HOMEBREW Digest #1343 Sat 05 February 1994

Digest #1342 Digest #1344


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Canada Malt Statistics (GANDE)
  Rolling Rock clone/Adding sweetness to meads (Ron McDowell)
  SG readings from the carboy ("PETE ZINGELMAN,")
  Search HBD with WWW (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Homebrew discussion group/idea exchange (evanms)
  Stuck stout (Eric Wade)
  Oak Flavor in IPA (James Thompson)
  Psychedelic Brews ( was 'Buzz Beer' ) (Conan-the-Librarian)
  Homebrewing BBS (Mitchell M. Evans)
  Primates (WKODAMA)
  HopRemoval/Aeration/from HBD 1341 (Doug Lukasik)
  News Release Highlights (Elaine Boris)
  hard cider, beer in Tampa (Tom Lyons)
  The Beerhunter? (Brady Gaughan)
  Durst malt (George J Fix)
  printing PostScript (Chris Lovelace)
  BJCP Exam Offered (Jim Liddil)
  Spent Grain Baking Co. errors (Domenick Venezia)
  pH Unit (Tom Leith MIR/ERL 362-6965)
  Cannibis and Brewing.... (GANDE)
  Re: Cask sources (bteditor)
  Chimps, monkeys and humans (arne thormodsen)
  Belgian Chocolate? (Michael Inglis)
  Re: Lambic Digest on the Net (bteditor)
  Hops, Glutaraldehyde, Others (Mark Garetz)
  Little porta-keg thing? (drose)
  Re: Dry-Hopping Advice (Jay Hersh)
  Re: Oak Casks. Discussion of Worth! (Jay Hersh)
  Vienna recipe and IBU help (Ulick Stafford)
  What does that stand for, anyway? (dan_fox)
  New Mexico FAQ (Joe Levandoski )
  CHEAP CARBOYS (708) 938-3184" <HANSEN.MICHAEL at igate.abbott.com>

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 3 Feb 94 20:04:29 GMT From: GANDE at slims.attmail.com Subject: Canada Malt Statistics My posting yesterday described CM 2 row attributes and with a little help from Spencer Thomas and a CM Chemist, heres what the stats mean. Ext F or C, As is and Dry, this is extract or yield based on Fine or Coarse crush and is expressed in percentage, with malt out of the bag versus dried. F/C is the percentage differential between crushes. It appears that there is only a slightly higher yeild for fine crushes (1.4%) Color is expressed in Degrees Lovibond. DP is Diastatic power, both Alpha and Beta Amalyse, the grains ability to convert starches to sugars. AA is percentage Alpha Amalyse. Malt and Wort Prot is is the level of protein in the malt and subsequent wort. FAN is Free Amino Nitrogen, expressed in parts per million or MG/L. This is good for yeast growth and activity. Assortment is the percentage of grains sized 5/64ths inch to 7/64ths. Thrus is the percentage of grains that fell through the 5/64 sizing screen. I'm waiting for the remainder of the data sheets from Canada Malt to arrive from Thunder Bay, I'll post them when they arrive. +----------------------------------+-----------------+ | Internet: gande at slims.attmail.com| "640K ought to | | Glenn Anderson | be enough for | | Manager, Telecom. Facilities | anybody." | | Sun Life of Canada |-Bill Gates, 1981| +----------------------------------+-----------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 14:56:38 -0600 (CST) From: rcm at hal.com (Ron McDowell) Subject: Rolling Rock clone/Adding sweetness to meads I've been asked to try to duplicate Rolling Rock in a batch of homebrew. Does anyone have an extract or extract/grain recipe? I think probably something like 4 lbs pale malt and maybe some rice are in there, but I can't get a bearing on the hops at all. They seem very muted, almost to the point of not being there. On another topic, we made some Jamaican Blue mead, based on the recipe posted here a while back. OG turned out to be 1.069 or so, and after a couple weeks had dropped to 1.000. Naturally, not wanting to waste a drop, we "sampled the sample" and found it to be extremely bitter (i.e., _all_ the sugar fermented out). Mixing a teaspoon of honey with the mead made it taste, well, heavenly! I realize this mead has some serious aging to do, but I'm not sure the sweetness will come back. So my question is: how can you add sweetness to something, without having that sugar kick off another round of fermentation (or is that what's really needed here)? Thanks in advance. - -- Ron McDowell - HaL Computer Systems, Austin, TX 512-834-9962 x5004 rcm at hal.com Return to table of contents
Date: 03 Feb 1994 13:08:13 PST From: "PETE ZINGELMAN," <ZINGELMA at EPRI.EPRI.COM> Subject: SG readings from the carboy From: PETE ZINGELMAN, Wisconsin Electric Power Co. Subject: SG readings from the carboy I use a glass turkey baster. It's easy to sterilize. Picked it up in a local cookware store. Hope this helps... (Insert clever quote here) Pete Zingelman Point Beach Nuclear Plant zingelma at eprinet.epri.com (414)755-6526 fax-6562 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 94 16:32:48 EST From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: Search HBD with WWW Newly arrived at the "WWW Beer Page": thread searches of the HBD! Haul out your favorite WWW surfer (e.g. Mosaic) and point it at http://guraldi.itn.med.umich.edu/Beer. Then follow the link to "Search