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


Contents:
  Cleaning bottles (J. Fingerle)
  Dos Equis (GNT_TOX_)
  Freezing PET bottles for chilling (Philip . Miller)
  Re: dishwashers, etc (Mark A. Stevens)
  San Diego Micros? (Creamer TJ CPT)
  Kegging Questions? (Jack Tavares)
  RE: oven bottle cleaning / pumps (EVANS)
  Medicinal tastes and chlorine (Steve Zabarnick)
  sanitizers and septic tanks (Chip Hitchcock)
  "Beer Sphere" plastic keg review (Josh Grosse)
  Re: #2(2) Homebrew Digest #1311 (December 30, 1993) (mattb18591)
  Medicinal tastes and chlorine (Steve Zabarnick)
  Water Composition (Tom Clifton)
  Supply Store? (George H. Leonard)
  re: Ideas on fermenter heaters for mead making? (Dick Dunn)
  Re: full volume boils? (Drew Lynch)
  Wort pumps (Allen Ford)
  Re: Holiday Cheer (Drew Lynch)
  Major into micro (was re Koch\etc.) (Art Steinmetz)
  adding "creaminess" to beer / cleaning burnt stuff (Lee=A.=Menegoni)
  Ginger/reply to: Holiday Cheer (Greg Bishop)
  beer hunter psa / mega micro / mead (Carl Howes)
  clone requests (Tim Cardoza)
  Holidy Cheer Results ("Mark S. Woods")
  Sanitizing bottles in the oven ("Mark S. Woods")
  How to open a 15L keg? ("Mark S. Woods")
  Re: Dishwasher Bottles (Dave Shaver)


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

Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 08:04:42 EST
From: fingerle at NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (J. Fingerle)
Subject: Cleaning bottles


I just saw Jeff Frane's comments on bottle washing
and I just want to say RIGHT ON.  Sanitizing in the oven
is simple, quick, and for me after 24 batches, trouble
free (knock on wood.)  However, I'd like to add a couple 
of points.

1. Bottling will be very much more enjoyable if, every time 
you finish a brew you RINSE out the bottle in preparation
for the next use.  Don't let the beasties grow, and don't let
the yeast sediment solidify.

2.  When I need to bottle, I use a jet washer (my apologies
if that's a TM) to thoruoghly rinse a bottle with hot tap water.
I let it drain, in the strainer, then put the bottle in the oven.

At this point, Jeff put aluminum foil over the mouth of each bottle.
I don't know why. Jeff...?

The purpose of the jet washer is really to remove dust and whatnot.
The purpose of the heat in the oven is to kill off the beasties.

3. I then fill the oven with about 50 bottles, start the temp at the
minimum, and slowly raise it to 300F over the course of an hour.

4.  If I want to bottle immediately, I crack the oven door for ~15
mins.  Normally, I bottle the next morning, so I just let the oven
cool down naturally.

On the subject of bottles-I have Miller, Lite, Bud, and Bud Lite
returnable bottles, and a host of disposable ones, from Sam Adams,
Dock Street, New Amsterdam, Watney's, Bass, etc.  The ONLY bottles
I've ever had problems with are Guinness'.  Those suckers cracked
during bottling.

I recommend, however, that you pick up several cases of EMPTY
Miller Lite returnable bottles from your beer distributor.  Why?
Well they are brown, sturdy, and the wax box they come in has
a two piece lid that hangs outside the perimeter of the top of 
the box which gives extra support.  For me, each case cost $1.50
for a deposit.

Hope this helps someone out there.
Jimmy

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Date:     Thu, 30 Dec 93 08:36 EST
From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject:  Dos Equis

I need a good extract recipe for the commercial brew Dos Equis.  I
need to make a batch as a present.

Andrew Pastuszak
Philadelphia, PA


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 08:01:44 CST
From: pmiller at mmm.com (Philip . Miller)
Subject: Freezing PET bottles for chilling

Someone wrote about a nifty tip from Zymurgy about freezing PET
bottles of water to dump in your wort to chill.  I thought this was
a good idea too when I first read about it.  My only concern is
that when you take the bottles from the freezer and put them in
your sterilant to sanitize, won't they freeze a thin layer of
around the outside of the plastic which will then be transferred
to your wort?  Has anybody ever tried this?

