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


Contents:
  Competitions and wort chillers (Ulick Stafford)
  Ice-bath wort chiller ("Dave Suurballe")
  Mail Order Vendors ("Ray Siemens")
  hop removal (Carl Howes)
  Glenn Tinseth:"The imports are in!" (Joel Birkeland)
  reverse immersion cooler ("McCaw, Mike")
  cornelius keg parts? (The Rider) (Michael Fetzer)
  Stoelting questions (Michael J Singer)
  Pumpkin Stout recipes ("Micah A. Singer")
  Anchor Porter clone wanted, Holiday brew results, etc. (Jim Graham)
  Mail Order Homebrew Suppliers ("Paul Austin")
  upper canada, airlines, dry hopping vs. cask (/R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/)
  Use of Flours in Brewing ("/R=FDACB/R=A1/U=RIDGELY/O=HFM-400/TN=FTS 402-1521/FFN=Bill Ridgely/")
  Northeast Brewers Supply (drose)
  1993 Hops, Boom or Bust? (npyle)
  RE: UK hops (Jim Busch)
  getting homebrew on airplanes ("FRED WALTER : ASTRONOMY, SUNY STONY BROOK, 516-632-8232")
  Old Crusty.... (Mark W Nightingale)
  Kettle Mashing (Jack Schmidling)
  Dry Lager Yeast and off flavours (John Eustace)
  Pentagonal Immersion Chiller System ("Palmer.John")
  no subject (file transmission) (Steve Scampini)
  Soda Extracts in Homebrew (JEBURNS)
  Re:  Chiller in ice bucket (correction) ("Christopher V. Sack")
  uploading to sierra.stanf (Carlo Fusco)
  Beer travel in GB (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  BrewArt Collection, volume (George Tempel)
  Re: transporting beer (Emily Breed)


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

Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 17:10:40 EST
From: ulick at bizet.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford)
Subject: Competitions and wort chillers

Some time back the point was made, by Jack Schmidling, I think, that
competition judges should specialize in a few types of beer.  After
entering a competition recently, I was reminded of this.  Some of
the comments indicated that many judges may not be  totally
familiar with the nuances of individual classes, and it is hard to 
expect such expertise when judges are expected to judge so many different
classes of beer.  I realise that varitey is the spice of life and that
judging a narrow number of classes could get boring, but it might be useful
if a qualified judge of another type of beer was paired with an
experienced judge at competitions much as novice judges are, until 
expertise in the new style could be gained.  Comments?

Chris Sack mentions back of the envelope calculations that indicate that
to cool 5 gallons of wort 80 lb of ice are needed.  Surely 40 lb were meant-
though still a considerable quantity.  One way I first tried a wort
chiller was much as suggested except I used 60' of copper wound into 2
coils.  I placed one in each of my twin sinks with cold water in the former
and ice water in the latter.  The method failed due to the severe head
requiements for flow through both coils and up loops.  None the less a 
2 stage system could be considered.

On the subject of wort chillers, I was at my local store the other day and
they have what seems to be an excellent price on 20' x 3/8" OD immersion wort 
chillers.  They say they'll deliver anywhere in the country for $24.95.
The name of the store is Mung Brothers and the phone number is (616) 684 2488.
__________________________________________________________________________
 'Heineken!?! ... F#$% that s at &* ...  | Ulick Stafford, Dept of Chem. Eng.  
    Pabst Blue Ribbon!'               | Notre Dame IN 46556
                                      |    ulick at darwin.cc.nd.edu   


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Date: 11 Jan 1994 15:42:31 -0800
From: "Dave Suurballe" <suurb at farallon.com>
Subject: Ice-bath wort chiller

Bob Eddy asked for comments about his plans for an ice-bath
wort chiller.  I have one of these which I use during drought
years because it uses less water.

My ice-bath chills the wort to just about 65 degrees without
throttling the flow, and it takes 4 7-pound bags of ice per
five gallons. 