Homebrew Digests". To avoid bringing my machine entirely to its knees, you can only search one year at a time, but even that can take a while (several minutes). I don't guarantee to keep the current year totally up to date, either. Note: if you're not internet-connected (can you FTP to the archive site?), you can't use this resource. Sorry. This is a spare-time, background activity for me, and I don't have the time to try to figure out an e-mail server. =Spencer Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 15:31:02 -600 (CST) From: evanms at lcac1.loras.edu Subject: Homebrew discussion group/idea exchange Hi to whoever: I'm new and nervous on the internet. Not exactly sure how this works but decided to send an E-mail and find out. I'm a long time homebrewer looking for a new source of exchange. Do I correspond by E-mail or are there ongoing discussions/BBs/etc. Thanks! Still learning the lingo. Mark E. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 16:13:20 -0800 (PST) From: Eric Wade <ericwade at CLASS.ORG> Subject: Stuck stout In HBD 1338 Jay Lonner wrote that his OG 1.052 stout using Wyeast #1084 Irish is stuck at 1.032. How coincidental that I currently have a "Kitchen Sink Stout" using the same yeast OG 1.065 seems to be stuck at 1.025 after two weeks. I also brewed a pale ale (OG 1.050) the same weekend using the new Wyeast Special London Ale and have been fermenting both under the same conditions (approx 68 F). The pale at racking had dropped to 1.014. If anything the stout was better aerated and had a bigger starter than the pale. Seems curious given the recent raves about #1084 being such a vigorous fermenter. I was expecting a slightly high FG given all the junk I added but 1.025 seems a bit too high to me. Jay, did you get any helpful advice? FWIW, I was aiming at an imperial stout on the low end of the scale with an OG of 1.072, however it was my first batch with my new mill (previously used the champion mill documented in the Zymurgy gadget issue). My usual yield dropped from about 29 or 30 pts/lb/gal to about 22. I crushed a bit finer the next day for the pale ale and got a better yield. Grain bill for the stout: 14 lbs english pale .5 lb wheat 1.5 lbs munich 6 oz flaked barley 3 lbs various lovs crystal 1 lb choc 6 oz black 14 oz roast barley 2 hour mash at 154 F 90 minute boil Anyone have any clues or advice? Do I need to give it more time? There's not much activity through the airlock. Eric Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 17:28:40 -0800 (PST) From: James Thompson <sirjames at u.washington.edu> Subject: Oak Flavor in IPA In HBD 1341 M.VITA at sysb.ftc.gov wrote: >How do you think India Pale Ale got its traditional "oaky" taste? >It was from the oak barrels in which the beer was stored for >shipment to India. Even today, Yorkshire brewers such as Sam >Smith's and Theakston (makers of Old Peculier) use oak casks. They >even have their own in-house coopers to make them. There may be >other Yorkshire brewers who do this as well. It so happens I was reading Terry Foster's PALE ALE (Boulder: Brewers Publications, 1990) last night and read the following: "In fact, 'oakiness' is not a characteristic of English IPA, although the beer was and sometimes still is aged in wood. You see, English oak is very different from its American cousin, and imparts little or no flavor to beer stored in casks made from it. Indeed, I remember a conversation with one of Britain's few remaining brewers' coopers, in which he said they would never use American oak, 'because it would spoil the beer's flavor!'" (pp. 31-32) So apparently oak flavor is not "officially" part of the IPA flavor profile. Do any of the English brews mentioned above taste "oaky"? -- I haven't tried them. Talk of IPA, however, does lead me to a question that probably belongs in Internet's alt.beer newsgroup, but I'll ask anyway, and knowledgeable sorts can answer me via e-mail. In the paragraph previous to the one I quoted, Foster mentions Ballatine India Pale Ale. I had this once, several years ago, and I bought it through Trader Joe's in LA, cheap! I wasn't quite the beer snob/freak/geek then that I am now, but I was amazed at the interesting & complex taste of this cheap beer. I never saw it again, so I figured TJ's had just bought out the last batch, or something. Does anyone in HBD land know about the fate or availability of Ballantine India Pale Ale? Jim Thompson - sirjames at u.washington.edu University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA 98105 "Five things these Chestertonian youths revere: Beef, noise, the Church, vulgarity and beer!" -- Anonymous Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 21:15:11 -0800 From: pascal at netcom.com (Conan-the-Librarian) Subject: Psychedelic Brews ( was 'Buzz Beer' ) "As far as I know, hemp tea will not get you off ..." < ahem > I believe that mushroom tea, however, will. That is, purely by happenstance, I became aware that psylocybe mushrooms' active ingredient is