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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Bitter almond flavor ("Schrempp, Michael")
  Unidentified Wheat Grain ("Houseman, David L")
  RE:  Stella Artois (Brian Levetzow)
  Home Freezers and Rust (G Wessel)
  Got my brew kit!!!! ("Tray Bourgoyne")
  Counterflow chiller Sanitizing (Stephen Johnson)
  CO2 sources (GordonRick)
  malt (Clifton Moore)
  Extract choices ("R. Schaffer-Neitz")


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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 05:45:39 -0800
From: "Schrempp, Michael" <michael.schrempp at intel.com>
Subject: Bitter almond flavor

Just put a Pilsner in bottles. At racking and bottling, it shows a slight
almond flavor. Not too bitter, just almond. Is this an off flavor, or a
desired flavor? The grain bill was 2 row weyermans, flaked barley, and
crystal. I did a triple decoction (9 hours from lighting the stove to
fermenter). 

Mike Schrempp
Gig Harbor, WA


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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 11:36:34 -0600
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Unidentified Wheat Grain

What Dan Ippolito has is most likely unmalted wheat.  This could be use to
make Wits or Lambics, both of which use unmalted wheat for a large
proporation of the grain bill.  Smaller quantities could be use as an
adjunct in a number of ales.  It might be hard Winter wheat or a softer
wheat, so it might be ideal or not.  But it's worth a shot.  Sounds like a
find.  

Dave Houseman
SE PA



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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 13:25:57 -0500
From: Brian Levetzow <levetzowbt at home.com>
Subject: RE:  Stella Artois

Roger writes:

>A friend asked if I could make a Stella Artois and I've never had the
>beer. Anyone have any suggestions on a recipe?

>From http://www.stella-artois.co.uk/home.php?id=11

Stella Artois is renowned as a quality beer brewed for an average
of 6-11 days longer than most other beers using the finest
quality hops and barley including Bohemian Saas hops. 
It is these Saas Hops that give Stella its distinctive full flavour.
At Stella Artois we believe in quality at the heart of everything we
do right down to the delivery of the perfect pint in your local pub.
We have even introduced The Stella Mobile School of Excellence
to maintain our reputation for great beer. 
The perfect pint of Stella should be served at 6-8 degrees
centigrade to ensure the full flavour of the beer.

With that in mind, here's a recipe I found online.  The recipe text
doesn't quite match the ingredients listed.  I think the "Wyeast Munich
Lager Yeast" listing is actually Saaz hops...

http://www.byob.com/byob/stellart.htm

Enjoy!
- -- 
+++++++++++++++
Brian Levetzow
~
Laurel, MD
[425.7, 118.5] Apparent Rennerian


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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 17:58:32 -0600
From: george at ruraltel.net (G Wessel)
Subject: Home Freezers and Rust

I'm new to home brewing and do not completely understand what is being 
done with the freezers.  But as I understand it you are placing your 
fermenter in the freezer to keep it cool while it ferments.  The 
fermenter releases CO2 and H2O into the freezer, creating the rust and 
corrosion.

Why not drill a hole through the side of the freezer and vent the CO2 
and H2O into the outside air instead of inside the freezer?

Like I said, I do not understand exactly what you are doing with the 
freezers.  I would appreciate it if someone would explain if I have it 
all wrong.

Thanks
George



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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 22:35:50 -0600
From: "Tray Bourgoyne" <tray at netdoor.com>
Subject: Got my brew kit!!!!

WooHoo!! Santa was kind to me and gave me a beer homebrewing kit!

Thanks to suggestions by everyone I got a intermediate kit.

Now I need suggestions on what I should brew for my first batch. I would
like to start with something that is mild, and not to complicated.

Suggestions? Recommendations? Premonitions?

Thanks,

Tray Bourgoyne
Raymond, MS.



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Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 12:37:06 -0600
From: Stephen Johnson <Stephen.Johnson at vanderbilt.edu>
Subject: Counterflow chiller Sanitizing

Thanks to Dean Fikar in Fort Worth for the suggestions on leaving out the
Star San final rinse cycle of my counterflow chiller in my brewing. The one
problem/complication I have in terms of sanitizing my pump the way he does
by pumping 200+ F wort through his system is that my 12 volt pump is not
rated to handle temps that hot. I believe the limit is 180 F. I don't risk
damaging my pump and usually wait to run wort through the pump when it gets
down to the 160 to 140 F range with the use of a standard immersion
chiller. When I do this step, I collect and save the hot water run-off
through the immersion chiller for use in clean-up later on. I could still
sanitize the counterflow chiller by immersing it in my hot liquor tank,
which usually is brought to a boil before cooling off before sparging. But
I would still be running the Star San through the pump anyway.

No one else has had any comments, although one of our brew club members who
has been through one of the pro brewers courses reminded me that after a
period of time of exposure to air (I'm not sure how long...several days I
think), Star San will lose it's acidity and its ability to sanitize and
consequently its reactivity to the copper (if any reactivity exists in the
first place).