Phil

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 09:31:37 EST
From: Mark A. Stevens <stevens at stsci.edu>
Subject: Re: dishwashers, etc



In Homebrew Digest #1311, Jeff Frane (gummitch at teleport.com) pointed out
several problems that he sees with using a dishwasher to sanitize bottles,
and suggested using an oven set at 350.

I've been using the dishwasher technique for the last couple years, and
haven't really had a problem, but Jeff's post has me thinking that maybe
this is more luck than anything else because, as he pointed out, there
is no way to know if any sterilizer got sprayed up inside the bottles
and there's no way of knowing how hot the dishwasher gets.

The oven idea is certainly an interesting alternative, but I'm worried
about the ability of glass bottles to withstand the heat of an oven.
Shouldn't glass be tempered in some way if you're going to put it in
an oven? Can beer bottles really withstand the heat of an oven? I suppose
this is worth trying, I just don't want to have to pick shards of glass
out of my oven later ;-)

Prosit!
   Mark


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 09:56:28 EST
From: ht6141 at usma6.USMA.EDU (Creamer TJ CPT)
Subject: San Diego Micros?

Happy Holidays to y'all!

Forgive the quick request, but are there any recommendable micro breweries in 
San Diego worth mentioning?

I am going out there 2-9Jan, and would love to visit as many as I can.
Thanks for the info in advance.

Happy New Year!

                                   TJ
                                   ht6141 at usma6.usma.edu

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 10:31:10 -0800
From: Jack Tavares <tavares at ctron.com>
Subject: Kegging Questions?

Greetings!

My Christmas wish was granted and I received a 
kegging system. CO2 tank, regulator, pressure gauge,
5 gal "soka" keg etc etc.

Now I have a batch in primary fermentation and I was wondering:

1. Should I carbonate with corn sugar/DME or with the CO2?

Papazian's book mentions using DME/corn sugar and the literature
i got with the kegging system says to use the CO2?

What have people found to be the best/easiest?

2. Are there gizmos available to allow me to hook up two
kegs at once for conditioning/serving?



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 9:42:20 -0600 (CST)
From: EVANS at smsd.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: RE: oven bottle cleaning / pumps

Hello,

A couple of questions and responses:

Jeff Frane writes:
Rinse well inside and out (Jet bottle washer a handy gadget!).  Put 'em
 away.
 
 Phase 2: Sanitize bottles.  Take each clean bottle and wrap a little
 piece of aluminum foil over the mouth.  Put the bottles in a cold oven,
 turn to 350F and bake for 90 minutes.  Let the bottles cool, remove and
 put 'em away in cases.


I've seen this mentioned before and I think I'll probably try it next time.
Seeing as that I don't necessarily want to sterilze the bottles, what is the
minimum temperature and time requiremnts be?  200F for 30 minutes? 350F for
90 minutes seems to be a little bit of overkill :-)


Second,

Anton Verhulst writes:
Lifting 10 gallon batches has gotten to be a bit of a pain :-) for me and
I'm not quite ready to set up a gravity system and drill holes for spigots in
my SS pots just yet.  I'd like to get an electric pump in the 5 to 10 gallon
per minute range to move hot wort and sparge water around.  Does any one
have reccomendations and/or sources?  Several months ago some one mentioned
WW Grainger as a possible source but provided no address or phone number.
Thanx.

You're welcome.

I looked through my McMaster-Carr catalog (#99) and on page 1358, they list 
a drill-powered liquid pump for $26.58.  It claims to deliver 6 gpm at 
2400 rpm off a 1/4" or larger drill.  It has a neoprene impeller housed 
inside a nylon housing with a stainless steel shaft.  It looks like it would 
do the trick nicely.  It's small and looks like it's capable of doing what
you want.  Since McMaster Carr catalogs are not easy to get, here's the info:

McMaster Carr
P.O. Box 4355
Chicago, IL  60680-4355
(708) 834-9427

Item number 4275
Opps, hit return too soon, Item # 4275K1

Standard Disclaimer applies although we do order quite a bit from them and are
happy with them 8-)

Hope this helps,

Chris Evans

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 10:50:57 -0500
From: steve at snake.appl.wpafb.af.mil (Steve Zabarnick)
Subject: Medicinal tastes and chlorine