The chiller works fine, but I don't like it, because four bags
of ice cost me about $4, and that's as much as I pay for the
malt.  I also don't like driving to the store during the boil to
buy the stuff.  This is not a drought year in California, and
I'm back on the counterflow chiller.

I can't explain why my ice consumption is so much less that
the 80 pounds predicted by the Chemistry Dept at SUNY,
but I've noticed something interesting about the chiller that
may have something to do with it.  The wort warms the ice
water as it travels through it, and the warmer water rises to
the top and the cooler water sinks to the bottom.  I think this
makes the thing work better.

The wort can get no colder than the coolant adjacent to its exit.
Therefore you want the coldest coolant near the wort exit.
(That's why counter-flow works so well.)  If I constantly
stirred the ice bath so the water was the same temperature
throughout, the water near the wort exit would be warmer,
and so would the exiting wort.  So the temperature stratification
seems to be a good thing.

Life is filled with simple pleasures:  during every brew I
looked forward to a certain little sensual treat:  at the end of
chilling, all the ice was melted;  there was only liquid in the bath,
and I would extend my fingers and gently touch their tips to the
surface of the liquid, like a water insect.  The water was hot,
like a bathtub.  Then, slowly and gently, so as to not disturb
the water, I would insert my fingers and hand deeper and
deeper into the bath, feeling the water get colder and colder.
It was a beautiful continuum, from hot at the top to
painfully cold at the bottom, all in a space of several inches.

I could never feel the same intense continuum coming back
out of the water because I'd already disturbed and mixed the
upper layers, I suppose.

I wonder, does an amateurish description of a sensual treat
have any place in an engineering forum such as this?

Suurballe

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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 03:47:28 PST  
From: "Ray Siemens" <siemens at unixg.ubc.ca>
Subject: Mail Order Vendors

Some time ago, I recall a discussion about using mail order firms for
supplies, but I don't remember seeing any reccommended or even suggested.
Could anyone out there suggest a few good firms?

Ray Siemens
University of British Columbia
siemens at unixg.ubc.ca

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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 13:10:42 EST
From: sdlsb.dnet!73410%sdlcc at swlvx2.msd.ray.com (Carl Howes)
Subject: hop removal

I have been filtering the hops (sometimes leaf/plug, sometimes pellet) out
of the wort while pouring it into the primary.  Considering the vigor of
fermentation on my last two batches it's the only reason I didn't wind up
with a fermenter bomb.  BTW, for those who haven't used it yet, if you use
Wyeast #1084 (Irish Ale) USE A BLOWOFF!!!  The first batch I used that yeast
on (a stout) blew the airlock off the (6 gallon) carboy.  Back to my
question.  Has anyone got a way of doing this that doesn't require cleaning
the filter every five minutes?  "Why do it?" is a valid answer if you have
reason(s) why I need not bother.  Private e-mail to the address below
preferred, I will summarize and post if I get enough response.

Carl
73410 at sdlcc.msd.ray.com


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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 17:27:21 MST
From: birkelan at adtaz.sps.mot.com (Joel Birkeland)
Subject: Glenn Tinseth:"The imports are in!"


I spoke with Glenn Tinseth this past weekend and he mentioned that
the imports are here, (or should be by the time you read this).

Joel

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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 17:08:00 PST
From: "McCaw, Mike" <mccaw at wdni.com>
Subject: reverse immersion cooler


Christopher V. Sack replys to Bob Eddy that  "back of the envelope" 
calculations indicate that it would take 80 pounds of ice to cool 5 gal of 
wort to 60 degrees.  I have cooled five gallons of wort (in a pot) with 
about 10 pounds of ice and three or four gallons of water (a kitchen sink 
full of ice and water and brewpot).  It came down to seventy degrees F in 
about 25 minutes (some agitation).  Was the heat of fusion of the ice fully 
accounted for?

BTW, a very similar design appeared in the ALL GRAIN special issue of 
Zymurgy in the article about the 15-gallon pilot brewery in an Idaho 
basement.  I can't remember whether or not they mentioned ice, but it was 
definitely a coil in a five gallon bucket.
Cheers!