water-soluable. It also, I've been told, is quite stable up to past boiling temperature ... though 'steeping' temperature is sufficient, and preferred. What would happen if one were to place such a mushroom within a 12 oz. bottle of ale is, well, intriguing ... although I, of course, would shrink with fear and horror from anyone whom had violated the temple that is their body with a < ghasp > drug, reaching with faltering hands for the phone, to dial a desperate 911, before I became tainted ... then, of course, I would take a stiff drink from the tankard of potent ale, at hand. \-: Not sure what the interactions would be between the two classes of controlled substances, ethanol and psylocybin, but I do not think there are any harmful interactions, I've never seen toxic reactions en masse out in the parking lot after a Dead show. (-: Sorry to the older generation for debasing this fine forum with these base, evil and degenerate speculations. (-; - -- richard Ra is the sun god ... He's such a *fun* god ... Ra !! Ra !! Ra !! richard childers san francisco, california pascal at netcom.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 94 20:14:39 PST From: doc at brewing.cts.com (Mitchell M. Evans) Subject: Homebrewing BBS Howdy! I am considering starting a Zmurgy BBS down here in San Diego, CA. I was wondering, however, if the number of homebrewers down here warrants a dedicated BBS. I'd like to ask folks the following: 1) If there was a homebrewing BBS in your town, would you support it? (post messages, participate in get-togethers, etc) 2) What would you like to see on a BBS? (Recipes, pictures of labels, Homebrew Digests, Scanned pictures of the brewing process, etc) 3) Would you consider calling local long distance, intrastate, or interstate? Thanks! Thought this would be the best forum in which to get a feel for how popular this idea would be. Mitch =========================================================================== doc at brewing.cts.com or crash!brewing!doc or ??????? "400 lines of code, and whaddya get? Another day older and deeper in debt..." =========================================================================== Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 1994 08:50:27 -0500 From: WKODAMA at aba.com Subject: Primates >From HBD 1342: > Date: Wed, 2 Feb 94 15:39 EST > From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU> > Subject: Cannibis and Hops > In HBD#1340 Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu writes that cannibis > and hops are about as closely related as monkeys and humans. ^^^^^^ > Monkeys and chimps are 99% genetically identical. We're so ^^^^^^ Is it just me, or is this post equating humans and chimps? Just wondering, Wesman Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 1994 08:53:51 -0500 (EST) From: Doug Lukasik <LUKASIK_D at sunybroome.edu> Subject: HopRemoval/Aeration/from HBD 1341 In HBD 1341 Al writes in answer to Carl: >unless you cool before pouring through the kitchen strainer, you will have >some Hot-Side Aeration... After 8 batches, all of which have been slowly poured through a funnel with strianer (to remove hops, grain particles, etc) into 3 gals of cold water I have never experienced any HSA (at least that I know of). I use a sanitized saute pot for a laddle and at most the 2+ gals of boiled wort has not been cooled any more than for a 15 minute steep (I would hate to drop the boil pot on the way to cooling it and do not yet have an emersion cooler). I then sparge the spent Hops, etc. with between 1/2 and 1 gal of boiling water; still no HSA. This is certainly not a flame (I don't know enough yet to flame) just some major confussion (on my part) but how does one get HSA when the pot is no longer on the flame or burner? I was led to understand that HSA would most likely occur through overly strong stirring during the boil. What exactly does HSA do to the taste of the beer? Mine all seem great (IMHO) if not a lot hoppier than most would choose. Is the HSA a problem in the strainer due to boiling the entire 5 gals rather than a concentrated wort such as I am making? TIA for any insight. Doug. <lukasik_d at sunybroome.edu> Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 94 08:34:03 EST From: Elaine Boris <EBORIS at UGA.CC.UGA.EDU> Subject: News Release Highlights Friday, Feb 4,1994 Front page of The Red & Black (An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community): "New beer, new look, import price A new beer may be coming to your favorite bar as early as Monday, but the higher price has some students skeptical about its success. Zima billed as a 'clear malt beverage, in a category by itself,' met favorable response at a private tasting on Thursday. (snip snip) ... and the brewer is counting on 'high volume male drinkers' to buy the majority of the beer. (more snip snip) ...Participants in the taste test described it as 'interesting' and 'kinda Spritey.' ..." ('kinda Spritey'!?! YUK ) Thank heavens I am not a 'high volume male' and I like my beer more than just 'kinda' malty, so I don't feel the least compelled to try this stuff. Elaine Boris FSIS Access Services Computer Services Specialist University of Georgia 706 542-0484 Athens GA 30602 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 06:26:45 -0800 (PST) From: tlyons at netcom.com (Tom Lyons) Subject: hard cider, beer in Tampa Greetings from Central Florida. Does anyone know if the Hard Cider Digest still exists? If it does, please let me know the address to request a subscription. Now, the BIG NEWS for beer fans in Tampa and surrounding areas, as well as anyone who visits. A new pub is opening in Ybor City (a local Cuban community, wonderful food) called The Oak Barrel. 