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


Contents:
  Botulinum in canned malt extract? (Nir Navot)
  kegging (Tom Leith MIR/ERL 362-6965)
  Diminishing Yields (Mike Tavis)
  152 year old Porter yeast (Tony Willoughby)
  COPS and the still ("Mark Rich-mpr8a at acadvm1.uottawa.ca")
  Cops don't know hops ("Bob Jones")
  Storage / shelf life of Crushed Malt (JOHN - GTE - (617) 466-3681)
  growing hops (kstiles)
  re: Mettalic notes in Belgium Ales (Jim Busch)
  All (Charlie Papazian/Boulder)
  Proper Sparging Technique (Tom Clark -- COMNET 435-5045)
  Leaky Kegs (Jack Schmidling)
  Lab Grade plastics (Lou Casagrande)
  Alsan sterilizer (connell)
  Ninkasi article (Rick Myers)
  KETTLE MASHING (Jack Schmidling)
  Homebrew Digest #1051 (January 08, 1993) (Ray Peck)
  Sediment in Carboy (Markham R. Elliott)
  Re: cold plate question (jay marshall 283-5903)
  Germany suggestions? (David Arnold)
  counter-pressure bottle fillers (Tom McCollough)
  re: COPS (Paul dArmond)
  Botulinum in malt extract (Nir Navot)
  Homebrewing supplies in Munich (Nir Navot)
  Cat's Meow (Jim Bayer)
  Our image as brewers (mark)
  Homemade yeast hulls? (chris campanelli)


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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:         Fri, 08 Jan 93 11:41:23 +0200
From: Nir Navot <LCNAVOT at WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL>
Subject:      Botulinum in canned malt extract?

I just got a 1.5 kg can of a malt extract "with hopps added". It must have been
sitting for a couple of years in this guys store. I took it to a friend who has
some experience in homebrewing. As we opened the can the malt started oozing
out and some air/gas came out. We figured it might be the result of some
bacterial growth, but the malt looked and smeeled just normal. We autoclaved
the malt for 20 minutes. We used it for making 25 lit. of what would hopefully
become beer. Questions:
Has anyone seen bacterial growth in canned malt extract?
Can C. botulinum grow in the presence of hopps?
If there was any botulinum toxin in the malt extract do you know if we have
inactivated it by the 20 min autoclaving.
In short, should we not take the risk, dump this batch and start all over with
fresh malt extract (which will take me another month to get)???
Nir

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 07:56:06 -0600
From: trl at photos.wustl.edu (Tom Leith MIR/ERL 362-6965)
Subject: kegging

With respect to the pressure--carbonation level--temperature discussion:  In 
Miller's new book _Brewing the World's Greatest Beers_, he gives a set of 
guidelines on carbonation level for various styles, and a table of temperature 
vs. pressure that yields a given level.   And this past week, I borrowed a 
kegging system from my local homebrew supplier, IMO (Thanks, Roy), looked up IPA 
to get a carbonation level, and dialed-in 17 lbs on the pressure gague because 
of the cold temperature.  Voila, perfectly carbonated beer.  Gallons of it.  So, 
the table is really what you need.  The book has other things to reccommend it 
too -- I'd say its worth the price.  And I want a kegging system now.  Of 
course, I'll need a regerigerator too...

	t

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 09:05:53 est
From: mtavis at gemini.hyperdesk.com (Mike Tavis)
Subject: Diminishing Yields

I have just bottled my third attempt at all-grain brewing.  I've been
very happy with the results so far, but I have noticed a disturbing
trend -- my extract rates are plummeting with each batch.  My first
batch yielded 29 pts/lb/gal (a number I never expected to get the
first time).  My second batch dropped to 22 pts/lb/gal and my third
batch was a miserable 18 pts/lb/gal.

All three of these batches had different grains bills, but the
technique was pretty consistent.  In fact, I tried to do everything
the same as the first batch in order to recreate the results.
Everything seemed close to that first batch -- the crush was the
same, the pH was the same, the temperatures and times were the same --
but my yields are still going in the wrong direction.