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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 17:53:50 -0800
From: mfetzer at UCSD.EDU (The Rider) (Michael Fetzer)
Subject: cornelius keg parts?

Could someone point me to an inexpensive source of cornelius keg parts?
Mainly the large O rings, and poppet valves.

I'm also curious about the pressure release valves. There seem to be two
types: one just screws into the lid, the other I'm not sure how to
remove/replace.

Thanks!

Mike


- --
Michael Fetzer                         pgp 2.2 key available on request
Internet:      mfetzer at ucsd.edu        uucp:    ...!ucsd!mfetzer
Bitnet:        FETZERM at SDSC
HEPnet/SPAN:   SDSC::FETZERM           or       27.1::FETZERM



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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 20:39:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael J Singer <MJSINGER at OREGON.UOREGON.EDU>
Subject: Stoelting questions

I hereby grovel for info. and advice from anyone having firsthand experience
with Stoelting homebrew equipment.  The stuff looks great and of course costs a 
lot of $.  My brothers are considering such a system for me for a wedding
present.  I want to know if it would be worth their hard earned greenbacks!
I know, lucky me..

My questions are:
1) Do you love the stuff?

2) What are the relative merits of the electric vs. the gas burners?

3) Do you like the false bottom for mashing?  

I'd be grateful to any respondents.

For those who are just wondering:  a 7 gallon pot, matching burner,
false-bottom grain bed, and wort chiller (all of heavy duty stainless) goes
about one thousand bucks!

cheers

Mike Singer
Institute of Molecular Biology
Univ. of Oregon


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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 23:46:47 -0500
From: "Micah A. Singer" <Micah.A.Singer at williams.edu>
Subject: Pumpkin Stout recipes

I am getting ready to brew a pumpkin stout beer and I am not exactly
sure what type of recipe I should be using.  I have heard recipes
ranging from real pumpkin to that pumpkin concoction that you put into
pumpkin pies.  I was wondering what kind of relative benefits each
type of different stout affords and if anybody has a tried and true
Pumpkin stout recipe they would care to part with. 

Micah Singer (Micah.A.Singer at williams.edu)


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Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 16:35:47 -0600 (CST)
From: jim at n5ial.mythical.com (Jim Graham)
Subject: Anchor Porter clone wanted, Holiday brew results, etc.

I'm looking for yet another clone recipe....  Actually, I'm looking for two
recipies, but the second may be a bit difficult.  :-)

If anyone has an extract clone of Anchor Porter, I'd really love to know
about it....  I'm not able to do all-grain brews right now---no equipment,
no space for equipment, no budget to buy equipment, etc., so I am limited
to an extract brew.  I can handle specialty grains if it's something where
I can just steep it in a grain bag while bringing the water from tap temps
to a boil.

Also, even though this isn't really a beer, does anyone know how to make a
reasonable clone of a Pangalactic Gargleblaster?  :-)   (Non-Hitchhiker's
fans, ignore this....)

Ok, on to the holiday brews, and the results.  I brewed two different
Christmas ales (I was hoping my dad would like at least one of them...no
such luck---but then, in his opinion, the best beer he's ever had was a
can of Keystone...).  The first ale was a spice brew, and the second was
the same ale with raspberries added.  Both of these were originally
planned to be 5 (US) gallon batches, but the S.G. was so high I decided
to go ahead and make them 6 gallon batches.

                          CHRISTMAS ALE #1

For 6 (US) gallons:

   1 tin (6.6 lbs) Ireks Bavarian malt extract (Munich light unhopped)
   2 lbs honey
   2 oz fresh ginger root  (*) (**)
   2 tsp nutmeg            (*)
   4 tsp cinnamon          (*)
   1 oz Cascade (boil --- 15 minutes)
   1/2 oz Saaz  (last 2 minutes)
   2 packets dry ale yeast (type of yeast?  plain old ``ale yeast'')

(*) Spices, etc.---add these during last 2 to 5 minutes of boil.
(**) Ginger was just peeled and sliced (moderately thin---around 0.5 mm
     to 1 mm).