29 taps, over 100 bottles, and none of them American megas! The 29 taps include 4 hand-pulled engines. Disclaimer, of course, is that I'm not connected with this operation in any way other than being danged excited that it is opening. Anyone who knows Tampa and searches for good beer understands that excitement. See ya! tlyons at netcom.com <- address at eom. you're welcome. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 09:55:05 EST From: bgaughan at su19bb.ess.harris.com (Brady Gaughan) Subject: The Beerhunter? Hello: I seemed to have missed out on something. What exactly is _The Beerhunter_? >From previous posts, I can infer that it must be some sort of TV show or a series of episodes (PBS or something?). Please enlighten me. The only beerhunter I know is the game where you shake up one beer in a case and the drinkers open each can or bottle in their face. Or I guess it could be a take-off on the Christopher Walken (_The DEERhunter) movie with shaken beers instead of pistols for Russian Roulette :) Anyways, just wanted to know. _______________________________________________________________________________ Brady E. Gaughan Internet:bgaughan at su19bb.ess.harris.com Harris Corporation Government Aerospace Systems Div. "They call me mister know-it-all, Melbourne, FL I am so eloquent. Perfection is my middle name... and whatever rhymes with eloquent" _______________________________________________________________________________ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 09:16:39 -0600 From: gjfix at utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix) Subject: Durst malt Lee asked in HBD#1342 about German malt from Durst. In December Scott Birdwell of DeFalcos in Houston sent me some of their Pils malt to play around with. We made a Helles style lager (OG=1.054, FG=1.013) with it using W-34/70 as the yeast strain. Samples tasted from cold storage rang my bell. There was a deep malty flavor which fully displayed those special Bavarian flavor tones. I am going to bottle it this weekend, and if anything different results I will report it. At this moment this malt seems to be very much the equal of Irek's malt, at a fraction of the price. I was unaware of the Durst Vienna malt until Lee mentioned it on HBD, but I am certainly going to try some. Lee, thanks for pointing out that it is available. George Fix Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 10:26:33 -0500 From: lovelace at pop.nih.gov (Chris Lovelace) Subject: printing PostScript In HBD 1342,Greg Bishop asks about printing the postscript version of Cat's Meow on a Macintosh. I did it using Apple's Laserwriter Utility (ver. 7.1) with an Apple Laserwriter. This program has an option under the Utilities menu called "Download PostScript File...". You just have to make sure you have a printer that supports Postscript (I think most Apple printers, certainly the Laserwriters, do). I downloaded the version of Cat's Meow that has all of the even pages in one file and the odd pages in another file, allowing me to print the odd pages, turn the paper over, put it back in the paper tray, and print the even pages on the other side (thus saving paper). As long as one downloads and follows the instructions, this works really well (took me a minute to figure out, though). Chris _________________________________________________________________ Chris Lovelace LOVELACE at POP.NIH.GOV LOVELACE at HELIX.NIH.GOV National Institute of Mental Health, Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology Bethesda, Md U.S.A. _________________________________________________________________ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 8:27:49 -0700 (MST) From: Jim Liddil <JLIDDIL at AZCC.Arizona.EDU> Subject: BJCP Exam Offered The Old Pueblo Homebrewers will be offering The Beer Judge Certification Program Exam On May 7, 1994 at 10:00 am The exam is tentatively scheduled to be offered at 2332 E. Adams St. Tucson, AZ 85719 The fee is $50 for first time takers and $30 for retakes. The NON-refundable fee must be recieved to the address listed above by April 1, 1994. Please make checks payable to "Old Pueblo Homebrewers". If you have any questions feel free to contact me via e-mail or call (602)881-8768. jliddil at azcc.arizona.