I recently brewed an all-grain oatmeal stout that turned out so medicinal
tasting and smelling (phenolic?) as to be completely undrinkable. The
recipe was:

8 lbs Klages
1 lb oatmeal
1/4 lb roasted barley
1/2 lb chocolate malt
1 lb crystal malt
1.5 oz Willamette
Wyeast 1084 from 1 quart starter

OG=1.056 FG=1.013

The intensity of the flavor leads me to the conclusion that it is due to
either chlorophenols or an infection. I surmise two possible sources of
chlorine: (1) inadequate rinsing of bottles and/or fermentor after
sanitizing with bleach or (2) a high concentration of chlorine in my tap
water. Our town just opening a new water softening plant a couple of weeks
before I started this batch, and the water has a slight chlorine odor. I
spoke with the water dept people and they said the water has a chlorine
residual of 1.5 mg/L, which they have increased from the normal 0.5 mg/L in
order to "clean out" the new plant. Could this level of residual chlorine
account for my strong medicinal taste? For my current batch I used an
activated charcoal filter AND preboiled to remove the chlorine.

Can an infection result in a such a very strong medicinal taste and odor?
The bottles do have a small ring at the liquid level which I haven't seen
in my other beers, but the beer does not taste sour.

Thanks for any comments.

Steve Zabarnick


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 10:50:14 EST
From: cjh at diaspar.HQ.ileaf.com (Chip Hitchcock)
Subject: sanitizers and septic tanks

A friend who now lives in the semi-wilds of Maine (40 miles from Portland
is hardly wild) is worried-about/running-into septic tank problems from
bleach used to sanitize his brewing equipment. Is this a plausible worry at
canonical levels (which define: 1 tbp, 1 oz, 1/4 cup, ... per 5 gallons?)
(There were comments on this some time ago but I don't have access to them.)
Are B-Brite and/or iodophor (a) as effective, (b) friendlier to septic-tank
bacteria at canonical levels (again which define---and does iodophor degrade
on its own or should it be rinsed out?). Please reply to cjh at ileaf.com;
I'll summarize and post if I get anything.

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 08:07 PST
From: jdg00 at juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Josh Grosse)
Subject: "Beer Sphere" plastic keg review

In today's HBD there was a question about this product, and I recall there 
was another question about it a week or two ago.  I own one.

Plastic kegs, from Edme or Hamilton Bard, are for making cask conditioned 
ales.  They have valves that keep the pressure at approximately 11 PSI or 
lower.  This is so you don't have to have a series of soft and hard pegs to 
manage the conditioning.  It will either be at 11 PSI or softer.

The HB Beer Sphere differs from the Edme products, because it has a 
floating pickup.  This prevents picking up any sediment until you reach
the bottom.  The Edme kegs work well for parties, where the first few
pints are cloudy, after that they run clear.  If you want a pint or two every 
day, the Sphere is the better choice.

The CO2 does not carbonate the beer, it merely provides enough positive 
pressure to allow beer to flow.  I recommend that you use one cartridge at 
kegging time to flush air from the keg.  (Cap, fire a cartridge, loosen cap to 
force the air out, tighten.)  Cartridges won't be necessary if you're taking a 
pint or two a day, only when you're serving a lot of beer.

Due to sediment, these kegs do NOT travel well.  If you transport the keg, 
your beer will not be drinkable for several days.  It doesn't make a good 
"take to a party" keg.

================================================
Josh Grosse                               jdg00 at amail.amdahl.com
                                            jdg00 at juts.ccc.amdahl.com




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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 11:46:00 EST
From: mattb18591 at aol.com
Subject: Re: #2(2) Homebrew Digest #1311 (December 30, 1993)

Please discontinue my subscription(?) to the Homebrewe Digest. I have an
account on the Net through my school and will be getting there from now on...