                          CHRISTMAS ALE #2

Follow recipe for #1, and then:

After wort (still concentrated) cools to 170 deg. F, add 3 lbs 12 oz
(wanted 4 lbs) frozen raspberries in grain bag.  Steep until wort cooled
enough to raise level to 5 US gallons.  Remove raspberries, bring up to
6 gallons, pitch yeast, and wait...rather impatiently.

Specifics:

Ale #1 O.G.:  1.050              Ale #2 O.G.:  1.050
Ale #1 F.G.:  1.008              Ale #2 F.G.:  1.010

#1 was brewed on 9 December, and #2 was brewed on 7 December (the
numbering, obviously, was adjusted to make explanation of the recipies
easier <grin>).  Both were ``sampled'' on Christmas eve and Christmas day,
and were good, but the spices and raspberries were a bit over-powering.
Now, however, both brews have mellowed out, and are, to say the least,
OUTSTANDING!  And to think I thought the Sam (tm) Adams (tm) Winter (tm)
Lager (tm) was (tm ... oops, he hasn't claimed that one yet ... has he?)
was good....both of these make that one look like, well, use your
imagination.  :-)  I would like to find out what these would taste like
after a year or two, but, ummm, that's not very likely....

Oh, btw, both of these brews seem to have a *VERY* high surface tension.
Anyone have any idea what might have brought this about?

Also, I'd expected the version without the raspberries to have a lower
specific gravity, but it didn't (all measurements were corrected for
temperature, were taken right after vigorous mixing of the wort, etc.).
Anyone know why this was the case?  Shouldn't the sugar from the
raspberries have raised it?  Or by steeping them as I did, was the
difference a difference in flavor only?

Later,
   --jim

PS:  One thing to keep in mind when looking at any brew that I particularly
     like---I don't like brews that have too much of a hop bitterness (I
     used to, but I suppose my tastes have changed---I now prefer a much
     smoother flavor that's somewhere between bitter and sweet), and I
     prefer brews that are medium- to full-bodied.

- --
73 DE N5IAL (/4)                         < Running Linux 0.99 PL10 >
      jim at n5ial.mythical.com                 ICBM: 30.23N 86.32W
  ||  j.graham at ieee.org          Packet:  N5IAL at W4ZBB (Ft. Walton Beach, FL)
E-mail me for information about KAMterm (host mode for Kantronics TNCs).


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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 07:33:45 EST
From: "Paul Austin" <huckfinn at vnet.IBM.COM>
Subject: Mail Order Homebrew Suppliers

For those in the NY area, I recommend Tillson Hobby Emporium.  They
sell beer, wine, soda, cider, and even vinegar making supplies.  I've
always found them to be helpful, but I don't know much of their mail
order business goes as I always drive there.  I know they have an 800
number but I can't find it.  For those who can afford the call, try
1-914-352-9001.  Ask about the Brew Club Discount.  For those who
would like an 800 number, send me a note or wait until I can post it.

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with the Tillson Hobby Emporium in
any way other than being a paying customer.

There was a NE Brewer's supply mentioned in the last issue,
1-800-352-9001 (Providence RI), but the person who mentioned it said
they weren't too hot on customer service.

Would it be possible for someone to put together a FAQ with a bunch of
supplier's numbers in it?  Since I've mentioned it, will I now get
slated with the job?  Anyone else think it is a good idea?  Or is that
misuse of the Internet?

Paul Austin
Brewer of Malcolm's Catskill Amber since 1993

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 09:39:07 -0500 (EST)
From: /R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/ at mr.rtpnc.epa.gov
Subject: upper canada, airlines, dry hopping vs. cask

Conley asked if anyone has visited the Upper Canada brewery.  I was
there sometime in the '80's and remember the beer was good, the tour fair, 
and the guide less knowledgable than most novice homebrewers.  The thing
I remember most about the brewery is a lot of broken glass on the bottling
line.
I brought this subject up before which led to much discussion.  Different
airports and security systems treat homebrew differently.  Some want to see
if the bottles are sealed others want to see labels, others don't care. 
The safest way is to put it in your luggage if you can risk breakage.  The 
pressure inside the luggage compartment is the same as the cabin according
to those knowledgeable.