After many different discussions, one of my brewing buddies asked,
"Has the temperature of the wort coming out of the lauter tun been the
same?"  

I said, "I never take that temperature.  I just make sure that the
sparge water is about 168-170."

He said, "Well depending on the size of the grain bed, the sparge
water will be lowered and if it gets too low it won't be effective at
rinsing the sugars from the grain."

I said. "That makes some sense because in each successive batch I have
used more grain -- specifically, the first batch used 8 lbs, the
second batch 10 lbs, and the third batch 12.5 lbs."

So what do you guys think?  Should my sparge water temperature depend
on the size of my grain bed or do I need to go back to the drawing
board?  Thanks. 

- -- Mike

  o o|  Michael Tavis, HyperDesk Corporation
  o o|  Suite 300, 2000 West Park Dr., Westboro, MA  01581
  ---+  E-mail: mike_t at hyperdesk.com        (508) 366-5050


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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 9:08:37 EST
From: twilloug at brynmawr.webo.dg.com (Tony Willoughby)
Subject: 152 year old Porter yeast


I'm posting this for a friend of mine, John Reed.  
His e-mail address is: johnr at ci.com

================

I read an excerpt from the December 17 issue of "Nature" which describes
ancient microbes.  The article mentions a *152 year old Porter yeast* 
which was discovered in a shipwreck from 1825.  The divers recovered a
bottle of porter which still contained yeast.  The yeast was cultured and
now is supposedly used in a commercial porter!

I would love to try that Porter!  

Does anyone have a clue what porter uses this 152 year old yeast?

Thanks!

================

- -- 
Tony Willoughby               | He that buys land buys many stones.
twilloug at brynmawr.webo.dg.com |    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
                              | He that buys eggs buys many shells,
                              |    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.
                              |                       - An Old English Saw

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Date:         Fri, 08 Jan 93 09:43:52 EST
From: "Mark Rich-mpr8a at acadvm1.uottawa.ca" <MPR8A at acadvm1.uottawa.ca>
Subject:      COPS and the still


At the risk of supporting gung-ho policemen...

 For those of you unfamiliar with marijuana culture, yes; dope and a still
go hand in hand. If you take high percentage grain alcohol and soak marijuana
in it; the oils from the plant dissolve into the liquid. If you then evaporate
the alcohol you are left with a very sellable product- pot oil. (I have a frien
d who does this). I do not defend the cops in their actions on that particular
bust (they did seem pretty ignorant of what they stumbled onto), but if this
guy was growing large quantities of grass and had brewing equipment around,the
odds are pretty good he was distilling for oil producing purposes.

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 07:13:40 PST
From: "Bob Jones" <bjones at novax.llnl.gov>
Subject: Cops don't know hops

Maybe those plants growing in the guys closet were HOPS! Don't they look 
the same when very young plants? Lets give this poor innocent brewer every 
break possible.

Bob Jones

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 10:01:53 -0500
From: rogers%scsd.dnet at gte.com (JOHN - GTE - (617) 466-3681)
Subject: Storage / shelf life of Crushed Malt

     I would like to start mashing. I also would like to save
some money and buy the grain in bulk (55 pound sack). Since I do
not own a grinder I would be interested in information on storing
crushed grain.

     Should I Freeze or refrigerate it or ??? ?

     Zip lock bags or a plastic bucket or ??? ?

     What is the shelf life of crushed malt? (i.e what age /
storage conditions will affect mash results, flavor or any other
important characteristics?

     How does the storage / shelf life of crushed malt compare
with uncrushed malt?

     Does the benefit of crushing your own grain outweigh the
possible negative affect of pulverizing (rather than grinding)
the grain by using a "non-optimized" home crusher?

     Thanks in advance for any info !!!