Thanks, Matt

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 10:49:33 -0500
From: steve at snake.appl.wpafb.af.mil (Steve Zabarnick)
Subject: Medicinal tastes and chlorine

I recently brewed an all-grain oatmeal stout that turned out so medicinal
tasting and smelling (phenolic?) as to be completely undrinkable. The
recipe was:

8 lbs Klages
1 lb oatmeal
1/4 lb roasted barley
1/2 lb chocolate malt
1 lb crystal malt
1.5 oz Willamette
Wyeast 1084 from 1 quart starter

OG=1.056 FG=1.013

The intensity of the flavor leads me to the conclusion that it is due to
either chlorophenols or an infection. I surmise two possible sources of
chlorine: (1) inadequate rinsing of bottles and/or fermentor after
sanitizing with bleach or (2) a high concentration of chlorine in my tap
water. Our town just opening a new water softening plant a couple of weeks
before I started this batch, and the water has a slight chlorine odor. I
spoke with the water dept people and they said the water has a chlorine
residual of 1.5 mg/L, which they have increased from the normal 0.5 mg/L in
order to "clean out" the new plant. Could this level of residual chlorine
account for my strong medicinal taste? For my current batch I used an
activated charcoal filter AND preboiled to remove the chlorine.

Can an infection result in a such a very strong medicinal taste and odor?
The bottles do have a small ring at the liquid level which I haven't seen
in my other beers, but the beer does not taste sour.

Thanks for any comments.

Steve Zabarnick



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 11:59 EST
From: Tom Clifton <0002419419 at mcimail.com>
Subject: Water Composition

Out of curiosity, I called my local City Water Department and inquired about the
composition of the water here in Kirkwood, MO.  The water here comes from deep
wells in the Meramec River Valley, unlike the rest of St. Louis County which
uses water from the Missouri River.  The numbers were given to me as Milligrams
per Liter which is the same as PPM (?).

Calcium   51
Sulfates  59
Magnesium 56
Sodium    35
Chloride  58

Any of you water guru's out there have any comments or suggestions on what if
any treatment I should use?  I am an extract brewer, and stick pretty much to
Pilsners / Munich Light etc.

Tom




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Date: 30 Dec 1993 17:07:56 GMT
From: George_Leonard at brown.edu (George H. Leonard)
Subject: Supply Store?

I am new to the area and wonder if anyone knows of a good shop for supplies
located in the Providence or south Boston region. Specifically, a place
that treats their hops as they should and carries high quality liquid
yeast. Anybody have any suggestions? 

George_Leonard at brown.edu

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Date: 30 Dec 93 10:35:26 MST (Thu)
From: rcd at raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: re: Ideas on fermenter heaters for mead making?

Victor Grigorieff (vgrigori at us.oracle.com) writes:
> I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and have no trouble making ales and 
> lagers in my cellar (about 55 degrees).  I am about to emabrk on mead-making 
> which (as I understand it) requires temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees. 
[question about heating fermenter]

The direct answer is that yes, there are heaters for fermenters--they strap
around the center of the fermenter like a belt.  (Painful reminder to some
of us, of our own carboy-like physiques:})

But more to the point: You don't need to be fermenting mead at anything
like 80-85 degrees!  It would probably give you fast fermentation, and yes,
mead fermentation is sometimes very slow...but yeast at that temperature
will produce off-tastes in mead just as they would in beer.  Don't try to
compensate for a naturally bucolic pace of fermentation by forcing it with
higher temperature.

Personally, I'd aim for perhaps 75 F to get the fermentation started
quickly, then try to keep it around 70 F.  Treat the yeast right; give
them something to eat; don't make them work in a sweatshop...and they'll
do a good job for you.

Mead can be an exercise in patience.
 ---
Dick Dunn    rcd at eklektix.com   -or-   raven!rcd    Boulder, Colorado USA
   ...Simpler is better.

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 09:36:27 -0800
From: Drew Lynch <drew at chronologic.com>
Subject: Re: full volume boils? 

>>>>> On Wed, 29 Dec 93 09:06:50 EST, asteinm at pipeline.com (Art Steinmetz) said:

> how _does_ one get all that water boiling in a single 
	Art> lifetime?

	Art> That's an easy one.  Buy that cajun cooker (note how
	Art> application of money solves yet another homebrew problem
	Art> :-)) They go under various names like Cajun Cooker, King

  When looking at these large scale flamethrowers, look for the ones
with about 16 individual flames, not a single jet engine.  They
produce a little less heat (150,000 vs 185,000Btu) but I doubt you
could tell the difference.  Where the difference really comes in is
when it's already boiling, and you want to attempt a simmer. The
single flame types have a really hard time with adjustability, and are
very gas inefficient at lower settings.

	Art> "Military thrust."  Outdoor use preferred.  The don't
                                             ^^^^^^^^^
					      Required!