For Jim Busch.  What's the difference between dry hopping and cask hopping?

Andy Kligerman



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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 10:01:00 EST
From: "/R=FDACB/R=A1/U=RIDGELY/O=HFM-400/TN=FTS 402-1521/FFN=Bill Ridgely/" at mr.cber.fda.gov
Subject: Use of Flours in Brewing

  I'd like to initiate a little discussion on the use of grain flours in
  brewing. A friend and brewing partner just acquired a significant amount
  of rice flour, and he'd like to use some of this in his all-grain mashes.
  
  I checked the homebrewing literature, and there is not much out there on
  the subject. Papazian briefly mentions using wheat flour as an adjunct,
  adding it directly to the mash (as with flaked or pre-cooked grains).
  Miller and Noonan don't mention the use of flour at all. Dave Line, in the
  "Big Book of Brewing", provides the most info. I quote:
  
     "There are several specialized wheat flour adjuncts available on the
     amateur market. Their main attribute is to act as diluents to high
     nitrogen malts with the benefit of maintaining, at the same time, the
     body and fullness of the beer. The flavour is slight and unobtrusive,
     which makes these adjuncts ideal partners for lager malts where the
     delicate hop flavours must be unaltered in the finished beer.
  
     The big disadvantage is that the flour increases the tendency to
     restrict the porosity of the "goods" during mashing that can result in
     set mashes and flooding during the sparging process"
  
  Line's advice is sensible, but it would be helpful to know the optimum
  amount of flour to use without running the risk of a set mash. Also, I'm
  curious as to which other flours (rice, rye, corn, etc) brewers have used
  successfully.
  
  Rice, of course, provides lightness and a clean flavor to beer by lowering
  the protein and polyphenol content of the mash. It also has 80% extract
  potential (according to Noonan). My guess is rice flour would accomplish
  much the same function.
  
  I'd like to hear the experiences of other brewers who have successfully
  used flours (of all types) in their mashes.
  
  Bill Ridgely (Brewer, Patriot, Bicyclist)                    __o
  ridgely at a1.cber.fda.gov                                     -\<,
  ridgely at cber.cber.fda.gov                                ...O/ O...
  


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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 10:58:20 -0500 (EST)
From: drose at husc.harvard.edu
Subject: Northeast Brewers Supply

Hello:
	In the last Digest, someone mentioned Northeast Brewer's Supply, 
saying that their customer service had gone way down. Just another data 
point.  When I first ordered from them, I was amazed at the service; I 
ordered 50lbs of American 2-row and had it (in Cambridge, MA) in less 
than 24 hours.  Some months later, I ordered some hops and things, and 
there was a substantial delay; at this time I believe they were in the 
process of moving to a new (bigger) warehouse, and that caused the 
delay.  However, more recently, service seems to be up to it's old 
standards.  So, if you tried NBS and had trouble, I would recommend 
trying them again; it looks to me like they are doing pretty well, and 
that their customer service problems might have been transitional.
Their prices (50lbs American 2-row for $26) are outstanding.
	No affiliation, etc. Just a regular old customer.
			
							d.


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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 8:58:57 MST
From: npyle at n33.stortek.com
Subject: 1993 Hops, Boom or Bust?

Bob Jones writes:

>Got this note from a friend in England. Any comments?
>
>me to him > I just got my hands on some good fresh East Kent Goldings and
>me to him > Fuggles. I'm
>me to him > starting to think about my next real ale.
>
>him to me >That's pretty good going - I hear there was a bad harvest this year,
>him to me >and most of the UK suppliers are selling American Willamette (I
>him to me >think)
>him to me >as "Goldings substitute". Ironic really.

Yikes!  I was just planning a nice British bitter with Fuggles and Goldings.  I
have some good Fuggles plugs, but do you mean I won't be able to find any good
Goldings?  Yikes!  One more thing:  I thought Willamette was grown as a Fuggles
substitute.  Maybe they are using BC Goldings as a EK Goldings sub...