John

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 10:22:20 EST
From: kstiles at alux1.att.com
Subject: growing hops

jfunk at MAIL.CASI.NASA.GOV asks about growing hops:
 
Jim,

It's not too early to start thinking about starting hops in the 
Mid-Atlantic region.  Last year was my first hop harvest, so
naturally I feel free to consider myself an authority on hop
growing.  I'm in SE Pennsylvania, not so different from 
N Maryland.  I got my hop rhizomes in March from Freshops in
Philo, Oregon.  I planted them immediately in 1-gallon plastic
pots and set them in a sunny window until after the last
heavy frost.  This was late April, and the hop shoots were
about 1-2' high.  I gave them a dowel-string contraption to 
climb.  Hops like rich, well drained soil, so if you have
brick-like clay like I do, you're best off making mounds of
soil-compost mixture to plant the shoots in.  Choose a sunny
spot if possible.  Once they start growing, hops are like a
weed, and don't really need much fertilizer.  The real work
is to give them something to climb.  I made 7' trellises from
a frame made of furring strips and a random network of string.
This was OK for the first season, but will clearly not be
adequate for established hops.  
     Harvest is in August and September, varying with hop
variety.  Figuring out when to pick the hops is the trickiest
part, but once you have the knack, it's easy.  They turn from
hard to springy, get a "papery" look to them, and display 
orange globules at the base of the petals.  If the petals turn
brown, you waited too long, but you have a fair amount of
leeway, so don't worry.  The hops do not all ripen at once,
so the harvest is spread out over several weeks.  After the
frosts kill the vine in the fall, I covered the mounds with
copious amounts of compost.  
     Limited probing under the mounds has shown an amazing
network of rhizomes.  I'm offering cuttings to interested
parties within driving distance of Allentown (Varieties:  
Mt. Hood, Chinook, Cascade, Willamette and Nugget).

Here's a harvest summary that I sent to another Digest member
by email:

First year Freshops rhizomes, planted in April in eastern Pennsylvania

Variety         Dried weight (oz)       Comments
========        ========                ========
Cascade          12                     Yow!
Mt. Hood            5/8                 Meager    
Nugget              3/8                 Maybe next year
Willamette          3/8                 Ditto
Chinook          10 1/2                 Mutant giant cones

All the vines were vigorous, but the Mt. Hood didn't grow very high 
despite the fact that it took a dramatic early lead over the other
varieties.  I suspect that I should have taken seriously the advice
to thin the shoots to 2 or 3.  

Picking Cascades and Chinooks is a sensory experience to say the
least.

I had no pests to speak of.  A few leaves with holes, and a (very)
few cones that something bored through, and a couple of Japanese
Beetles that were really much more interested in other things in my 
yard.  My theory is that hop-loving pests may give a 1-year grace 
period before they gather in number to devastate your hop yard.

For any hop flavor profile experts who have read this far:  how
would you describe Chinook flavor/aroma?  What other hop varieties 
are similar?  I find it a bit odd (though not unpleasant).

Kevin Stiles

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 10:53:01 EST
From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: re: Mettalic notes in Belgium Ales

I have been following the discussion between Dr. Fix and
Martin Lodahl concerning Herbstoffe and general flavor 
profiles found in Belgium Ales/Lambics with interest.
The question that I have relates to my experiances of
detecting distinct metallic notes in Belgium ales during
my travels to Belgium.  This metallic flavor seemed 
especially pronounced in many of the Tripples that I
sampled.  The metallic notes would usually diminish as
the beer became warmer.  Martin and/or George: Do you 
feel this is a product of HSA techniques that seem so 
prevelent in Belgium brewing or do you suspect another
cause in particular with respect to Tripples?

Jim Busch

PS: There are spiders on the ceiling above my "open
fermenter" but I keep the lid on so they cant crawl
in!

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Date: 08 Jan 93 11:26:38 EST
From: Charlie Papazian/Boulder <72210.2754 at compuserve.com>
Subject: All

We've been having a lively discussion on compuserve regarding COPS (the
television program ).  I understand you have as well.  If you don't have this
information already, here it is:

The address of the producers of COPS:

Malcom Barbour
COPS/ Barbour/Langley Productions
13900 Tahiti Way Suite 124
Marina Del Rey, CA  90292

Telephone:  310 827-2116
FAX:  310 821-4166


fermently,



Charlie P.

p.s. I had written them in response to their airing of this program in late
November.  I got a response from the producers and am awaiting a response from
the police department that exercised the search warrant.  still waiting.