So, he basically said not to worry.

Steve Johnson
Nashville, TN



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Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 13:41:22 EST
From: GordonRick at aol.com
Subject: CO2 sources

I didn't find anything in the archives, but I'm sure the subject has come up 
about "safe" sources for CO2. I have been using welding supply shops and Fire 
& Safety shops (refillers of fire extinguishers etc) for refilling my 5 lb. 
CO2 cylinders for several years. As I understand, the gas is the same as 
"food grade" but just not guaranteed to be x% pure. I have never had any 
problems and they do tend to be rather anal about the inspection dates and 
condition of the cylinders. Any wisdom from the collective?

Prost-
Rick
(583.5, 181.4 Rn)


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Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 10:39:17 -0900
From: Clifton Moore <clifton.moore at att.net>
Subject: malt

Dr. David McCoy,

I have just enjoyed your photographic tour of the malting and distillation 
works at Bowmore Distillery.  http://www.scotchdoc.com/scotchexp/slideshow/

I have one question, and wish to offer a clarification should your book yet 
be in a form that allows for tuning.

My interest is in the brewing of ale from barley grown here in interior 
Alaska.  I am thus intimately familiar with the malting and brewing steps.

The question: In brewing, the sweet wort is subjected to a lengthy boil 
prior to fermentation.  Is this stage in fact un-necessary  in the  whiskey 
production stages?

The clarification:  While some few sugars are produced during the 
germination phase of malt production, the primary function of germination 
is the production of enzymes that will be used later in the mash to reduce 
starches to sugars.  The mash is held at 150 deg. F to allow this process 
to take place.  The subsequent washing of the grist is in fact simple 
extraction of sugar as you stated in the photo texts.

This is a common confusion, probably resulting from the wonderful sweet 
taste of cured malt.

The reason for my question about the boil relates to some theories I have 
developed relating to the possible origins of distilled spirits.  I have 
read that brewers throughout history have struggled unsuccessfully with 
efforts to, "produce good ale from bad malt".  Being an active hobby 
malter, I am confident that pre-industrial malt quality would have been 
inconsistent at best.  The view I have developed involves the production of 
distillates as a compensation for the economic losses otherwise resulting 
from production of lesser quality malts and ales.

Serendipity ruled, and the resultant product eventually evolved into the 
highly desirable scotch whiskey of today.

I can take this model a step further, in that local climatic conditions 
would have made consistent production of high quality malt very 
difficult.  Malting was historically a cool season activity due to the need 
to keep the germinating seed cool.  Old style (passive convection) kilning 
is also greatly influenced by ambient weather conditions.  Both of these 
problems faced by all malters would have been far more problematic in the 
isles than in more stable climates within continental Europe.  Might this 
have lead to a greater motivation to produce distilled spirits in Scotland?

Thank you for offering up such an entertaining web page.


Clifton Moore
ASF/RGPS
Geophysical Institute
University of Alaska
Fairbanks AK 99775
(907) 474 7417
cmoore at gi.alaska.edu



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Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 15:58:24 -0500
From: "R. Schaffer-Neitz" <rschaff at ptd.net>
Subject: Extract choices

Greetings and Hail to the Beerg:

Having not yet been assimilated into the collective, I still need to ask
questions, rather than knowing immediately what we would think about any
given subject (my apologies to anyone who didn't get the references to Star
Trek: The Next Generation.  Please continue reading.  I want your opinions,
too.  I'm done now, I promise.).  Now to the questions.

I'm preparing my brew for New Year, 2003 and I want it to be a special brew.
I'm planning to make "Trumpet Major Old Ale" from BYO, April '01 and age it
a year (if I can keep from "sampling" it every week to see how it's coming
along).  My assumption is that this is supposed to be a Thomas Hardy clone.
My questions are these:

1)  The recipe calls for 8 lbs of Mountmellick light extract.  I've located
some in various places, but not at any of my regular retail/e-tail outlets.
How important do you all think the Mountmellick extract is?  Is it worth
putting myself on yet another mailing list for?  If not, does anyone have
any likely candidates for substitutes?

2)  The recipe also calls for 7.5 lbs light DME.  Would the extra
fermentibility of a Laaglander extract be beneficial to this beer or would I
simply be robbing it of residual sugars and mouthfeel for a little extra
alcohol?  Any other suggestions for DME?

3)  Since I'll be mashing some specialty grains (.5 lb crystal, .5 lb Breiss
special roast, 1 lb carapils) along with my extract, should I pay any
attention to the water chemistry or will it not be noticible with all that
extract?

Feel free to respond privately or publically if you'd like to offer me any
of your expertise.  Thanks!

Bob Schaffer-Neitz
Northumberland, PA
375, 102.6 apparent Rennerian



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