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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  Re: Las Vegas Beer (Scott Alfter)
  Rapadura sugar ("Cave, Jim")
  link of the week - Seefahrtsbier (bob.devine)
  Re: Rapadura Sugar (Don Trotter)
  clear vs dark (Mark Tigges)
  re: toasting malt ("Greg R")
  WZZ Homebrew Competition ("John C.Tull")
  re: spruce tips ("Jim Mccrillis")
  Spruce ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  RE: Weizenbier temps ("Rick Gordon")


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JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
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Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 19:58:02 -0800
From: Scott Alfter <scott at alfter.us>
Subject: Re: Las Vegas Beer

On Fri, 04 Feb 2005 at 10:02:40 -0600, Doug Hurst wrote:
> I don't think anyone has mentioned Chicago Brewing Company.  Yep, it's a 
> brewpub in Las Vegas.  It's a few miles west of the strip area.  I haven't 
> been there yet, but it seems to rate consistently well.
> 
> I can't seem to find a website for them but here's the address:
> 2201 S Fort Apache Rd   89177
> 702-254-3333

I run the website for the local homebrew club, and I've not run across a
site for them either.  I have a page up that lists who's serving what:

http://snafu.alfter.us/ontap.shtml

Jim Wilson at Barley's (he took over there when Michael Ferguson got hired
by BJ's a few months back) gathers up this info from the other breweries
about once a month and passes it along, so it should stay reasonably
up-to-date.  I should probably add street addresses for the benefit of
out-of-towners, but in the meantime, the website for the 2004 AHA convention
is still up and lists addresses and phone numbers for the local watering
holes:

http://www.beerandloafing.org/vegasbrews.shtml

It'll also give you driving directions from wherever you happen to be
staying in Las Vegas (plug in the address).

  _/_  Scott Alfter
 / v \ Visit the SNAFU website today!
(IIGS( http://snafu.alfter.us/      Top-posting!
 \_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden            >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?



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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 06:38:55 -0800
From: "Cave, Jim" <Cave at psc.org>
Subject: Rapadura sugar


>From the Grain and Salt Society Website...
"Rapadura sugar is the dried whole natural juice of the sugar cane.
Unlike any other sugar available on the market, Rapadura sugar is never
separated from its molasses content, thus it retains all the vitamins
and minerals available from sugar cane. Rapadura is filtered through a
stainless steel sieve, producing a fine-grained sugar that is easy to
use in cooking and baking. Third-party certified organic, Rapadura is
grown on sustainable family farms in Brazil. Use Rapadura measure for
measure as a replacement for refined sugar. Rapadura has a richer, more
complex flavor than refined sugar because of its mineral and vitamin
content"



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Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 17:01:05 +0000
From: bob.devine at att.net
Subject: link of the week - Seefahrtsbier

In German beer making, Seefahrtsbier is brewed on
the second Friday in February.  This year, the day
falls on Feb 11th.

Seefahrtsbier, which means "sea journey beer" or
maybe "see navigation beer", was made in the port
city of Bremen to celebrate a sailors festival.
The beer is very malty.

http://www.berliner-bierfestival.de/bierABC.htm

(Anybody with better German skills, please jump in here!
Original quote:
Dieses Bier wird heute nur noch am zweiten Freitag
des Februar im Bremer Ratskeller gebraut, zur
sogenannten Schiffermahlzeit. Fruher wurde es am
Ende des Winters den Seeleuten vor dem Auslaufen
dargeboten. Das Seefahrtsbier ist sehr malzig.)

Does anybody have a recipe for this beer?  The only
clues I've found are that it is dark and malty.
With such a great (although giggle-inducing) name
and story, I gotta make it!

Bob Devine


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Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 11:18:07 -0600
From: Don Trotter <donniestyle at directlink.net>
Subject: Re: Rapadura Sugar

Steve Smith asks about rapadura.

Since Charlie Papazian wrote about Rapadura, my brew partner and I
have been planning to brew with it.  The ingredient list is simply
"Melado," which translates to molasses or treacle.  My understanding
is that it is pure cane sugar that has been cooked down.  It is solid,
and comes in the form of a brick.  I have several, and they vary in
color from light caramel to dark chocolate.  The taste is very good.
I also have seen the powdered version sold in some food stores, and
I am told that it is not rapadura.  The price of that version turned
my head quickly.  The authentic version is very inexpensive, but I
had connections to get it.  I still have found no local retailers
carrying the authentic rapadura, even the Brazilian stores.

As far as brewing with it, we expect the contribution of color and
unfermentables to be high.  This is usually not the intent of using
sugar.  These factors need to be taken into account when planning
the recipe, which we have you yet done.  I expect to use the KISS
method.

Best wishes,
Don Trotter




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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 10:15:21 -0800
From: Mark Tigges <mtigges at shaw.ca>
Subject: clear vs dark


Writing this kind of message is not something I do often.  In online
communities, it's difficult for any good to come out of it simply
because of the propensity for flaming.  But, it's been bugging me for
a long time, so sorry if anyone gets annoyed.  