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 12:13 CDT
From: Tom Clark -- COMNET 435-5045 <TCLAR at HOBBES.CCA.CR.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: Proper Sparging Technique

Hello to all,
	The college where my wife works is currently between semesters and is
offering a class on homebrewing during their "interim" schedule.  It is being
taught by a team of two instructors, one a philosophy professor/20 year
homebrewer and the other a chemistry/microbiology professor.  In general the
class is pretty good with nightly tastings of the various beer styles, and
three MANDATORY brewery tours, (like I wouldn't go!)  Anyway, a question came
up in class last night that I volunteered to pose to the net for "the real
answer".

	The chemistry professor asked why the homebrew professor didn't totaly
drain the mash tun before adding any sparge water.  She said that we would get
the best possible extraction rate if we followed this "two-part' sparge.  There
was no definitave answer presented so I made my offer to post to this group.

Thanks for your help in advance,
Tom

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 09:10 CST
From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Leaky Kegs

 
 >From: SMITH at EPVAX.MSFC.NASA.GOV (The Ice-9-man Cometh)
 >Subject: Gas leaks in keg systems
 
 > If you turn off the gas at the tank and let the system sit 
 for a while, and you have (the inevitable) leaks, won't the
 beer go flat?  Or do soda kegs have check valves built in?
 
 The disconnect is a check valve but only if disconnected 
 from the line and they too can leak.  One of the most common 
 leaks is around the large gasket of the opening and the 
 check valve doesn't help any.
 
 In the unlikely event that one would leave a keg sit around 
 so long that it goes flat, one only has to repressurize the 
 keg to drink it.  On the other hand, an empty CO2 tank is 
 real depressing, especially if it is on the first keg.
 
 js
 
 

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 13:34:22 EST
From: casagran at gdstech.grumman.com (Lou Casagrande)
Subject: Lab Grade plastics

Regarding the question of whether lab grade plastics are of equal or
better quality than food grade: when I was a grad student (I'm a
chemist), we used a jug that sounds just like the one described to
hold our supply of deionized water. As Mark surmised, we had to keep
our water free of impurities. However, we were careful not to keep it
around for too long. One of the reasons has to do with acidification
by absorbing carbon dioxide, obviously _not_ a concern here. We may
have been concerned about leaching of "plasticizers" into the water,
too. Although I'm not a plastics chemist, my understanding is that all
plastics are made with them, although some might contain less than
others. My point is that your food grade fermenter was made similarly,
so it's probably worth trying the lab grade jug for one batch. Just
don't keep the wort in it for too long (i.e. no lagering). Also, be
sure to attach a tube to the spigot in order to drain it so as not to
aerate your brew.

On your second question, DO NOT use the jug for a keg or for anything
that becomes pressurized. I'm sure you would come home some day to
find five gallons of your latest all over your floor, besides which
you would have to store the brew in it for too long, giving what
plasticizers there are a chance to leech into it.

Hope this helps.

Lou Casagrande

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Date: Fri, 08 Jan 1993 12:34:12 EST
From: connell at vax.cord.edu
Subject: Alsan sterilizer

I recently received a bottle of Alsan sterilizer from the James Page
Brewery (which also sells homebrewing supplies).  Their catalog
identified Alsan as the sanitizer they use in the brewery so I
thought I'd give it a try.  But when it came, I was a bit intimidated
by the label.  It warns of permanent eye damage etc and recommends gloves
and goggles.  I called the brewery, but the guy I spoke with couldn't
tell me what sort of stuff this is.  It doesn't smell like a chlorine
and it suds a bit.  Can anyone out there tell me what this stuff is
and whether it is a good thing for homebrewers to use?

A second information request: I recently acquired a kegging setup
(5 gal soda keg) but I'm having trouble with carbonation.  I've
seen several thank yous for good info on kegs appear on HBD recently
so I ask for help too.  I put 3 gals of hefewiezen under 20psi at
45F.  What I get is tons of foam but absolutely no carbonation.
When I tried aggitation at these pressures, I just got more foam
but still no carbonation.  Any advice will be received gratefully.