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 07:46:03 -0800 (PST) From: Domenick Venezia <venezia at ZGI.COM> Subject: Spent Grain Baking Co. errors Yes, it does say, "Wholesome grains called English Two Row and Five Row..." ^^^^ They have been notified of this, as well as the fact that brewers "brew" and eager yeast cells "ferment". Hey, I was in transcribe mode, where you don't read what you type. Domenick Venezia ZymoGenetics, Inc. Seattle, WA venezia at zgi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 09:51:34 -0600 From: trl at photos.wustl.edu (Tom Leith MIR/ERL 362-6965) Subject: pH Unit Gary Kuyat asks: >It is accurrate to .1 pH unit. (What the heck is that unit called anyway???) The pH unit is called "pH". It is the inverse logarithm of the concentation of hydrogen ions in the solution. ie: if the solution is 4 ppm hydrogen ions, that is .000004, log(.000004) = -5.398, so pH is the inverse of this (not the recipricol), or pH = 5.4. Note that the pH of *pure* water is 7.0. This is considered "neutral". What is the concentration of hydrogen ions in a sample of pure water? Well, that would be: 1 * 10 ^ -7 = .0000001 or 0.1 ppm, or 100 ppb See? Try it yourself for values of 1 part per thousand (.001), and for one part per billion (.000000001). Since we think of "acidity" as something like "Are there more hydrogen ions in here than in pure water?", you should have some idea which way the numbers will go before you start. And that's about all I remember about it from freshman chemistry. I *do* need to review this... Peace, t Return to table of contents
Date: 4 Feb 94 16:04:42 GMT From: GANDE at slims.attmail.com Subject: Cannibis and Brewing.... All of this talk about cannibis and beer has got me thinking, particularly after reading Chuck Cox's posting yesterday. While I have no problem with anyone using pot, I think it's important that if anyone uses it as a "special hop" in beer, it should be identified to the consumer prior to drinking, as I'm sure Chuck did with MJ. What I'm getting at is that some people have an intolerance to THC, causing a severe reaction. If one brews a "Brain Death Barleywine" and submits it to a competion without clearly identifying "Contains Marijuana" on the entry form, an unsuspecting BJCP judge with an intolerance to THC may have a reaction serious enough to go to the hospital. I'm speaking from experience. .......Glenn +----------------------------------+-----------------+ | Internet: gande at slims.attmail.com| "640K ought to | | Glenn Anderson | be enough for | | Manager, Telecom. Facilities | anybody." | | Sun Life of Canada |-Bill Gates, 1981| +----------------------------------+-----------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 94 11:54:09 EST From: bteditor at aol.com Subject: Re: Cask sources I have been following the discussion on oak vs. stainless steel casks and noticed a reference to the article on cask-conditioned ales in BrewingTechniques (November/December 1993 issue). The article listed the following sources for casks: Alumase Container Dispense Division Burton Latimer Northants NN15 5JP United Kingdom Tel. 011 44 536 722 121 (British-style casks in quantity; ask for Steve Hert) H&JE Buckley Park Road, Dunkinfield Cheshire SK16 5LP United Kingdom Tel. 011 44 61 330 3677 Fax 011 44 60 343 2345 Rankin Bros. & Sons 139-143 Bernardsay St. London SE1 3UR United Kingdom Tel. 011 44 71 407 0074 (Fittings, taps, and other hardware) Sav-a-Barrel 4511 S. Ave. Toledo, OH 43615, USA Tel. 419/531-5347 (Reconditioned stainless steel kegs) It also listed the following sources for information about casks and cask-conditioned ales: Association of Brewers Institute of Brewing Studies P.O. Box 1679 Boulder, CO 80306, USA Tel. 303/447-0816 Ian Loe, Research Mgr. CAMRA England 34 Alma Rd. St. Albans Hertfordshire AL1 3BW United Kingdom Tel. 011 44 727 867 201 Liberty Malt Supply 1418 Western Ave. Seattle, WA 98101 Tel. 206/622-1880 Wyeast Laboratories 4785 Booth Hill Road Hood River, OR 97031 Tel. 503/354-1335 Note also the comments from CAMRA's Stephen Cox ("Letters," BT January/February issue): "I was pleased to see that you didn't lead people down the garden path over the use of wood. Wooden barrels are ju st too much hassle - even our most traditional brewers rarely use them nowadays - and beer from nice clean aluminum tastes just as good. It would be a shame if the use of wood died out completely, but there are dozens more important issues surrounding beer quality. Don't make life more difficult than it already is!" Though CAMRA makes no mention of what kind of wood is used for wooden casks (the spiles, for example, are made of various woods), I take it as significant that one of the staunchest defenders of quality and preservation of real ale (CAMRA) feels quite comfortable with stainless steel. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 09:30:33 -0800 From: arne thormodsen <arnet at kaibutsu.cup.hp.com> Subject: Chimps, monkeys and humans >Monkeys and chimps are 99% genetically identical. We're so damn >close, I'm surprised they're not in suits along side us. Probably run >most companies better than the bozos that do now. As far as I know, chimps and HUMANS share 99% genetic material. The monkeys branched off long ago. (Also consider that apes with greater than 1% divergence in genetic material have been interbred using special lab techniques and you have yet another reason to reach for a homebrew :-) - --arne Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 09:33:24 PST From: mri10 at mfg.amdahl.com (Michael Inglis) Subject: Belgian Chocolate? I recently brewed what was supposed to be an English Brown Ale. I used the following grain bill: 6# 2-Row Klages 1# Light brown sugar .5# Belgian Chocolate .5# 60L Crystal and fyi.. 1 oz. Norther Brewer at 50 mins. Total boil: 90 mins. The result was a beer that ended up with a noticeable amount of oxidation (due to a mashing process error), too much alcohol (OG 1.058, FG 1.012) and a very biting roasty flavor more reminiscent of a stout than a Brown Ale. I understand the oxidation and alcohol problems, but the biting roasty flavor still has me stumped. I am wondering if "Belgian" Chocolate might give a stronger flavor than say a "British" Chocolate. Can anyone comment on whether or not this is correct? If not, then what could the problem be? TIA for any info. Mike Inglis mri10 at mfg.amdahl.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 94 11:49:46 EST From: bteditor at aol.com Subject: Re: Lambic Digest on the Net The subscription-request address isx lambic-request@ longs.lance.colostate.edu The March/April issue of BrewingTechniques will feature a major overview of on-line information sources for brewers. I plan to include as many digests and news groups as I can dig up. I have confirmed information on the following: Lambic Digest Judgenet Digest LiBeerty Digest and am awaiting confirmation/further information about: Mead Lovers Cider Digest Belgian Styles Digest In addition, I know of the alt.beer and rec.crafts.brewing forums on internet. The article will also discuss the various online services (AOL, CIS, etc.) and the beer happenings specific to those services. If anyone can provide leads to other digests/news groups, please send them to bteditor at aol.com and I will pursue it for complete information for publication. Thanks-stephen mallery Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 10:48:48 PST From: Mark Garetz <mgaretz at hoptech.com> Subject: Hops, Glutaraldehyde, Others Al Korzonas wrote a few digests ago, and then there were comments about boiling to drive off the hop aromatics, and Al had mentioned that if one could figure out a way to boil and not drive off the hop aromatics, then one would be a hero. In fact, it's been done. All it really takes is a covered boil. This is not real practical for homebrewers, but it has been tried on a commercial scale. This has a bunch of effects: It raises the pressure, so raising the boiling point and increasing hop utilization, and therefore allows shorter boiling times, a net increase especially considering energy costs. ***BUT*** it has not been adopted commercially. Why? Because the hop and malt aromatics made decidely *BAD* beer. Tasters rejected it over- whelmingly. Now this doesn't explain why late hops work, except that maybe the aroma compounds are altered negatively by the long boil times. *** Jack Skeels asked if Red Tail yeast in the bottle was viable. The answer is yes. When interviewing Sid Stafford, head of brewing at Mendocino (makers of Red Tail) for my book, I asked If a lot of homebrewers cultured the yeast from their bottle. He replied that they did, but they preferred that homebrewers didn't. My immediate reaction was that some of the Anchor- yeast-paranoia had rubbed off, but then Sid went on to say that the reason was they felt the yeast was too old by the time a homebrewer got it. He then said they would rather a homebrewer bring a sterile container to the brewery and they would give them all fresh, viable yeast they wanted! But if you don't live close to the brewery, the bottle yeast will work fine. I've had many beers made with this yeast, cultured from the bottle. He also asks why it's clumpy. That's just the yeast. I'm not sure if they use a fining agent, but I know the beer is filtered prior to bottling. It is then kauesened with some beer from one of the primaries going on and bottled. *** Pete Zingleman asks how to tell if his hops are still any good. Smell them. If you smell anything you don't want to come out in your beer, don't use them. *** There has been some discussion of oak flavors in an IPA and in general for beer. It is my understanding that oak IPA casks were lined with pitch, so no oak flavor will result. The same is true of the wooden fermenters used (or used to be) for making Pilsner Urquel. A-B boils the beechwood to make sure that it doesn't impart any flavor to the beer. Oak flavors in IPAs are reportedly a "modern" interpretation of the style, and