Another semi-related comment I would make:  this year's Cascade and Willamette
crops appear to be quite good in the US, in terms of AA%.  This no doubt will
make the big brewers happy, as they will be able to use less.  The Cascades are
somewhere between 7-8%, the Willamettes 6-7%.  If the crop was healthy too (big
yields), then there should be some partying going in Washington and Oregon this
winter.  Is this likely to alter the humulene/myrcene ratio drastically?  I'd
be curious to hear if George Fix (or anyone) has any information on these
components.  For the homebrewer (or any brewer trying to make a top-quality
beer), if they become more and more like the high-alpha hops, then it is net
loss, rather than a net gain.

Norm

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 11:11:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: RE: UK hops

> From: bjones at novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
> Subject: UK hops
> 
 Got this note from a friend in England. Any comments?
 
 me to him > I just got my hands on some good fresh East Kent Goldings and 
 me to him > Fuggles. I'm 
 me to him > starting to think about my next real ale.
 
 him to me >That's pretty good going - I hear there was a bad harvest this year,
 him to me >and most of the UK suppliers are selling American Willamette (I 
 him to me >think)
 him to me >as "Goldings substitute". Ironic really.


Well, interesting indeed.  Just yesterday, I talked to Morris Hanbury who
assured me the containers of EKG '93 have just arrived.  Shipments from 
this vendor should go out this week or early next.  Maybe we pay more ,
so they ship all these great hops to us :-)  ??

What a pity for the UK.

Jim Busch





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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 11:09:35 -0500 (EST)
From: "FRED WALTER : ASTRONOMY, SUNY STONY BROOK, 516-632-8232" <FWALTER at astro.sunysb.edu>
Subject: getting homebrew on airplanes

My (limited) experiences with bringing homebrew on airplanes:

1. I carried a box containing a dozen bottles of homebrew through security
   and onto a United flight at Stapelton (Denver), no questions asked. I was
   not asked about the contents of the box at security! This was in about 1985.
2. I checked a case of homebrew on a United flight at LaGuardia (New York) in
   1991. The airline personnel put the case inside 2 ski bags (I already had
   a plastic garbage bag inside the case); they did not care about the contents,
   but didn't want any spills in case a bottle broke. There was no problem.
   (Note: the cargo area is pressurized and heated - they put animals in there.)
3. I attempted to carry a six-pack of homebrew through security at Islip
   (Long Island) in 1990. Security would not let unlabelled bottles through
   as carry-on baggage, unless I could prove what the contents were. I did this
   by drinking a bottle then and there, and carried the other 5 with me onto
   the plane.
 
It probably does not hurt to call ahead to both the airport and the airline...

Fred


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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 07:58:54 PST
From: night at mapme19.pen.tek.com (Mark W Nightingale)
Subject: Old Crusty....


Mark Fryling writes:

>One more question.  I have been looking wherever possible for Rogue's Old
>Crustacean Barleywine but I cant seem to find it.  Is this stuff available in
>bottles anywhere?  The things I have read say that its great stuff.

Yes... it is bottled!!!
This barleywine is precious stuff.  It so happens to appear in my local 
supermarket at least once a month.  If you are in to barleywines... it is a
must try.  I live in southwest Washington...not overly far from where it is 
brewed...however, I'm not sure of their distribution range... good luck in
finding it!!!  It should be available at least all over Oregon, some of 
Washington and Northern California.
While you are at it... try Rogue's Chili Pepper brew.... I think it is quite
tasty!

Haben Sie Durst?

 -Mark Nightingale

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 10:14 CST
From: arf at mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Kettle Mashing

 
 >From: btalk at aol.com
 
 >My question - I've never seen one , so what is/how does an Easymasher work??
 
 Here is a thumbnail sketch.  For complete info, email to me.
 