As I'm sure everyone reading is aware, in southern Germany there are
two mainstay lagers.  A pale lager, and a dark lager.  There are of
course others, but these are the mainstays.  They are so ubiquitous
that they are simply referred to as pale and dark.  In fact, if you go
to a donut shop and ask for a pale, they won't give you a cake flour
unglazed donut, they'll say they don't serve beer.  (Or they will hand
you a pale lager if they do in fact serve beer with their donuts.)

In German the word 'hell' means something quite different than it does
in English.  It means brightly, or clearly.  This is the word that they
use to name their pale lager.  As an adjective the word is
'helles'. So, as everybody knows, to order a draft pale lager; "ein
Helles von Fass bitte."

Now, here is where confusion reigns.  I don't know why, but it seems
everybody believes that the same wierdness behind hell/helles must
exist for their word for dark as well.  It does not.  Dark translates
to dunkel.  So in fact does darkly.  Both adjective and adverb are
spelt and pronounced the same.  And it is not dunkle.  So, a dark lager
is a dunkel, not a dunkels.  And most definitely not a dunkle, or a
dunkles.  Even if you want two dark lagers, it's still just "zwei
Dunkel." 

Sorry for speaking when not spoken to.

Mark.


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Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 14:03:18 -0600
From: "Greg R" <gmrbrewer at hotmail.com>
Subject: re: toasting malt

Jason Gross inquired about recipes calling for you to toast malt, and 
whether he could instead purchase malt that has already been toasted.  
Unless you really have a need to use malt you have toasted yourself, my 
suggestion is to use a commercial version instead.  My only attempt at home 
toasted malt left a nasty, acrid flavor in an historical porter I brewed 
last year that still has not aged out of the beer.  I did allow the toasted 
grain to mellow for a couple weeks before mashing with it, but it still 
added a harsh and objectionable flavor.  I wish I had used something else.

Commercial versions of toasted grains include Victory, Special Roast and 
Amber.  Crystal malts are not the same, they will add sweetness where the 
toasted malts are not sweet.

Cheers,

Greg in Chicago



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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 12:51:33 -0800
From: "John C.Tull" <jctull at gmail.com>
Subject: WZZ Homebrew Competition

Entries are being accepted from now until the 19th, so register and get 
your entries in ASAP. http://washoezz.net/competition.html

The WZZ HBC is open to all 2004 BJCP Styles, including meads and 
ciders. The Best of Show winner will win $50 gift certificates from 
both The Reno Homebrewer and Beer, Beer & More Beer, a commemorative 
half-yard glass, and they will have the opportunity to brew their 
recipe at Great Basin Brewing Company in Reno, Nevada. (See the 
competition web page for details.)

Judging will be held on 27 February at Silver Peak Brewery & Restaurant 
in Reno, Nevada. Entries will be accepted at our two drop-off locations 
from 5-19 February. Drop-off locations are The Reno Homebrewer and 
Beer, Beer and More Beer in Concord, CA. Entries that will be shipped 
are to be sent to the Reno Homebrewer to be received by 19 February. 
Directions and entry instructions are available on our web page linked 
below.

I encourage everyone to enter as many beers as they would like. Cost is 
$6 for the first entry, and $4 for each additional entry. Details and 
links to the online registration system are available from our web 
site: http://www.washoezz.net/competition.html

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Good luck!
John Tull
WZZ HBC Organizer



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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 14:01:16 -0800
From: "Jim Mccrillis" <gymemaq at earthlink.net>
Subject: re: spruce tips

A little anecdote re: spruce beers. I currently have an 80 shilling spruce
beer
I spruced up with an ounce of spruce extract in 5 gallons.  It turned out
very 
piney (yes, we're talking pine Sol here).  While I've not convinced any of
my 
drinking buddies to the same mind set, I love it.  But I can understand
their 
reticence.  
Nevertheless, I do have a question on this.  If one were to try to do
a more authentic spruce beer, where would one get spruce tips?  Are they
available commercially or does one have to go out and just gather them off 
of some old pine tree?  About how many would one need?


Jim McCrillis
gymemaq at earthlink.net






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Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 17:29:56 -0500
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <hbd at spencerwthomas.com>
Subject: Spruce

I've had many of Mike O'Brien's spruce beers, and I have to echo the
comments of others on them.  They have a good spruce flavor, but don't
remind me of retsina.  The spruce is there, but in a nice way, and
doesn't overpower the "beerness" of the beer.

Where do you get spruce tips?  You wait until spring, and you pick the
new light-green tips from the spruce branches.  This assumes you live in
the right part of the country, I guess.  The picture at this link,
http://snipurl.com/clrq, is a nice close-up of a bunch of new "spruce 
tips".  The photo at this link, http://snipurl.com/clrs, shows a young 
spruce tree with new growth: you can clearly see the difference between 
old and new.

Although Mike said that he thought you could use whole branches in his
mash-tun technique, I would use only the new growth if you're planning
on boiling it.  (Just my opinion, YMMV.)

=S



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Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 21:34:55 -0500
From: "Rick Gordon" <regordon at bellsouth.net>
Subject: RE: Weizenbier temps

Hmm. I have always used a mash rest  at  + or- 95 deg F (per Eric Warner's
book) for mash acidification and have normally had great results. Guess I
was also helping the ferulic acid formation (and hence clove character) per
Greg's post.

Don't ask about  4-vinyl *guano* formation - been there too :)

Prost!
Rick




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