			      Drew Lynch
		Chronologic Simulation, Los Altos, Ca.
			   (415)965-3312x18
			 drew at chronologic.com

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 11:15:52 -0600 (CST)
From: Allen Ford <allen at darwin.sfbr.org>
Subject: Wort pumps

           
Tony Verhulst asked about pumps from WW Grainger.

WW Grainger is indeed a good source.  They probably have a location near 
you, wherever that is.  Call them at 800-323-0620. 

The pumps you should consider are hot water circulator pumps.  

Stock no. 1P760, 1/100 HP, 115V, 1700 RPM motor is the one I use on my 
Pico Brewing Systems 1/2 bbl setup.  It is the one they sell with it.
I find it quite adequate for the job.  List $105.61, wholesale $68.48.

Stock no. 1P956, 1/25 HP, 115V, 3400 RPM motor is one you might want to 
consider.  List $117.80, wholesale $76.42. 

Both of the above pumps are manufactured by Teel and feature bronze pump 
body, ryton impeller, stainless steel impeller housing and shaft.  They 
have 1/2" NPT threads on both inlet and outlet.  I have added hose 
fittings to mine so that they can be easily installed and removed. 

I recommend that you use two pumps--one for hot liquor and one for wort.  
This way you can pump sparge water in at the same time that you are 
pumping sweet wort out.  An added benefit is that you have a backup in 
case one fails.  I have had zero problems with these pumps through seven 
batches.  Be sure to run hot water through the wort pump to flush it out 
when you are finished.

When using pumps to move hot wort around, aeration is always a concern.  
As long as I am careful and fill all hoses with liquid before I start 
pumping, I see no evidence that these pumps cause significant aeration.

Hope this helps.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen L. Ford                               Internet:allen at darwin.sfbr.org |
| Department of Genetics                         Phone:(210)674-1410 Ext.239 |
| Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research     Fax:(210)670-3316         |
| P.O. Box 28147                                                             |
| San Antonio, TX 78228, USA                                                 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+




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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 11:09:03 -0800
From: Drew Lynch <drew at chronologic.com>
Subject: Re: Holiday Cheer 


	JMO01> During the XMAS weekend, I decided it was time to crack
	JMO01> open a bottle of "young" Holiday Cheer.  Recalling a
	JMO01> recent posting on this Papazian recipe, I halved the
	JMO01> amount of ginger root used, hoping that the brew would
	JMO01> not take on that soapy after taste.  Well, the ginger
	JMO01> flavor is still very noticeable, maybe a little too
	JMO01> much.  Will the aging help to mellow the ginger's
	JMO01> effect?  Have any other subscribers had similiar
	JMO01> experiences with the recipe?


A month or so ago I posted, about my version of the Papzian recipe:

> Spice: 4 ounces coarsely chopped ginger, added 5 minutes prior to end
>        of boil.
> 
> Result: Walloping fresh ginger taste - too much.  I think this is the
>         correct boil time for ginger, but I would reduce the amount to
>         1-2 oz.


 I got a few replies suggesting I use a little of something I have in
short supply, patience :-).  As I now work for a startup with a number
of employees less than the number of bottles produced by a 5 gallon
batch, I actually got to drink some of my own Christmas brew on
Christmas! I can now confirm that wise recommendation.  This is
absolutely the best Christmas Ale I've ever made.  It also helped that
I made it early enough that it had matured by Christmas. I expect the
last couple of six packs to dissapear on New Years :-)  Bottom Line: I
will _not_ reduce the amount of ginger next year, and will brew early
for Christmas again!


			   Happy New Year!

			      Drew Lynch
		Chronologic Simulation, Los Altos, Ca.
			   (415)965-3312x18
			 drew at chronologic.com

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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 15:52:28 EST
From: asteinm at pipeline.com (Art Steinmetz)
Subject: Major into micro (was re Koch\etc.) 


 > ...can anyone confirm a rumor I heard...that Miller's will 
be test-marketing  >a stout?

