here is a picture of Julie on the tender to the town of Avalon on Catalina Island.

We rented a golf cart in Avalon and rode around the hills overlooking the ocean.

We stopped on one of the hills and took this picture. Notice the Elation in the background.

We were not the only ones riding around in golf carts!

Here I am in one of the back alleys of Avalon.

Back on the ship, we saw this Jazz band in the Romeo and Juliet lounge. There was live music everywhere.

Here is Julie looking out a port hole.

Review of the Carnival Elation

Here is a review of the Carnival Elation that I just posted to Cruise Critic, an online cruise review site. Enjoy.

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We are just off the Elation. Here are my impressions.

Typically, we cruise Holland America. No, we are not old. We just enjoy the elegance and service.

We'd sailed the Elation before, and the first time we sailed her, we experienced some culture shock. Carnival simply does not have the same elegance that Holland America has. It is a very different cruiseline. It is more of a college-party-like atmosphere. In fact, our first time aboard her, we got stuck with loud, falling down, obnoxious drunks for dinner. I remember that I was about to deck a guy at dinner after he tried to stick his tongue in my wife's ear.

We thought that we'd never sail Carnival again. However, we got a gonga of a deal. That was how we came to sail the Elation a second time.

This time, we got room E126, a window room, right by the elevators, and very close to the atrium bar. This was a great location. The room was much like I remembered: orange and gray. I think that that has to be the oddest color combination -- very obnoxious. It also has this large box that holds the life-jackets in the corner by the bed. It is a bit awkward because whoever sleeps by the window has to climb over it in the middle of the night when nature calls. But, since we'd been on the ship before, all this was no surprise.

My wife and I have a tradition of drinking champagne for sail-away. We grabbed a bottle and two glasses and headed for the new, adults only, Serenity Deck. There we found a couple of deck chairs overlooking the back of the ship, and opened the bottle, and watched San Diego harbor go by and eventually disappear. One thing that I should note, however, is that the Serenity Deck is supposed to be adults only -- no kids. However, as we sailed away, there were plenty of kids there. I am not sure how well this is enforced.

The atrium bar is one of my favorite places on the ship. It was good that it was so close to our room. The bar sits at the bottom of a six story atrium, with a piano straddled by two curved staircases, between two glass elevators. After sail away, and before dinner, we spent some time there.

We were crossing our fingers at dinner the first night. Please no obnoxious drunks. Please no obnoxious drunks. To our pleasant surprise, our tables mates were quite nice. There were two younger couples, 20-somethings, and an older retired couple. And, thank God, none of them tried to stick their tongue in my wife's ear.

Dinner was quite like I remembered. No, it was not as good as Holland America, but it was not bad by any means. For instance, I remember having prime rib on board our last Holland America cruise aboard the Oosterdam. I remember thinking, this is so incredible! The Elation also had prime rib one night, too. It was good, but not incredible. I'm not sure what made it different. Was it the quality of meat, the marbling perhaps? Maybe, it was the was it was prepared. I simply do not know.

The one thing that Carnival has over Holland America, however, is the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. That is awesome. I had it for dessert every night. I was told that if you ask for the recipe, they will give it to you. I tried twice throughout the trip, however, without any luck.

The day after sail-away, we went to Catalina. We took the tender into Avalon. Upon arriving, we made our way to a booth where we could rent golf carts. After renting the cart we took all over the hills surrounding Avalon. It was quite nice, and there were some incredible views.

The next day, we arrived at Ensenada. Of course, we could not get off the ship because of swine flu. That day, my wife and I went out on deck, on the second level, found some lounge chairs, and caught some rays. In fact, it was nice to see the sun. Most of the trip, the weather was quite hazy and gray.

That night, we saw the blues band on board. Really, in many ways, this was the highlight of the trip. It was a packed house in the Romeo and Juliet lounge -- standing room only. I guess that this is where Carnival and Holland America really differ. I mean, who would of thought that you could see a New Orleans style show on a ship. On Holland America, there are soft Jazz standards played for ballroom dancing. Here it was dark, smoky, and horns blaring, guitar and bass jamming, all character -- night and day, really. They did say, however, that the blues show was unique to the Elation, that no other Carnival ships have it. Too bad, because it really was something.

The last day aboard, we befriended a nice couple from California. We hung out with them all day, spending some time at the Drama Bar, and the Serenity Deck, in the hot tub. At night, we decided that we would like to have dinner with them rather than our regular table mates (not that we had anything against our regular table mates). The dining room staff was more than accommodating, finding us a table for four, even though we all had fixed dining at other tables.

Debarkation was easy. They had called our group before we even left our cabin. We did not even have breakfast. We just got right off the ship.

In the end, I have to say that this trip was much better than our first one aboard the Elation. We knew what to expect -- no surprises. Not to mention, we had much better table mates. All it all, it was a good time.