Protovis composes custom views of data with simple marks such as bars and dots. Unlike low-level graphics libraries that quickly become tedious for visualization, Protovis defines marks through dynamic properties that encode data, allowing inheritance, scales and layouts to simplify construction.
Shared: Forced Wort and Forced Ferment tests
Forced Wort and Forced Ferment tests
The “forced wort” test basically tells you whether your wort is stable and free from contamination. You take a sample from the run-in to your fermentor, before you pitch any yeast. You need a properly sterile flask for this – merely sanitised probably won’t do the job (although I haven’t tried) and could well give false positives – and you need to take the sample in as sanitary a fashion as possible. Then you simply put the flask somewhere safe and warm (on a shaker if you’ve got one – I haven’t) and check it every day for haze, bubbles, or off smells or tastes, for the next few days to see if anything grows in it. Ideally, it should still be clear and stable at least 7 days later. Don’t put it on a stir plate, as constant stirring will make the remaining proteins go cloudy (I know, I’ve done it).
Shared: Quality Control
It is important that a brewer regularly check the fermentability of the wort produced. A very simple and effective method is a forced fermentation test. This test can be performed by any brewer with or without a lab. The forced fermentation test consists of aseptically pulling a wort sample (post heat-exchanger) into a sterile sample container and inoculating with a very high yeast cell count (Dried yeast works fine). Agitate the container often. Check the gravity after 36-48 hours to determine terminal gravity. This test will give you a good idea of where your fermentation should finish. If your main fermentation does not reach the same level as your forced ferment, you know you have a problem in the fermenter (pitch rate, temperature, oxygenation). If both your main fermentation and the forced ferment finish out of spec (too high or too low), you know that you have a problem on the brewing side (mash temperature, times, crush, ingredients).
Shared: Refractometers
With careful use, a 0–30 Brix refractometer is precise to within 0.2–0.3 Brix. As such, it is less precise than a good hydrometer. However, it can provide a quick measurement of gravity to within about one “gravity point” at times when cooling the wort for a hydrometer sample would take too much time.
Shared: The “No Nitrites Added” Hoax
The fact is, most nitrate we consume comes from vegetables. Nitrate we consume coverts to nitrite in our body, which is a anti-microbial agent in our guts. Sodium nitrite in bacon cures the bacon (more info in my safety concerns for charcutepaloozians) and then converts to nitric oxide, so, while I’m not chemist, I have heard others suggest that you’re not actually consuming any nitrite by the time the bacon gets to you. Again, almost all the nitrate and nitrite in your body comes from veggies. It’s an anti-oxidant. Studies are coming out now saying it’s good for the heart.
A study in the Journal of Food Protection put it this way: “Since 93% of ingested nitrite comes from normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”