HOMEBREW Digest #1509 Wed 24 August 1994

Digest #1508 Digest #1510


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


Contents:
  Re-Going to Germany... ("Daniel F McConnell")
  Mills Zymurgy (Jack Schmidling)
  Malt Shelf  Life (Wortmaster)
  Guardian Humulus saves the day (Mark Evans)
  Going to Portland/Re: When to add fruit (CliffR3500)
  Comparison of Wyeast #1098 & #1968/Summary of Holiday Brew Advice (Mark Peacock)
  A call to UC Davis, Heriot-Watt, and Siebel graduates... (Ash Baker)
  INBOX Message (See Below) (Mailer.MC1)
  Re: Chill Haze (Tel +44 784 443167)
  Yeast Lab's London Ale Liquid Yeast (Tel +44 784 443167)
  Re: Breweries in Antarctica ? (John DeCarlo              )
  wine (CLAY)
  Bars/good beer on the Cape (GONTAREK)
  ants, hopped photo film (CLAY)
  credentials ("Charles S. Jackson")
  Spirit of Belgium contest and conference ("Phillip Seitz")
  Wyeast Ale Yeasts (PAULDORE)
  California Lager Yeast? (GKRAUS)
  Aluminum pots (Sean C. Cox)
  alz and AL ("John L. Isenhour")
  Spirit of Belgium Conference footnote! ("Phillip Seitz")
  Fuller's ESB Clone (Larry Bristol)
  old pecuilar/caledonia double dark /treacle ("Andy Schultz - DP  at 290-1490")
  Re:Tumbleweed Grille & Microbrewery ("Brian Ehret")
  Re Copper Boiler ("Palmer.John")
  Sparge volume, bananas in weizen (Nancy.Renner)
  dishwasher sanitation/yeast starter (BRCMRC.BRMAIN.MMENDENH)
  RE: More on lautering rates (Darryl Richman)
  3 Gal. Cornelius Kegs (Young, Douglas )
  Learning Tastes in Beer Follow-up (Logan Dent)
  Steam Beer Suggestions (Jeff Guillet)

****************************************************************** ** NOTE: There will be no digest administration from August 15 ** through August 26. PLEASE be patient when requesting changes ** or cancellations. ****************************************************************** Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Articles are published in the order they are received.) Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc., to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L at UA1VM.UA.EDU), then you MUST unsubscribe the same way! If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first. FAQs, archives and other files are available via anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via mail from listserv at sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a message to that address to receive listserver instructions.) Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored. For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen at novell.physics.umr.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 21 Aug 1994 10:14:55 -0400 From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell at med.umich.edu> Subject: Re-Going to Germany... Subject: Re:Going to Germany... Your mail bounced. Since your friend will be near Kaiserslatern he should DEFIANTLY visit Pirmesens. They make some of the best and most under-rated brews (IMHO of course). Try the Pirmenator, a hellebock, and their Pils is outrageous If you catch the brewmaster on a good day, you will get a great tour as well as a sample of yeast IF you can convince him that you will take good care of her. DanMcC Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 12:34 CDT From: arf at genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: Mills Zymurgy >From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> >Subject: Mills/Zymurgy >I have to agree with Jack about the recent Zymurgy article on Mills. Great pains were quite obviously taken to avoid saying anything critical about *any* of the products, lest they offend potential advertisers. The current editorial staff is not providing a useful service to their readers. What I wanted to see was a real review, not an advertisement for several products in the guise of an article. It's just a shame that I had to go through three mills to find one that was satisfactory for *my* purposes. Unfortunately, Zymurgy has done nothing to prevent others from having the same problems. I did everything I could to get them to do it right from threatening lawsuits to just plain not advertising but what you see is the result and although an improvement over the original galley proof, it is, as you say a dis-service to the community. I suggest that anyone who feels strongly one way or the other take the time to make their feelings known to the editor. She thinks that I am a pain in the butt but sometimes we have to be to get things right. Send your comments to: Dina Nishek.. 73252.3571 at CompuServe.COM. > For my money, the Maltmill is the best of the three I've owned, though I'm annoyed at having to pay for 10-inch rollers when the hopper makes the effective length only about 4 inches (I assume it would be too difficult to turn the thing if the entire length was used). Your last statement is correct but the premise is a common misconception about the MM and it is very simple to dis-prove. Just remove the hopper and hold it over a bucket. Pour a pound of malt into the hopper and see how long it takes to flow through the grain guides. You will find that on the current models (aprox 1 1/4 x 3/4), it flows at the rate of 400 lbs per hour. The opening only restricts the amount of grain that lands on the rollers when the hopper is initially filled for the reason you mentioned. It is presumed that one will crank until the hopper is empty and then stop to fill it agian. It has no effect on the throughput up to 400 lbs per hour. This is about the max rate it can crush at a reasonable RPM, when it will indeed utilize the entire roller length. Just for reference, the MM II has an opening of a 2" diameter circle and it