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

Contents:
  Lager yeasts (Rich Simpson)
  Homebrew Digest #105 (March 21, 1989) (Spencer W. Thomas)
  Homebrew Digest #105 (March 21, 1989)
  Homebrew Digest #106 (March 22, 1989)
  Refrigerators for brewing (John Freeman)
  conf fees (again), CI$, FG, and Refrigs ("1107-CD&I/VIRUS DISEASES")
  refrigs (correction) ("1107-CD&I/VIRUS DISEASES")

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Date: Wed, 22 Mar 89 07:40 CST
From: hiveuucp at beehive.att.com

remote execution	[uucp job beehiveN5900 (3/22-7:40:18)]
	rmail beckley 
exited with status 138

	===== stderr was =====
sh: 5185 Bus error

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Date: Wed, 22 Mar 89 09:36:34 est
From: Rich Simpson <paramax!simpson at multimax.encore.com>
Subject: Lager yeasts

I've got a question that I've been meaning to ask for quite some time.
I have been brewing for a couple of years now, doing ales from extract
with some specialty grains. My first batch was straight from a kit and
used lager yeast. It was a mixed success. After that I switched to ale
yeast and avoided kits. I have been very happy with my results since
then. I ferment in my basement so I can never depend
on getting really cold temperatures. Papazian has a bunch of recipes
that look interesting that I have been avoiding because they use lager
yeasts. How important is it to ferment beers made with lager yeasts at
really low temperatures? Will I get good results at 60-65 degrees with
a lager yeast or should I just stick with ale yeasts?

Rich Simpson
Encore Computer Corporation
simpson at encore.com
{most backbones}!encore!simpson
simpson at multimax.arpa

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Date: Wed, 22 Mar 89 09:56:10 CST
From: jlf at earth.cray.com (John Freeman)
Subject: Refrigerators for brewing

> I'm a little
> concerned about temperature, though.  Miller and Noonan say ferment in the
> 45-55 degF range.  Most refrigerators are set to maintain the low 40s.
> Is the fridge's thermostat likely to hold 50, or will it require the
> external on/off timer that some writers mention?

I replaced the thermostat on my beer fridge.  I bought a special
thermostat to maintain 40-70F.  These are available at appliance
parts stores.

> Ideally, I'd like to use the refrigerator for fermentaion and maybe lagering
> (lower 30s), and the freezer as a mini deep freeze (otherwise it's just
> wasted).  Is this feasible, or does the 50 degF ferment preclude using
> the freezer?  (This is a big selling point to my wife.)

I don't think one thermostat will allow that range of operation.

> Can you use the freezer?

I can't.

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Date: 22 Mar 89 13:06:00 EST
From: "1107-CD&I/VIRUS DISEASES" <henchal at wrair.ARPA>
Subject: conf fees (again), CI$, FG, and Refrigs

1.  RE:  Conference costs.  Ok, you convinced me that a small
society has to charge a slightly larger registration fee in order
to meet the expenses of a national conference, but I won't be
able to go at that price...so I'll have to settle for the $18.95
transcript for another year.  Perhaps, what this tells us is
that there is a real need for more regional conferences.  For
example...I know that there are lots of homebrewers in the
Washington DC area but I have never heard of a local competition. 
The only one that I know of in this region is a competition held
sometimes in Philadelphia in the Fall.  Will someone out there
correct me if I am wrong about this?  What does it take to
organize an AHA sponsored competition or conference...besides
bucks?  Also, can it be done cheaply?  I notice that this stuff
seems to go on all the time in California and the Southwest.

2.  I predict that the COMPUSERVE....CI$ (I like it)...forum will
fail.  I have been a member of CI$ for almost 8 years, and it
ain't hard to run up $50-100 monthly bills using a forum
regularly.  Even though I am pessimistic about the forum, I will
heed Steve Conklin advice and try to participate overthere more
frequently.  I suggested some time ago that it would help if
summarized portions of the discussions held here be transferred
to libraries at CI$.  Mea cuppa, mea cuppa...I didn't follow
through because of the lack of real action in the WINEFORUM. 
With regard to letting Charlie know about how I feel....wouldn't
it be easier if he could just listen in....after all, I'm not
sure I know how to get messages to folks not in any kind of
network or bulletin board....I remember vaguely something about
envelops and stamps :-).....Many thanks to Dave Dunn for his
instructional comments about network addresses.  I never really
understood what happens to my messages after they leave my
machine.

3.  RE: Specific gravity measurements.  I'm not sure that the
final FG that you obtain is any measure of the time to bottle. 
I had been taught (and experience has shown) that a brew is ready
to bottle when the SG remains constant over the course of 3 days. 
(In reality, I don't test the SG that often...I merely look at
the amount of overall activity and the head...a falling head is a
good measure of a completing fermentation.)  That FG might be
1.006, 1.015, 1.025 (or whatever) depending upon the amount of
non-fermentable dextrins in the beer.  I noticed that Nancy
Vineyard recommends the use of Clintest paper strips (?) in this
quarter Zymurgy.  I think her recommendation has always been to
measure the amount of sugar left in the ferment.  If I'm not
mistaken the amount of fermentable sugar should be less than
2%...don't hold me to this number. 

4.  RE: Danish lager Yeast.  Is this what they call #2007 or is
this #308.  Can someone post the different characteristics of
these yeasts.  I have never seen this information
anywhere...growth characteristics, expected attenuation, optimum
growth characteristics, etc.

5.  RE: Refrigerators.  My refrigerator (15 cu ft) keeps to 49
degrees F on the DEFROST setting and 29 degrees F.  No, I can't
use the freezer with the DEFROST setting on.  If I don't set the
'frig to defrost, the box stays a pretty constant 44 degrees F.

  Erik A. Henchal
<Henchal at WRAIR.ARPA>

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Date: 22 Mar 89 13:10:00 EST
From: "1107-CD&I/VIRUS DISEASES" <henchal at wrair.ARPA>
Subject: refrigs (correction)

Errata:  My refrigerator keeps at 29 degrees F on the maximum
setting (the coldest). Sorry for the previous ommission.

Henchal at WRAIR.ARPA

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