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 11:56:30 MST
From: Rick Myers <rcm at col.hp.com>
Subject: Ninkasi article

I have had moderate interest in the Ninkasi article GIF's - great!
There have been several requests for ftp access, but I cannot offer
that because I am on a closed subnet.  There have also been
suggestions to put them on the archive machine at Stanford, which
I also will not do because of copyright issues - thus, the email
offer, for private use only.  If somebody does happen to put them
on the archive, make sure I am not associated with them in any way
(put YOUR name there, not mine)!


Brew on,
Rick
- --
Rick Myers    rcm at col.hp.com
Information Technology Specialist
Hewlett-Packard
Network Test Division
Colorado Springs, CO

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 09:20 CST
From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: KETTLE MASHING

 
 
 
          
              KETTLE MASHING,    Part 3
 
 
                 BOILING THE WORT
 
 When the wort is collected, dump the spent grain on the 
 compost pile and rinse out the kettle.  I always save a few 
 pounds in freezer containers for beer bread.  The seven 
 gallons of wort will barely fit into the kettle for the boil 
 so it is best to bring a smaller portion to a boil initially 
 to avoid boilover.  After evaporating some and getting the 
 boil under contro, the rest can be added.  A minimal one 
 hour boil will evaporate about a gallon so you can play with 
 the volumes in various ways.  You can increase the gravity 
 by more boiling or boil less and have more beer.
 
 Add half of your hops as soon as boiling begins.  Save one 
 forth for the end and the remainder at regular intervals 
 during the boil.   If you need a suggestion, try 1.5 oz of 
 Chinook for your first batch.
 
                  CHILLING AND FERMENTING
 
 After the boil, the wort is cooled, either overnight or with 
 a wort chiller if you have one.  I draw it off, after 
 chilling, a gallon at a time so that I can shake it 
 vigorously and "glug" it into the primary to oxygenate it 
 prior to pitching yeast.
 
 If you hold the chilled wort in a carboy or gallon jugs, you 
 can clean out the kettle and use it again as the primary 
 fermenter if the lid fits well.  Just boil a cup of water in 
 it with the lid on for about 5 minutes to sterilize it.
 
 The kettle seems to be universally available for about $35 
 and the rest of the stuff can be had for under $20, making 
 it a pretty inexpensive system.
 
 So, that's what kettle mashing is all about.  Try it, you 
 may like it.
 
 js
 
                   Addenda.............
 
 Here is the list of parts required:
 
 1. Brass "air cock", 1/8" male pipe thread at one end, bibb 
 spout at the other and lever on top.
 
 2. Brass "female connector", 1/8" female pipe thread at one 
 end, 3/8" copper tubing compression fitting at other end.
 
 3. 6" length of 3/8" copper tubing flared at one end and 
 bent so the end rests on bottom.
 
 4. 4 X 6 inch screen (window, brass, copper or ss)  rolled 
 into tube and clamped to flared end of copper tube.  (flare 
 prevents it from falling off at inconvenient times)
 
 All it takes is a 3/8" hole in your kettle, near the bottom.  
 If you run a 1/8" pipe tap into the hole, you can screw on 
 the air cock and it will not leak.  However, as most kettles 
 are too thin to provide enough threads for a safe and 
 permanent fit, I modify the fittings by rethreading the 
 aircock and connector with STRAIGHT pipe threads.  This 
 allows the connector to be screwed on to the aircock in such 
 a way that you achieve a snug fit by compression instead of 
 relying on the tapered pipe threads.
 
 Aside from the brass screen, you can find this stuff at a 
 good hardware store.  I used window screen for months and 
 see nothing wrong with it.
 
 js
 
 

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 10:50:19 -0800
From: rpeck at pure.com (Ray Peck)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #1051 (January 08, 1993)

>Date: Thu, 7 Jan 93 17:52:08 EST
>From: strasser at raj2.tn.cornell.edu (Tom Strasser)
>Subject: Stand up to COPs!
>
>	I am writing in hopes of convincing a large number of you to
>voice your opinion in defense of homebrewed beer, a subject near and
>dear to most of our hearts.  