crushes at the rate of 4000 lbs per hour with a 1.5 HP motor. With smaller motors, the opening must be reduced. It is truly amazing how fast grain can flow through a small opening. js Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 15:14:39 EDT From: Wortmaster at aol.com Subject: Malt Shelf Life I bought a 50lbs sack of Schreiner Belguim Malt. It is stored in an unairconditioned area of the house. I live in New Orleans, La. and it is hot and humid here. I am wodering how long will it remain usable. pls resond at wortmaster at aol.com Thanks Bob Maginnis Cresent City Homebrewers Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 16:25:28 -0600 From: evanms at lcac1.loras.edu (Mark Evans) Subject: Guardian Humulus saves the day On friday a storm blew through Dubuque, Ia. which brought 50 mph winds, torrential rains, and golf ball to baseball sized hail. Thousands of cars, windshields, windows, and homes--especially the vinyl/metal sided ones--were damaged. Plants and crops were stripped off their stalks. Window and windshield installer crews from other states came in to help with the clean-up. My five hop poles and strings had only a hand full of cones knocked off; one vine was severed at the ground, so any harvestable cones will be removed today. Considering the poles are 20+ feet tall, I was amazed that none blew down. The Humulus Lupulus god was watching over us that day. (a very hoppy brewer) mark evans Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 17:23:28 EDT From: CliffR3500 at aol.com Subject: Going to Portland/Re: When to add fruit Hello All, I am going to Portland, OR in mid-September and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions about brew-pubs/ micro-breweries that I should seek out. > What about soaking the fruit in a mixture of alcohol and > corn sugar before adding to the primary? Anybody done this? > It seems that it would create a syrup with more intense > fruit flavors drawn out, and have the side benefit of > sterilizing the fruit to some degree... I bought a juice-extractor/steamer-cooker called a Mehu-Maija. It is basically a three level device with a pan for boiling water on the bottom, a juice collecting pan above that and a strainer on top to hold the fruit. This device uses steam to extract the juice of the fruit. For example, when I make a blackberry beer, I load the fruit into the Mehu-Maija and let it boil for about a half an hour. The resulting juice is sterilized by the heat and yet clear (getting a pectin haze has not been a problem with any fruit I have used so far). I originally thought that the juice would just be watered down, condensed steam, but it turns out that the juice is very fruity. You can add this at anytime to the fermentation. The best part about it is that it is very easy to bottle the sterile juice in a beer or champagne bottle to save for later brewings. If you are really into fruit beers, this thing is something that helps alot. Cliff Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 22:43:36 -400 (EDT) From: Mark Peacock <mpeacock at oeonline.com> Subject: Comparison of Wyeast #1098 & #1968/Summary of Holiday Brew Advice Here's the final results of my comparison between Wyeast's British Ale and London ESB Ale yeasts. For those of you just tuning in, last month I cooked up a straight-forward pale ale (90/10 pale malt/crystal malt with Fuggles hops). I split the batch in half, pitched one half with British Ale yeast and the other with London ESB. I then fermented the batches under identical conditions -- namely, sitting side-by-side in my basement. OG was 1.054. Primary fermentation lasted 3 days at 68 degrees F. Both batches started burping quickly, although the British ale batch burped at a greater rate than the ESB batch. On day 2 of primary, the British batch was still burping strong while the ESB batch sat silent. The ESB yeast had completely floc'd out of solution. I swirled the ESB batch a few times during over the next day, but it remained silent. At racking time, the British ale was still burping. The British SG was 1.014, the ESB SG 1.022. Day 1 of secondary found the situation reversed; the ESB was now giving about 1 burp per minute while the British sat quiet. The batches sat in the secondary for 14 days. At bottling, both SG's were 1.008. After three weeks in the bottle, my wife and I had a mini blind tasting. We poured three glasses for the other -- two of one batch, one of the other. The taster only had to identify which glass was different from the other two. The first round was very easy -- the ESB has a _very_ floral aroma. On the second round, we didn't allow ourselves to sniff for aroma; we concentrated on taste. In this round, we were again successful in identifying the unique glass. My wife said that the British batch tasted "flatter" than the ESB batch. I felt that the ESB batch has a sharper taste while the British batch has a blander taste, but with a fuller body, more mouth feel. I found this exercise to be very worthwhile. It was very interesting to taste the differences between yeast strains. - ---------- On a different note, As someone mentioned in a previous digest, it is getting to be the time to start thinking about holiday brews. Would some THREAD guru volunteer to spelunk through some past HBD's and post the summarized wisdom? I would do it myself except for: 1) I can't seem to get THREAD to read more than one HBD file, even when I wildcard and; 2) I'm traveling on business all next week and won't even see my computer until next weekend. Mark Peacock Birmingham, MI I'm not clever enough to deserve a sig line. Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 94 22:46:41 EDT From: Ash Baker <3AVHB at QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA> Subject: A call to UC Davis, Heriot-Watt, and Siebel graduates... ...or present students, for that matter. I would like know, if you can spare the time, what you think of the brewing education you received or are receiving. Do you think it's relevant? What are the professors like? Is Dr Lewis (to take a well known example) a good lecturer? Does he, as the common criticism goes, focus too much on Budweiser? What are the curricula biased towards: practical or scientific? How many people are in the programs? Does Heriot-Watt lean towards ales? or Siebel towards lagers? or is it even an issue? How difficult is the AME? What percent of graduates pass it? What are the job prospects like? Does becoming an Associate Member of the IOB make a huge difference, as far as finding employment is concerned? Do breweries actively recruit at any of these schools? What is life like at these institutions? What is the demographic makeup of the student body? &c, &c, &c. You get the picture. In short, if anyone associated with Siebel, UC Davis or Heriot-Watt can supply me with any information about what it's like at the schools, I would be extraordinarily grateful. Thanks in advance! Ash Baker ash at io.org -- Whitby, Ontario 3avhb at qucdn.queensu.ca -- Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Aug 94 02:20:19 U From: Mailer.MC1 at hesdmail.mmm.com Subject: INBOX Message (See Below) InBox Message Type: Error InBox Message Subject: Undeliverable message InBox Message Text Follows: Message not delivered to 'MC2' (Disk full) - ------------------------- Original Message Follows ------------------------- Message too large (greater than 30000 bytes). See enclosure! - ------------------------- RFC822 Header Follows ------------------------- Received: by hesdmail with SMTP/TCP;22 Aug 94 02:17:53 U Received: from pigseye.mmm.com by mmm ( 3M/SERC - 4.1/BDR-1.0) idAA00120; Mon, 22 Aug 94 02:28:36 CDT Errors-To: homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Received: by pigseye.mmm.com (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA01868; Mon, 22 Aug 94 02:21:13 CDT Errors-To: homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Errors-To: homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Received: from hpfcrdg.fc.hp.com by hpfcla.fc.hp.com with SMTP (1.37.109.4/15.5+IOS 3.20) id AA21200; Mon, 22 Aug 94 01:20:54 -0600 Received: by hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (1.36.108.4/15.5+IOS 3.22) id AA14973; Mon, 22 Aug 1994 01:00:51 -0600 Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 01:00:51 -0600 Message-Id: <9408220700.AA14973 at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com> To: homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com From: homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Request Address Only - No Articles) Reply-To: homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Posting Address Only - No Requests) Errors-To: homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Precedence: bulk Subject: Homebrew Digest #1507 (August 22, 1994) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 09:37:10 +0000 From: Brian Gowland <B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk> (Tel +44 784 443167) Subject: Re: Chill Haze In HBD 1507, David Allison 225-5764 <ALLISON.DAVID at A1GW.GENE.COM> wrote: > > I have a chill haze problem with my Pale Ales that I was hoping to get > some help from HBD-land. [Rest deleted] > Chill haze is one form of protein haze and is the result of an excess of undegraded proteins or permanently soluble nitrogen in the beer. This could possibly be an indication of poor malt or it could be as a result of your techniques. The boiling stage is the point where proteins should be being dealt with. I boil vigorously for two hours and also use Irish Moss which helps precipitate proteins from the wort. Also, forced cooling after the boil helps more proteins precipitate out. Protein hazes, in general, will not disappear over time in the way that yeast etc. will settle out of a beer during conditioning. It is possible to help clear protein hazes with auxilliary finings (not the same as normal finings) but it shouldn't be neccessary if a good boil is done and if Irish Moss is used during the boil. All ales will show protein haze to an extent if chilled excessively - you mention chilling to 34F which will only make the haze worse. Us Brits. are often considered strange by people from the US because we drink our beers relatively warm - if you're chilling your Pale Ales too much then you may never be free of protein hazes unless you use aux. finings - not my personal choice. Protein hazes only effect the look of the beer - they do not effect the taste or stability. When I worked in a pub, if people made comments about hazes on the ales, our standard reply was "What do you want to do? Read your newspaper through it?". I know some people have problems with beer that isn't crystal clear - I don't and actually consider absolute clarity as being false. If I do get a slight haze on my beers, I just explain the science to my friends and point out that its not a problem and wont cause upset stomachs etc. They're normally happy with this - especially after they taste it! Cheers, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 09:59:28 +0000 From: Brian Gowland <B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk> (Tel +44 784 443167) Subject: Yeast Lab's London Ale Liquid Yeast Has anyone any comments on this yeast? I bought some on Saturday afternoon and made a starter culture as per the instructions. It says that