the real thing probably had no oak flavor at all. *** Jeff Frane questioned Al K's assertion that barleywine was dry- hopped. I can't say for any English barleywines, but the two most popular US-made barleywines (Anchor Old Foghorn and Sierra Bigfoot) are most definitely dry hopped. Jeff also asked a long time ago why his responses that quoted other posts were kicked back for being over 80 characters. It's most likely because the carets (>) that are usually added to a quote kicked the line length over. I didn't post this when he asked because I felt sure someone else would respond, but I don't recall anyone ever doing that, and this reminded me. *** Now something of my own: The other day I picked up at a book sale a book called "Chemical Sterilization" for $1. I just had a quick look at it this morning, and it mentioned what seems like a near perfect sterilant: glutaraldehyde. It appears to also go by the trade name Cidex. It purportedly kills much faster and better than chlorine or iodine based solutions, rinses away well, has low volatility and is completely non-corrosive. Like I say, I've only looked at the data for a few minutes. Glutaraldehyde is listed in my Fisher catalog but that's as far as I've got. I'll look in my Merck Index tonight. But does anyone else have any experience or data on this stuff? Mark Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 1994 14:21:00 -0500 (EST) From: drose at husc.harvard.edu Subject: Little porta-keg thing? Hello: In this months Brewing Techniques in the new New Products section, there is a product described that looks very interesting to me. I can't remember the name of the device, but it is manufactured by a company called Liquid Bread out of Florida. It is advertised as a device for making mini-kegs out of 2 and 3 liter soda bottles. The description says you fill your bottle with beer, put the device on the top, squoosh out the air, fill the headspace with CO2, and that you can then force carbonate the beer and pressurize it up to 30-40lbs. So it seems like it attaches to a gas fitting, can take high pressure, and allows you to dispense beer in some way. If I am understanding it correctly (which I certainly might not be) is looks like it would be handy for taking relatively small amounts of beer to parties, peoples houses, etc. My question is, does anyone else have a more cogent understanding of how this thing is supposed to work, has anyone actually USED one, and does it work as advertised. I am sending in my handy Reader Service Card to get more info but thought the net might provide a quicker response time. thanks in advance. Dave Rose Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 1994 14:39:07 EST From: Jay Hersh <hersh at x.org> Subject: Re: Dry-Hopping Advice homebrew at lupulus.ssc.gov writes: >Al Korzonas writes: >> >> Yes. There is no doubt that Czech Pilsner is dryhopped and it is >> traditionally only dryhopped with Czech Saaz. I recomend whole or >> plugs (cause they float). >> >I think this is incorrect. I believe that the Czech brewers achieve >their hop character without any dry-hopping at all. In fact, according >to DeClerq, the brewers at PU consider the hop aroma to be something of >a defect -- an unfortunate result of their brewing process in their >quest for other characteristics of the beer's flavor profile. >If you can find a reliable source that credits the PU or Budvar brewers >with dry-hopping, I'd like to see it. I concur Jeff. In my tour of the Pilsener Urquell Brewery there was absolutely no evidence nor mention of dry hopping going on. The tour was extensive taking us through the mash and boil rooms into the fermentation cellars (we got a picture down into the top of an open toppped fermenter) and then into the lager cellars (great shot of me in front of the kegging rig). Never was any mention or evidence of dry hopping apparent. Such dry hopping would have been evident from the equipment and techniques if it had been done. My experience is also seconded by Darryl Richman's fine article written following his tour of the Pilsener Urquell facility as well. JaH Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 1994 14:44:00 EST From: Jay Hersh <hersh at x.org> Subject: Re: Oak Casks. Discussion of Worth! COYOTE says: >* Well, time to disagree! Oak adds a character, a quality, that is much >desired for a beer. Even the King (spud) uses Beachwood. Wood is a flavor >that is much recognized in many QUALITY beers through antiquity. Watch >that episode of the BeerHunter and you'll understand why. >They look neat, and add tastes. Besides...it's fun tapping an OAK CASK. >I don't have the biochemistry down, but I'd be inclined to think that the >tannins from malt husks are different from the tannins in oak. >(my un-biochemical taste buds tell me so, for one). >There would not be a market, and references in various brew-texts to the >use of oak chips, and oak essence were it not for a desirable quality >imparted by oak. Check out Foster's Pale Ale book