Below is a letter I am sending to the COPs people.  Does anyone have
the address for FOX?

COPS
c/o STF Productions
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90213

Hello.

I am writing regarding your recent program which concerned a man
getting arrested for growing marijuana.  In that program, several
pieces of homebrewing equipment were depicted as distilling equipment.

As I'm sure you are aware, home beer brewing is very much legal, and
is a quickly growing hobby (just as microbrewed beers are the quickest
growing segment of the beverage industry).  Distillation, on the other
hand, is a Federal crime.

I'm sure you are also aware of the current civil forfeiture laws.
Under these laws, anyone possessing any equipment similar to
distillation equipment can have all of their property seized, without
being charged for a crime: the police simply need to show "just cause"
(i.e., an "informant").  By blurring the line between perfectly legal
home beer making and home distillation, you have done a *great*
disservice to home brewers.  You have greatly increased the
possibility of "midnight raids" and civil forfeiture against
law-abiding people.

As you may guess, I am a homebrewer.  In my experience (I communicate
with hundreds of other homebrewers), homebrewers are beer connoisseurs
and professional people.  They are not beer-guzzling yokels.  By
connecting homebrewers with bootleggers, you have insulted and
endangered a large number of your viewers and others.  I belong to a
computer mailing list on the worldwide Internet computer network.
This mailing list consists of hundreds of professional people (mostly
computer engineers).  There has been a lot of fear expressed on the
list since your show aired.  People worry about a disgruntled neighbor
telling the police that they are distilling, and then having their
house raided by armed men at night.  This is not a pleasant prospect,
to say the least.  Many have expressed the opinion that they should
now keep their brewing secret, to avoid this possibility.

I strongly urge you to air a segment on an upcoming show to clear up
this issue.  You should make it clear that home beer making is
perfectly legal.  You should also make it clear that the equipment
that was shown being seized on your program was not, in fact,
distillation equipment, but homebrewing equipment, and that while much
homebrewing equipment can be used for distilling, that it is the *use*
of distilling equipment that is illegal, and not the possession of
something that *looks* like distilling equipment.

If you do not air such a segment, you are further endangering a large
and growing population of law-abiding people.




Ray Peck
498 Bush
Mountain View, CA 94041


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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 20:30:36 GMT
From: u4imdmre at cpc41.cpc.usace.army.mil (Markham R. Elliott)
Subject: Sediment in Carboy

     First, thanks to all of you who responded to my inquiry of mail order
sources of brewing supplies. I've got ten names on the list in just a few days. 
Every supplier that I have contacted so far has said they would send a catalog. 
You home brewers seem to be an OK crew.  If anyone is interested in getting the
compiled list, drop me a line.  Not having purchased any reference books yet,
I have a couple of questions which are probably easily answered . . .

     I eagerly await my first batch to stop fermenting so I can bottle and try
it.  Lately in the HBD there has been talk of culturing one's own yeast.  Not
that I as a rank amateur want to attempt anything as exotic as that, but the
subject brought a couple of questions to mind regarding the sediment in my
carboy.

     First question:  Is this sediment (trube, correct?) the source of the yeast
culture base, or is the sediment which will settle in the bottles after
secondary fermentation the source?  Why use one and not the other?

     As I anticipate being able to bottle the batch somewhere between Monday and
Thursday, should I save this precipitate for anything?  I recall when one of my
older sisters returned from school in Britain many years ago, she introduced the
rest of the family to a product called VEGEMITE.  The container stated that it
was a by-product of the brewing process, but I forget if it was a grain or a
yeast based product.  