activity should be expected at 12 hours and that it should be ready for use at 12-24 hours. On Sunday morning when starting to brew there was absolutely no activity in the starter bottle (18 hours after making the starter). After making the brew and cooling the wort, there was only a very small amount of activity (29 hours after making the starter). I considered the activity to be just enough to allow pitching and figured that as it had slowly been picking up over the previous few hours that it should be OK. It was pitched at 9pm last night and at 8am this morning there was not much in the way of any activity in the beer. Is this a poor quality yeast or have I just got a duff batch? I used the same methods as for my last 8 batches of brew which have all been successful. At this rate, I shall go back to using dried packet yeasts - I've had no problems with them. Cheers, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 07:48:12 EST From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo at homebrew.mitre.org> Subject: Re: Breweries in Antarctica ? richard childers writes: >Unfortunately, I can't hack using a phone book. Can everyone give me some >pointers to all those great breweries you've found crawling around in the >South American and Antarctic continents ? Thanks for the humor attempt. I know that these types of requests are annoying, but as someone who succumbs to *making* them and *answering* them from time to time, let me answer seriously (sure). Ideally, from my point of view, each post would say: "I looked in the publist on sierra and found three brewpubs in Main City, State. I would appreciate first-hand info on newer brewpubs not in the list as well as these three, since I will only have time to visit two of them. I will not summarize to the Digest, but will provide summaries to those who ask for them, since this localized information is not of general interest." I heartily thank all those who have given me info and mention a couple of reasons why a phone book and even a publist is insufficient. 1) I don't have access to a phone book from that far away (OK, one of the larger libraries in the area should have it, but I'm lazy). The long-distance operators prefer a name to "any brewpubs in the general vicinity". 2) I don't know the geography. When I went to San Diego, I could look up the San Diego brewpubs, but needed local help to find out that La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Del Mar, and other such locations are actually part of San Diego. 3) I may be traveling with my family or by myself and appreciate comments like "that place has good beer, but I wouldn't take my kids" or "it's a yuppy hangout" (in which case my father-in-law would probably appreciate going there with me). John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 07:55:45 -0500 (EST) From: CLAY at prism.clemson.edu Subject: wine forgive me for mentioning the w-word in this forum... Is there a "wine- making digest" or similar. Thanks. C. C. Lay James Island, SC Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 8:27:56 -0400 (EDT) From: GONTAREK at FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV Subject: Bars/good beer on the Cape Hello all! I will be vacationing on Cape Cod for ten days, and I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has advice on good bars/ good beer/etc. either on the Cape, the Vineyard, or Nantucket. I will be leaving on Wednesday, so a speedy reply would be greatly appreciated. TIA! Rick Gontarek Gontarek at ncifcrf.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 08:38:56 -0500 (EST) From: CLAY at prism.clemson.edu Subject: ants, hopped photo film 1) Coyote - boric acid will kill your plants. As with all else, the dose makes the poison. Baits are usually the best method of long-term ant control. Ants generally fall into two groups, trophically speaking. Some prefer sugars and carbos, some prefer lipids and proteins. Yours may be ffeding on sap (sugars) or perhaps oils from the hop plants (which is kinda neat, in my entomological opinion - hophead ants). Find a sugar- based bait (Drax, etc.) or an oil-based one (Amdro, Logic, etc.) and feed 'em their last meal. P.S. Any ant that eats the bait will be affected - don't know if you are concerned about preserving the local ant fauna... 2) Glenace - track down your local chemical or pesticide-supply outfit and buy a set of large Viton or barrier-laminate chemical-resistant gloves. Put your hops in 'em, fold the glove over a few time, and clothes-pin it shut. (I am assuming that you don't have TONS of hops in the freezer.) That's the cheapest way to buy high-tech chemical-resistant materials. You may also be able to find larger pouches made of the stuff used for storing respirators, emergency gear, etc, in contaminated environments (i.e. they'll keep emergency gear in a viton bag in a compartment on cropdusters, tractors, etc.) Sorry I don't have a source readily at hand. All - apologies for taking up space. I don't have access to commercial services w/out getting nasty-grams from Big Brother. regards, C. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 7:43:53 CDT From: "Charles S. Jackson" <sjackson at ftmcclln-amedd.army.mil> Subject: credentials My fellow brewers, A small request from a new brewer who has benefitted immensely from this learned group and loves to read the discussions of various technical issues. I am severly chemically-challenged and frequently must rely on the conclusions of the poster. Sometimes there is enough noise to weigh the issue on the volume of support, but often not. At the risk of inviting horn-tooting, perhaps highly technical posts could be prefaced by the writers credentials. Mind you, I don't solicit a CV, but rather a brief introduction. This would help those of us who want to make better beer and become better informed,but have difficulty deciding who to listen more closely to. If this request is way off base then feel free to flame me into charcoal, but kindly do in my mail box (you can't overfill my box) and not on HBD. As usual if there is enough spirited response i will summarize. Any similarly challenged folks who concur please tell me. Steve - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brewing beer is far more exciting when it is both a hobby AND a felony! The Alabama Outlaw Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 09:30:01 -0400 From: "Phillip Seitz" <p00644 at psilink.com> Subject: Spirit of Belgium contest and conference Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP) is pleased to announce the Spirit of Belgium conference and homebrew contest, the first US event ever to focus on Belgian beer and brewing. The conference will be held on November 11 and 12, 1994, with the contest on November 12. Contest entries for the AHA sanctioned competition will be accepted in the following categories: Belgian ale Belgian strong ale White beer Double Triple Oud bruin (Flanders brown) Oud bruin with fruit pLambic and Gueuze pLambic and Gueuze with fruit We are making every effort to assure that your valuable Belgian-style beers will get the best judging and feedback possible. We've already held a month-long advanced training course for SOB judges, and will be calling on several of our distinguished conference speakers and visitors to judge Best of Show. Ribbons will be awarded to all winners. The deadline for contest entries is October 31, so there's still time to brew something special for the contest. If you'd like a packet containing contest entry materials and conference registration forms, send me your address via e-mail. We expect to do our first mailing within a week. For those who might be able to join us in the Washington, D.C. area for the conference, here's some additional information: Spirit of Belgium Conference and Homebrew Competition Falls Church, Virginia 11-12 November 1994 This is the first ever two-day US event focused entirely on Belgian beer and brewing. The Spirit of Belgium is designed to provide technical coverage of Belgian beer styles and how to brew them, as well as an opportunity for participants to experience the rich cultural history associated with Belgian beer and brewing. AGENDA: Friday, 11 Nov 94 11:00am-1:00pm Check-in and Registration 1:00pm-5:00pm Technical Sessions Pierre Rajotte, author and brewing consultant, will discuss practical tips and techniques for yeast handling, high gravity brewing, and refermentation in the bottle. Daniel McConnell, PhD, microbiologist and owner of the Yeast Culture Kit Company, will lecture on yeast metabolism and the contribution of metabolic byproducts to beer flavor. Phillippe Perpete, Brewing scientist, Universite Catholique de Louvain Laboratory of Brewing Science, will provide a review of research on refermentation in bottles and kegs. Speaker X will review Belgian beer styles and discuss recipe formulation. 7:00pm-10:00pm Reception featuring beers of Belgium. Light hors d+oerves will be served to complement the accompanying beers. Various importers will be represented. Saturday, 12 Nov 94 8:00am-2:00pm Spirit of Belgium Homebrew Competition Judging (Judges and Stewards only, please. Others may use this time to visit area Microbreweries (Dominion and Potomac River) and Brewpubs (Cap City, Bardo, and a number of new places slated to open soon). The contest is open for all AHA Belgian Beer styles. Entry deadline is Oct 31, 1994. Anyone interested in entering or judging may contact Phil Seitz at p00644 at psilink.com for entry forms and information. Preference for judging slots will be given to experienced judges attending the conference. 2:30pm-3:30pm Celis Tasting. A tasting of products from the Celis Brewery in Austin, TX hosted by brewery representatives. The brewery plans to have a product brewed with *raspberries* included in the tasting. 4:00pm-5:00pm Illustrated lecture on the history of beer and brewing in Belgium. 6:00pm-7:30pm Spirit of Belgium Banquet. A five course, authentic Belgian banquet accompanied by six beers presented by importer Vanberg and DeWulf. Here is the tentative lineup: Mesclun served in Dill Crouton with Raspberry Viniagrette -- Geueze Boon Cream of Leek Soup -- Affligem Tripel Steamed Mussels with Garlic and Chives -- Saison Dupont Carbonnade Flammande with baby vegetables -- Rodenbach Grand Cru Chocolate Mousse -- Vintage Framboise Boon After Dinner -- Scaldis 7:30pm-8:00pm Spirit of Belgium Homebrew Competition Awards Ceremony. 8:00pm-? Hospitality and Beer Sampling Cost is $125 per person for the entire event, $50 for the banquet only. The venue for the event is the Ramada Inn in Tyson's Corner. The hotel will provide rooms at a special conference rate of $65 (single or double) for Friday and Saturday nights. Many other surprises are in the works. We will be mailing out registration packs in the next week or so. Anyone who wants to request one should contact Tim Artz, Charlie Gow or me with a mailing address. Attendance will be limited to about 200 due to site and meal logistics, so get your requests for info in soon. Contact: Charlie Gow: Phone (703)319-9142, e-mail cgow at mailstorm.dot.gov Tim Artz: Phone (703)339-8028, Fax (703)339-8028, e-mail tartz at btg.btg.com Phil Seitz: e-mail p00644 at psilink.com [Note to homebrew club members; you are welcome to reproduce this information in your club