Yes. This is from the Miller Reserve brand manager on 
Compuserve:

#: 283576 S9/Beers & Breweries
    29-Dec-93  17:44:59
Sb: #MR Velvet Stout
Fm: Jeffrey A. Kellar 73112,2062

Roger,

The stout is no hoax and a nice beer I believe (but then I 
would). I will
take full responsibility for all aspects of the beer. But I 
figured the best
way to create fast brewing credibility was to bring out a 
stout. It will be
in market Feb. 1 just in time to pour a few half and halfs with 
MRAA. Besides
I have been wanting to brew a stout that is clearly a stout but 
has
drinkability so we can bring more drinkers into the specialty 
category.
I think our (my) Velvet Stout will do it.

Its an all barley recipe, and we are using the same ale yeast 
as with MRAA.
Its hopped pretty heavy with cluster and cascade and has a 
higher than
average carbonation level for a stout. But I am assessing 
several levels and
may change before February. It is as with all the Reserve 
brands a
nonpasteurized beer.

I am to say the least excited about it and the response it will 
get. People
may find it to be a bit thin but analytically it stacks up quit 
well against
Guiness. Drop me a note with other questions.

- --- end of repost ---

You can email Mr. Kellar directly at 73112.2062 at compuserve.com


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 15:50:57 EST
From: Lee=A.=Menegoni at nectech.com
Subject: adding "creaminess" to beer / cleaning burnt stuff

RE:  Creaminess like Watneys Cream Stout

I suspect the creaminess experienced in Watney's Cream Stout is the
product of unfermaentable complex dextrins in the beer which add to the
body.  One way of increasing the unfermentables/comple dextrins, particulary 
for extract brewers with no control over the dextrin content in the malt 
extract, is to add Malto-Dextrin powder.  My understanding of this product is 
that it is an unfermentable complex dextrin which adds body but no taste to a 
beer.

RE: Removing Burnt stuff from bottom of mash kettle 

I use a stainless steel version of the Chore Boy to scrub burnt stuff off the
bottom of my brewing equipment, I call it a Kindda'EasyScrubber.  I find that 
the stainless does a better job for scrubbing than a copper Chore Boy.  I 
also find it is easier to clean the burnt stuff off after mashing, while 
sparging, than to let the stuff cool, dry and harden.
I actually use them new as a filter ala Chore Boy when racking chilled wort, 
EasyFilter.  I find that the stainless scrubby has more material in it and 
does a better job of filtering than the copper Chore Boy.   When I replace 
the filter scrubber it becomes a clean up scrubber.

   


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 14:53:25 PST
From: bishop at magic.geol.ucsb.edu (Greg Bishop)
Subject: Ginger/reply to: Holiday Cheer

Someone wrote:

>During the XMAS weekend, I decided it was time to crack open a bottle
>of "young" Holiday Cheer.  Recalling a recent posting on this Papazian
>recipe, I halved the amount of ginger root used, hoping that the brew
>would not take on that soapy after taste.  Well, the ginger flavor is
>still very noticeable, maybe a little too much.  Will the aging help to
>mellow the ginger's effect?  Have any other subscribers had similiar
>experiences with the recipe?

I don't have experience with Papazian's recipe you mentioned.  However,
ginger, like most spices, mellows with time.  I brew a Honey-ginger beer
that in its infancy (2-3 weeks after bottling) has a very strong ginger
taste.  After 2-3 months, the strength of the ginger is very nice.  Allow
your beer to age a few months.

You mentioned a soapy aftertaste from the ginger.  I have not experienced
that with my ginger beers.  Please enlighten me.



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 93 13:17:45 EST
From: sdlsb.dnet!73410%sdlcc at swlvx2.msd.ray.com (Carl Howes)
Subject: beer hunter psa / mega micro / mead

For those of you in New England who get WENH (New Hampshire PBS), they are
running the Beer Hunter series on Wednesdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 3:30.
One exception is next week since the Guv is preempting it.  Sunday will be
(mostly) about Anchor, or how a washing machine heir really cleaned up in
the beer business.  Seriously though, it's a good segment.

Now if you're still with me, Allan Janus (in #1311) asks if a Bud Kriek can
be far off.  I answer very far, since I heard a radio ad which represented
A-Bs flagship product as flavorful!  So while Miller seems to be making an
effort to market beers with flavor, A-B is proclaiming the emperors new
clothes with a bit of micro bashing thrown in.  Heineken took the same
approach in a recent radio campaign in the Boston area.  Methinks the big
players are getting nervous.

A question about mead.  I racked my first mead to secondaries last night
and, on drinking the hydrometer sample, found a nasty biting plastic
flavor.  I recall a comment made recently that off flavors are not unusual
in young mead, but this off?