for a nice discussion >(and favorable!) of the use of oak for an GENUINE IPA. Prior to this diatribe I wish to state that many people have positive experiences using wooden casks for storing/aging of their beer. That said I wish to put forth my beliefs based on travel and readings... This is a phalacy that folks have attempted to refute on more than one occasion. Firstly there is a difference between American Oak and European Oak. European Oak which is used in Belgium, Britain, Germany, is very neutral and imparts little or no flavors even when not treated (more on this later) while American Oak has a decidedly pronounced flavor that is sharp and fairly acrid. Mike Sharp of Lambic Digest fame found that he had to "break" in his Oak cask made of American Oak to flavor it with Lambic and impermeate it with his little critters as the tastes from the first batches (of which I tried a few) were very sharp and unpalatable especially tasted side by side with portions of the batch not Oak aged (which is not to say that those non Oak aged early Lambics were astoundingly palateable, but they had a decidedly different flavor). The second factor is that at least in Germany all the wooden vessels are lined with a flavor neutral pitch so in fact the beer never touches the wood itself. I believe this was also the practice in Britain. Most European brewers chortle at silly American homebrewers who add Oak Chips thinking they are somehow making their beers more authentic when in fact they are quite misguided. A final refutation of the use of Beechwood in Budweiser's Beechwood aging is that in fact it is neither for aging (contact times are rather short) nor for flavoring. AB uses the Beechwood chips as a fining agent to help aid the flocculation of their yeast. Of course this fact is rather contradictory with marketing hype so for public consumption it is deemed "Beechwood aging" Don't believe everything you read in brewing books. Something that appears one way at face value (ie traditional use of wooden casks, esp. of say Oak) has more to do with what materials were available and commercially used (esp. for reasons of duraibility) than magic properties of the materials themselves, and understanding the full manner of the practice of using them (ie that they were almost always lined with pitch to seal them) is more telling than the many naive assumptions still propogated regarding them. JaH Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 94 14:36:54 EST From: ulick at bizet.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford) Subject: Vienna recipe and IBU help I intend to make a Vienna over the weekend using available ingredients (i.e. ones I already have). Is there any suggestion as to how much crystal - of unknown color, but probably the most common Briess I should add to a grain bill of pilsener malt to get an appropriate color. Would 1.5lB be too little or 2 lB too much? Anyone with experince of this type of recipe (or Fix' book). DM in the latest BT poo-poos IBU formulae as being inaccurate and make my rule of thumb - 1 AAU per 5 gallon (US) = 4 IBU's seem OK :-) (it's inaccurate too!). Anyway can anyone email me any info regarding scientific methods for measuring iso-humulone concentrations in beer, preferable an HPLC method. A reference will do. I can find the paper. __________________________________________________________________________ 'Heineken!?! ... F#$% that s at &* ... | Ulick Stafford, Dept of Chem. Eng. Pabst Blue Ribbon!' | Notre Dame IN 46556 | ulick at darwin.cc.nd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 94 15:07:59 EST From: dan_fox at ccmail.GSFC.NASA.GOV Subject: What does that stand for, anyway? To the best of my knowledge, pH stands for percent Hydrogen. Why and how, I don't know. My question: What does the Cara- prefix mean about the malt it is hanging off of? dan fox "In cyberspace, no-one can hear you D'OHHHH!" Return to table of contents
Date: 4 Feb 94 20:30:35 GMT From: < at scuzzy.attmail.com at hpfcla.fc.hp.com> (Joe Levandoski ) Subject: New Mexico FAQ Full-Name: Joe Levandoski To: Mike Hall Mike, I could not reach you directly, my mail keep getting kicked back to me, so hopefully you will get this request. Please send me a copy of your New Mexico Brewing FAQ (the version without the changes noted). I am in New Mexico about 3 times a year and can use the info. Thanks Joe Lev Return to table of contents
Date: 04 Feb 1994 14:57:00 -0600 (CST) From: "Michael D. Hansen (708) 938-3184" <HANSEN.MICHAEL at igate.abbott.com> Subject: CHEAP CARBOYS Hi All! I recently came across a good source for cheap(er) carboys in the Chicagoland area. Waccamaw in Rolling Meadows has 5 gallon carboys for $10.99 (a bargain since brew shops generally charge around $17). I don't know if other Waccamaws in the area have them or not. I don't work there, no affiliation, blah, blah, blah. Brew on my friends! Mike Hansen (HANSENMD at RANDB.ABBOTT.COM) Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1343, 02/05/94