newsletters if you think it would be of interest to your members] Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 09:44:52 -0400 (EDT) From: PAULDORE at delphi.com Subject: Wyeast Ale Yeasts I am looking into brewing an English Ale, and want to keep it within the true style of a British Ale using English Malts and hops. My question is there seem to be a few different English Ale yeasts made by Wyeast, which one should I use and why?? Also the recipe i have calls for Fuggles and Kent hops. Are these correct to keep with in style? Pauldore at delphi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 10:09:38 EST From: GKRAUS at UV1.IM.MED.UMICH.EDU Subject: California Lager Yeast? This is my first posting to the HBD. I'm a true novice to home brewing (having just started my third batch), and would like to try a lager. I don't have the frig space or equipment for cooling the fermentation, but have been told that Wyeast 1214 will work at 60-65 degrees (basement temps) as well as Wyeast 2112. These are both supposed to be "California lager yeasts"? I haven't been able to find either locally but did find a California Lager yeast L35. Are ALL California lager yeast warmer fermenting yeasts. The supply store that carries L35 didn't really know anything about it. Thanks! Gene Kraus E-Mail to gkraus at med.umich.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 9:23:09 EDT From: scox at factset.com (Sean C. Cox) Subject: Aluminum pots Nothing like beating a dead horse, but... A couple years ago, back in college, one of my roommates made some pasta sauce in an aluminum pot, we ate about half, and then let the remaning parts "rest" in the pot for about 2 weeks. We only noticed becaus of the little red dots that we kept finding in the fridge (where it was stored). When we finally took it out to clean it (it was kinda green) we noticed about a dozen BB sized holes (and more smaller ones) in the pot! The tomatoes had eaten the aluminum to the point that it had gone through the sides! Now I'll bet that tomato sauce is more acidic than wort, but I also know that wort-boiling temps are way higher than those in that fridge. The result of this is that you can (will?) end up with aluminum in your beer. Is it a health risk? I'm not the person to ask, but I've SEEN the stuff dissolved into an acidic solution at refrigerator temps, so I'd bet it'd do the same (if not better) at boiling. -- Sean =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= =*=*= Sean Cox *=*=*=* (defun question () *=*=*=*=*= =*=*= FactSet Data Systems *=*=*=* (or (* 2 b) (not (* 2 b)))) *=*=*=*=*= =*=*= scox at factset.com *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*EOT Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 09:58:10 CST From: "John L. Isenhour" <isenhour at lambic.fnal.gov> Subject: alz and AL I dont keep references like this in my head, but there was an article in Science several months ago that indicated the original studies that found elevated AL concentrations in the cerebral plaque of alzheimers patients was an artifact introduced by the testing process. - -- John Isenhour renaissance scientist and AHA/HWBTA National Beer Judge home: john at hopduvel.chi.il.us work: isenhour at lambic.fnal.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 11:40:33 -0400 From: "Phillip Seitz" <p00644 at psilink.com> Subject: Spirit of Belgium Conference footnote! A number of people have commented on the Conference starting on a Friday. Not to worry! November 11 is the Friday of Veteran's Day weekend, a three day weekend with Friday off. Interested participants could travel on Thursday evening or Friday morning, and return on Sunday. Now on with the show! Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 10:38:12 CDT From: Larry Bristol <LBRISTOL at SYSUBMC.BMC.COM> Subject: Fuller's ESB Clone In a recent HBD, Chuck Mryglot requested recipes for cloning Fuller's ESB. My email bounced so I decided to post my recipe publicly. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fuller's ESB is by far and away my favorite (commercial) beer, and it has always been a high priority with me to find a way to clone it. Several attempts have brought forth some very pleasing beers, but they never quite matched up to the taste of the commercial variety. Until the most recent attempt, that is! I think I have a very close clone on tap right now. I keg rather than bottle, and I am comparing this brew to the draught Fuller's that is available in the Houston area; I would suspect (hope, anyway) that the same recipe, if bottled, would be comparable to the bottled Fuller's ESB species. All-grain recipe for 5 US gallons: 12# British pale ale malt 1oz Centennial hops (11.2% AA) 1.5# British light carapils 1oz British fuggles (4.0% AA) 1# British medium crystal 0.25oz Kent Goldings (5.2% AA) 1/3 oz Burton water salts (treatment for very soft water) Wyeast #1968 (London ESB) Mash at 154F (high temp to promote dextrins) for 60 mins or until starch test negative. Sparge to collect 6 gallons. Boil for 20 minutes before hop addition. Boil centennials for 60 mins; add fuggles when 15 mins remain; goldings for dry hopping in secondary. I calculate the hop rate at 12.2 HBU. Incidentally, I am just about 125% sure that Fuller's does *NOT* use centennials in their ESB. This recipe is not an attempt to duplicate their processing or ingredients, just the flavor of the finished product. So no flames about how this could not possibly be an authentic recipe, please! <g> A reasonable substitute (and probably closer to reality) would be to use all fuggles (about 2.75 oz for equivalent bittering). I got the following vital statistics: O.G. - 1.060 