     At any rate, it was like a pate or paste which you spread on toast or
crackers.  Malty & salty, and you couldn't eat too much in a single
sitting/snack.  A few years ago I was stationed in Huntsville, Al, and there was
a real-life Australian restaurant in town called The Down Under.  As well as
Australian brews and wines, kangaroo steaks and other exotics, they sold at the
cash register a similar product called MARMITE.  Again the container stated it
was a by-product of the brewing process (grain ? yeast ? I can't remember).

     My sister (now working at Univ. GA) has always told me to keep an "eye out"
for it, and my wife likes the stuff too, but we never see it in any stores. 
Just as a matter of curiosity, does anyone out there know exactly what these
products are made from and how?  Would it be possible/viable to make one's own
"HOMEBREWMITE" ?  How?

     PROST!!    M R Elliott

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 15:24:14 CST
From: jay marshall 283-5903 <marshall at sweetpea.jsc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Re: cold plate question

Mike McNally writes:

>Many HBD's ago, Jack S. described a wonderful-sounding contraption
called a "cold plate", I think.  I have the impression that the thing
is some sort of in-line rapid-chilling device that chills beer from
a room-temperature pressurized keg on the way to the glass.  Is that
correct?  If so, can these things be bought for not much money (i.e.,
less than the cost of a spare fridge to keep the kegs in)?

Superior Products at (800)328 9800 carries the cold plates.  A single
product plate costs $37.  I can not yet comment on how they work since
mine hasn't arrived yet, but I'll be able to do so in a week or two.

I've already got the spare fridge, but I can't ferment ales and keep
kegs at drinking temp at the same time so I decided to go ahead and
get the plate for use when the fridge is being used for fermenting.

Incidentally, it was Jack who turned me on to Superior Products.
Thanks arf!

Jay


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Date: Fri, 08 Jan 93 17:27:12 -0500
From: David Arnold <davida at syrinx.umd.edu>
Subject: Germany suggestions?

Hello all,

I've found out I'll be travelling to Germany shortly, and was wondering
if you might be willing to offer suggestions on places to go & beers to
try?

I'll be over there from 1/18 until 1/25, and will be flying into Munich,
then going north, staying about 1/2 way between Bamburg and Regensburg.
(A little town named Vilseck (sp?).)  We'll be staying with a friend, and
will have a rental car, so I'm interested in suggestions around Bamburg,
Nurenburg, Regensburg and Munich.  I'd read in M.J.'s book about a monestary
near Munich (Andechs monastery?); is it as alluring as he makes it sound?
We'll also be (hopefully) taking a day trip to Pilzen & Prague, so suggestions
for there are also helpful.

I'd posted about a year ago for my friend who was in Germany then; some of
the suggestions I got then were:

    Rauchbier - This is availble in the spring
    Any beer ending in -ator.  Kulminator, Pirminator are two
    If you're into the ales, try an Alt beir.
    Eisbock.  Kick-butt thick like molasses heavy duty beer.  Mondo alcohol,
    Pilsners, especially Czech BudVar
    Hefe-weizen dunkeles & helles

I'm not terribly thrilled with wheat beers, especially in the winter.  I
lean more towards ales generally.  I've had one alt beer (Schlosser Alt)
and loved it; should I have any problem finding it, or am I in the wrong
area?

Lastly, I see the literature mentions limit of 2 l. per person.  Is that
a hard limit, or do I just have to declare it if I bring more than that
back?  I've gotten conflicting answers from people on this one.

Any/all suggestions welcome.  PLEASE email them to me (also) if you decide
to post back here, I don't want to miss a scrap of info!  :-)

Thanks in advance,
David Arnold 

Inet:     davida at syrinx.umd.edu 
Bitnet:   davida%syrinx.umd.edu at cunyvm
UUCP:     uunet!syrinx.umd.edu!davida     
NeXTmail: davida at anagram.umd.edu

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 15:52:05 -0700
From: lager!wtm at hellgate.utah.edu (Tom McCollough)
Subject: counter-pressure bottle fillers

I am in the market for a counter-pressure bottle filler.  Before
constructing my own, as it seems many HBDers have done, I would like to
find out about commercially available fillers.  All I could find in the
1992 archives were just a few comments about commercially available
fillers, mostly negative, and not enough to guide someone in a
purchase.  If you are an owner of a commercially available filler,
could you please post a review?