Happy Brew Year!

Carl

My opinions are mine, and my puns are intentional.


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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 18:15:00 -0500
From: tim_cardoza at wellfleet.com (Tim Cardoza)
Subject: clone requests

Does anyone have recipes for Pete's Wicked Winter Ale and
Sam Smith's Winter Welcome Ale or any recipes that
approximate these beers. My friends and I like these
beers and would like to make our own. Extract based recipes
needed as we haven't ventured into the unknown of all grain yet.

Private email is welcome.

Thanks,
Tim Cardoza
tcardoza at wellfleet.com



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 18:09:48 -40975532 (CST)
From: "Mark S. Woods" <woodsman at genesis.Mcs.Com>
Subject: Holidy Cheer Results

I too brewed Holiday Cheer this fall, unfortunatly I followed Papazian's
recipe directly. This results in way too much ginger taste in the beer.
However, I'm finding that the taste is starting to mellow after about a
month in the bottle. I bottled this brew in both 12 oz bottles and in
Grolsch 16 oz bottles. The Grolsch bottles are noticably more drinkable
while I find that the smaller bottles have a sort of rubbery taste
(reminds me of those pink pearl erasers we used in grade school). 

I'm hoping to get rid of the rest of this batch tomorrow night by forcing it
on my neighbors.

Mark Woods



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 18:15:51 -40975532 (CST)
From: "Mark S. Woods" <woodsman at genesis.Mcs.Com>
Subject: Sanitizing bottles in the oven

My brewpartner and I originally "baked" our bottles in the oven after
washing them but found that many were breaking during when putting on
caps. We thought, perhaps, that the oven heat was stressing the bottles
making them more fragile (although we only ran the oven up to around 225).
We quit using the oven method and have had no breakage problems since
then. Don't know if there is cause and effect here or not, just our
experience.

Mark Woods



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 18:21:49 -40975532 (CST)
From: "Mark S. Woods" <woodsman at genesis.Mcs.Com>
Subject: How to open a 15L keg?

My neighbor recently returned from Germany with a 15L keg of Krohmbacher
Pils for us to enjoy over the holidays. He let me keep the keg to use for
my homebrew. Can I use the keg? It has a fitting for a CO2 cartridge on
top - are these standardized or will I have trouble finding a match here
in the US? Does anybody know how I can open this up to clean and fill it?
It has an opening on the side of the barrel about mid-way between each
end. It is plugged with a cap that looks like it would require a wrench in
the shape of a gear with eight square teeth to open. Where can I find one
of these?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Mark Woods



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Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 18:12:49 -0600
From: shaver at hci.cirr.com (Dave Shaver)
Subject: Re: Dishwasher Bottles


y2046 at hrpi16.DNET.hcc.com (Bruce) asks:
> I have been wondering if it would be acceptable to use my dishwasher
> to sterilize my bottles.

I've been using my dishwasher to clean bottles for over a year and it
works great.  The secret is to rinse the bottles just after they are
emptied.  Once I have decanted a homebrew, I immediately rinse the
bottle and then ignore it until I'm ready to bottle the next batch.

When I'm ready to bottle a batch, I fill the dishwasher with
bottles---I can get 52-54 bottles in it, so that's almost enough to
bottle my six gallon batches.  Before I load each bottle, I rinse the
inside using a bottle washer with hot water.  I then put my dishwasher
on the longest setting with heated drying and put in about 1 tbl
bleach.  NOTE: There is no soap.  I run the bottles, let them dry via
the heat cycle, then run them again on a short cycle with no bleach or
soap.  I let the bottles dry again via the heat cycle, then let them
cool.  I don't open the door of the dishwasher until the moment I'm
ready to begin filling the bottles.

I fill the bottles over the dishwasher door as I pull each bottle out.
This keeps the spilled beer on the door of the dishwasher.  When I'm
done bottling, I put in the gear I want washed and run the dishwasher
with soap on a short cycle.  This cleans the beer off the door and the
equipment inside.

This keeps the mess to a minimum and seems to clean the bottles well
enough.  I've never had an infected bottle using this method.

Credit for the method goes to someone else; I read about it here in
HBD.  Works great.

 - Dave Shaver

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1312, 12/31/93