R.G. - 1.018 (after 3 days in primary at 72F) F.G. - 1.016 (30 days in secondary at 72F) I kegged and force carbonated at 8psi/40F, tapping after 18 days. At first, I was concerned that the dry hops had given it too much of a hop character, certainly more than present on the target. But after a few more days, the hops had blended and softened quite a bit and seems to . be about right. If anything is wrong with the recipe, I think it gives a bit more body than Fuller's, so I will probably cut back slightly (maybe reduce the carapils from 1.5# to only 1#) next time. I think the main reason this recipe seems to have worked as well as it did has to be attributed to the Wyeast #1968. According to some rumors I have heard, this actually *IS* Fuller's yeast! I don't know about that, but it certainly has aromas and properties that remind me of Fuller's during the fermentation process. It certainly smelled like Fuller's ESB at racking and at kegging! I have subsequently learned that it is most probably a derivative of their yeast, but not exactly the same thing they use. Another local homebrewer claims to have a source for the "real thing" which I hope to try out on the next batch. I would love to hear about any other recipes you get, and also about the results you get with this or any other recipes! HAPPY BREWING! - ------------------------------------------------------------ Larry Bristol | A true Hitchhiker SYSUBMC.BMC.COM | always knows where (713)274-7802 | his towel is. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 11:13:19 -0500 (CDT) From: "Andy Schultz - DP at 290-1490" <ASCHULTZ at MADMAX.MPR.ORG> Subject: old pecuilar/caledonia double dark /treacle I just picked up 2 lbs of Lyles treacle from a specialty store that is going out of business locally. I generally brew IPA's and brown ales and don't really know what to do with it, although I love most styles - I guess I've just been in a rut...... Any extract based suggestions? Also, I just had my first taste of Old Peculiar and Caledonia Double dark ale, and said YUM! many times for each of these. I loved the apple note (for lack of a better term) in the Peculiar (how can I duplicate this - DANG it's good!) and taste of what I think is brown sugar, molassass (or is it treacle!) in the Caledonia. Any extract based recipie suggestions for these? Private email fine if not of general interest - TIA |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andy Schultz Internet: ASCHULTZ at MPR.ORG | | Minnesota Public Radio Phone: 612-290-1490 | | 'You can play sharp or flat in tune' : Ornette Coleman | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Return to table of contents
Date: 18 Aug 1994 12:26:17 U From: "Brian Ehret" <Brian_Ehret at macmail.eng.gulfaero.com> Subject: Re:Tumbleweed Grille & Microbrewery Chris Lovelace (lovelace at pop.nih.gov) asked: >I'm headed down to visit my parents in Winston-Salem, NC later this week >and I'm thinking about a side trip to Boone to check out the Tumbleweed >brewpub. Does anyone know where in Boone it is located? Does anyone know >if its possible to get a tour of their brewing facilities? I went there over the July 4th weekend. They had a Black Cherry Kriek, a stout, and Amber Ale, and a ? Pale Ale ?. I believe that they change their selection frequently. They have a sampler available (I didn't see it in the menu) which gives you a taste of each without ordering a full mug of each. They are located on Hwy 321 (122 Blowing Rock Rd.-(704) 264-7111) across the street from Appalachian State College at the northwest end of what appears to be the main business/tourist district. I asked if I could see their brewing setup and was told "NO." :( Oh, well, the beer and food were good. Enjoy the trip!! Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Aug 1994 09:33:09 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Re Copper Boiler Kevin Cawley wrote about his copper boiler: It was most likely plated with Tin, which is not good for brewing. The copper is fine, but you need to get the Tin out of there. Aidan-the-Kloset-Kiwi had the same problem and I recommended dissolving the tin out using salt water and a battery. White Distilled Vinegar would probably work too. How did it work for you, Aidan? John J. Palmer - MDA-SSD M&P palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com Metallurgist for International Space Station Alpha >My file, How to Brew Your First Beer, containing info on equipment, terms, brewing processes and troubleshooting, is available via FTP from Homebrew/Docs at sierra.stanford.edu or via WWW on Spencer's Beer Page at http://guraldi.hgp.med.umich.edu/Beer/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 12:32:02 EDT From: Nancy.Renner at um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Sparge volume, bananas in weizen From *Jeff* Renner Lowell Hart has a problem with "leaving a lot of sugar on the grain" after he has sparged enough volume. He doesn't want to throw all of that out, and wonders how to get more of the sugar in the first runnings. Lowell, I think the solution (no pun) to your problem will become apparent if you look at it differently. You have too much grain! Your rate of extraction is very good, so your recipe is good for maybe six gallons of wort, not five. Cut down on your grain bill (and maybe hops) until you have the amount of sparge you want at the appropriate gravity, making sure that your final runnings stay below pH 5.8 or so and are about SG 1.006 or 8. JohnNewYrk doesn't like bananas in his weizen. Neither do I. You've already suggested three good changes that should work, higher pitching rate, proper wort aeration and cutting your fermentation temp from the low 70s to the low 60s. Your procedure has optimized bananas, as well as the higher alcohols (fusels), which cause headaches. Use a good weizen yeast (single strain YeastLab or Wyeast), make a starter, then aerate and ferment 10 degrees cooler. It's worked well for me. Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 10:37:48 -0700 From: BRCMRC.BRMAIN.MMENDENH at EMAIL.STATE.UT.US Subject: dishwasher sanitation/yeast starter Could anyone out there with experience and success in cleaning or sanitizing bottles in a dishwasher share the technique? While giving this a little thought over the last few days I've pondered a couple of questions: Will Cascade (the soap, not the hops) and my dishwasher set on "extra hot" do the trick? Should I soak bottles in a bleach solution beforehand and rinse and drip-dry in the dishwasher afterward? Can I use bleach in the dishwasher as a sanitizer or does hot water eliminate the sanitizing qualities of the bleach (or is there another sanitizing agent that works well with hot water)? Or, should I take my laboriously collected bottle supply (entailed dedicated and exhaustive consumption efforts) to the recycling center and buy a keg set-up? I don't sense much interest out there so a private e-mail response is fine. Regarding yeast starters, I used a 1-qt. starter for the first time with my last batch and the reduced lag time over pitching just the Wyeast packet volume has sold me on the necessity of starters. My question is: Should I use the starter at high kraeusen (about 24 hrs. after I pitched) and pitch the entire 1 qt. volume into the wort (this is what I did with my last beer) or should I wait until the yeast has settled out of suspension, pour off the liquid and just pitch the yeast slurry? Will my lag times be similar with either method? Patiently awaiting a response. . . Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 09:34:44 PDT From: Darryl Richman <darrylri at microsoft.com> Subject: RE: More on lautering rates It has become clear that the information I sent last week to the HBD could use a bit of clarification. In HBD #1506, I said: > One of the interesting things I learned while researching "Bock", and > which I included in the book, is that the folks at Weihenstephan have a > general recommendation for lautering decoction mashes at a pretty slow > rate, which is based on the surface area of the lauter tun (assuming a > uniform depth and a uniform drainage). By specifying the rate per > square area, they are really describing a particular flow rate of fluid > through the bed. The rate recommended was approximately 1 gallon / (6 > minute * square foot) to start, speeding up to 1/4 as the wort thins > out. (I'm quoting from memory, always a dangerous thing.) These > figures are quoted from volume 2 of Narziss' "Die Technologie der > Bierbereitung". Also, Narziss indicates a shallower bed for decoction > mashes than Hough et al in "Malting and Brewing Science" do for > infusion mashes. Note that these values are flow rate coefficients. So, 0.18 gal/ ft^2 min (for example) must be multiplied by your lauter tun's cross section to get a recommend flow rate. If you are using a Sankey keg for a lauter tun, it has a diameter of 16 inches => 1.4 ft^2 of cross sectional area. Therefore, an initial outflow rate should be about 1.4 ft^2 * 0.18 gal/ft^2 min = 0.25 gal/min. If you used this one rate for the entire lautering, of say 15 gallons, then it would take 15 gal / (0.25 gal/min) => 60 min, or 1 hour. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to mail to me. Thanks, and sorry for any confusion. --Darryl Richman Return to table of contents
Date: Mon Aug 22 12:54:04 1994 From: <DYOUNG at fcc.gov> (Young, Douglas ) Subject: 3 Gal. Cornelius Kegs Anybody out there have a good source for 3 gal. Cornelius kegs? They are a convenient size for my beer refrigerator. Please e-mail me directly with any addresses, phone numbers, price info, etc. TIA Doug Young dyoung at fcc.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 94 11:01:58 MDT From: ldent at crash.Colorado.EDU (Logan Dent) Subject: Learning Tastes in Beer Follow-up Hello, All! I asked a question a few weeks ago about how to learn about the tastes in beer. I mentioned a couple of examples, namely phenols and fusel alcohols. I got a reply from Spencer Thomas with suggestions for these two tastes. Unfortunately, his was the only reply I recieved. It was very helpful, but I was hoping for something that addressed many of the tastes one finds in beer. I looked at the BJCP study guide, but that was more greared to refreshing one's memory. If anyone knows of a good way to go about learing these tastes, I would appreciate any suggestions. Logan Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 1994 17:56:00 GMT From: jeff.guillet at lcabin.com (Jeff Guillet) Subject: Steam Beer Suggestions I am planning on making my first attempt at a Steam beer this weekend. It's pretty much based on CP's "The Sun Has Left Us On Time" Steam beer recipe. 8 lb Alexender's Pale LME .5 lb 10L Crystal Malt 1.5 oz Northern Brewer Whole Hops (full boil) .5 oz Northern Brewer Whole Hops (finishing) Wyeast 2112 (California Lager) Does anyone have any tips on using this yeast? I have no refrigeration equipment available, but that's what Steam beer is all about isn't it? Do you think I should dry hop this batch? Thanks in advance... Jeff =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jeff Guillet - Pacifica, CA - <j.guillet at lcabin.com> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - --- * CMPQwk #1.4* UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1509, 08/24/94