Thanks,
Tom

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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 16:53:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul dArmond <paulf at henson.cc.wwu.edu>
Subject: re: COPS

Things are actually a little bit worse than Micah puts them.  <shudder>

Property siezures place the burden of proof on the owner to PROVE that the
seized items were not used in the commission of a crime.  Since possession
of some things is itself a criminal offense, a vehicle can be contributing
to the possession of anything found inside of it.

As a former distiller, I would point out that the essential element of a
still is the vaportight still-head, not the condensor. A copper tubing
coil is not sufficient evidence of a still, without some other supporting
parts, such as a head, slobber-box etc.  So if all that poor guy in Tacoma
had was a wort chiller, he should get that charge dropped.

What's the AHA doing about this travesty?  I would think that Charlie P.
has an interest in defending his good name, never mind helping out all of
us dues-paying members.

Paul.






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Date:         Sat, 09 Jan 93 22:25:00 +0200
From: Nir Navot <LCNAVOT at WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL>
Subject:      Botulinum in malt extract

Sorry folks, I already got the answer for the question I've posted above (took
me a day). I was a bit worried so I started reading my microbiology books.
Well the answer as to the potential danger of the botulinum toxin is that
although it might be present in this malt extract which I've used, the 20 min
in autoclave are supposed to completely inactivate the toxin. Actually, even 10
minutes of 100 C will do the job.

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Date:         Sat, 09 Jan 93 22:35:39 +0200
From: Nir Navot <LCNAVOT at WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL>
Subject:      Homebrewing supplies in Munich

A friend of mine will be in Munich a couple of weeks from now. Can someone
recomend a place to which I could send him to, where he'll be able to find
home-brewing supplies. I'm going to be using whatever he brings back to make
my second batch ever (first one just started foaming) should I ask for anything
special but hops, yeast (which one?) and some malt extract (Light or Dark / Wet
Dry)??
Thanks in advance
Nir

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Date: 09 Jan 93 17:49:15 EST
From: Jim Bayer <72416.1044 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Cat's Meow

I've been poking around on the Internet for the first time.

What is this "Cat's Meow" section that I see?  Is it recipes?

Jim

******
* I gott'a get me a snappy ending!!!
******


Distribution:
  homebrew >internet:homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com


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Date: Sun, 10 Jan 93 08:59:44 -0800
From: mark at verdix.com
Subject: Our image as brewers


Folks, I am concerned about the image that we project to new readers
of r.c.b and the Digest.  

As devotees of this noble passion, we naturally want to inspire those who
are new to brewing, and to imbue them with our enthusiasm for this most
salutary of crafts.  Unfortunately, I am afraid we may fall short of
this aim.

Yes, I'm talking about the fact that two of the regular posters to
these forums have the usernames "gak" and "arf".  Are these the words
that we want others to associate with homebrewing and homebrewed beer?
I am sure you will agree that they aren't very appealing.  "Hey,
would you like to try some of my homebrew?..."  "Gak!! Arf!"

Who knows how many times a reader might be exposed to these words in just
a single issue of the HBD?  All the worse if they don't actually read
the 'From:' header fields, because then these unwholesome sounds
are transmitted *subliminally*.  And who knows how many other crude
and obnoxious usernames have escaped my notice?

Just something to think about.

Happy brewing!
- --mark


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Date: Sun, 10 Jan 93 12:15 CST
From: akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli)
Subject: Homemade yeast hulls?

I traveled to my favorite homebrew supply outlet in search of
some yeast nutrient in the form of yeast hulls.  The store was
currently out but assured me that they would get some in by mid-
week.  All well and good but it meant that I had to postpone my
mead-making plans until next weekend.
 
During the drive home it hit me [boink!].  Here I am buying yeast
hulls while at the same time dumping large quantities of yeast
slurry down the drain.
 
Is there an easy way for the homebrewer to make yeast hulls from
yeast slurry ?
 

chris campanelli

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1052, 01/11/93