 
 
         BRASS
         SPIGOT          FEMALE
           |           CONNECTOR
           |               |
        ________    |      |
        \_____  \   |      |
              | |   |   ____
      ________|_|___****____|_____   COPPER TUBING
     /  _______X____    ____ ____ \     /
    / /             ****____|    \ \   /     SS SCREEN
   /_/              |             \ \            |
                    |              \ \----##################
                    |               \-----##################
                    -----BOTTOM------------------------------
 
 
                            FIG. 1  
 
 
 Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of the EASYMASHER.
 The strainer is simply a 2 x 6 inch piece of screen, rolled
 into a six inch tube and clamped to the copper tube.  The
 last half inch is bent over itself to seal it off.    The
 copper tube has a double bend in it to allow it to be
 rotated so that the end is right on the bottom leaving
 almost no wort behind.  It is easily removed for cleaning.
 
 The spigot passes through a clearance hole drilled in the
 kettle and is retained by the female connector and a washer
 to take up the treads and make a tight fit.
 
 >From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com>
 >Subject: RE:  mashing
 
 >Jack writes:
 
 >> Subject: Kettle Mashing
 
 >>  The mash should be allowed to settle for 15 to 30 minutes during which 
 time you should get at least some water heated so you can start sparging.  If 
 you  use something like a coffee pot to heat it in you can sparge as fast as 
 you can heat the water.
 
 >15 - 30 seems excessive to me.
 
 Not sure this is even worth commenting on but if 15 minutes seems to be 
 excessive, what settling time seems reasonable to you?  I can't imagine much 
 settling taking place in less than 15 minutes and I suspect much of the 
 trouble that many beginners have with sparging is a result of rushing into 
 it.
 
 >  The important thing is to understand that sparging is not normally a batch
 >  process.  You want to keep an inch of water over the grain at all times
 >  during sparging until you are within a gallon or two of your required wort
 >  volume.  Then you can just let it run dry but you need to get a feel for
 >  how much liquid is held in the grain and essentially lost.
 
 <There are many successful micros who allow the water bed to drop below the
 grain bed prior to adding additional sparge water.
 
 No doubt... but that still does not constitute a batch process nor does it 
 make it a good idea.  Furthermore, you are once more falling into the "if the 
 big guys do it, it must be good for homebrewers" syndrome.  What works well 
 or gets by in a large commercial operation my be totally inappropriate for a 
 home brew sized batch.  Lot's of corners can be cut and still produce good 
 beer but there is no physical argument for letting the water level get below 
 the top of the grain bed and a very good reason not to.
 
 >  The ability of the properly designed flase bottom to handle this is the 
 assumption, something I suspect the Easy***** is incapable of.
 
 This has already been refuted by one user so I will not belabor the point.  I 
 will however, point out that one of the most interesting aspects of the 
 easymasher has been the number of bad guesses made about the problems 
 preventing it from being practical.  
 
 I doubt that any successful product has been so negatively received by the 
 "experts" and so positively approved by the people who have taken the trouble 
 to use it.  I have no idea how many people have built them from my 
 instructions but I have sold about a thousand and have nothing but positive 
 feedback.
 
 All I  need to do is to make a large scale model for the micro business and 
 the false bottom will become a museum curiosity.
 
 >From: bjones at novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
 
 >Why do brewers enter out of state competitions, I'm speaking of non-national 
 competitions?....
 
 >* Fill in the blank.
 
 As a manufacturer of homebrew equipment it is nice to prove that the 
 equipment works by citing ribbons and awards for beer made with it.  The more 
 awards, the better.. (I guess)
 
 This has been particularly true with the EASYMASHER (tm) because so many 
 "experts" insist that it can't work.
 
 
 >From: BMOORE.UNIX11 at mailsrv2.eldec.com (BMOORE)
 >Subject: guessless mashing
  
 >>From: arf at mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
 
 >>The most obvious is that there is no guessing about "strike" temp.
 >>Yousimply shut off the heat when you get there and add more as it
 >>cools to maintain temp.
 
 >Here's a technique I use to take the guesswork out infusion mashing.  It
 involves calculating the thermal energy needed to raise the grist to the
 proper temperature and balancing that with the thermal energy lost by
 the strike water.....
 
 This is followed by 150 lines of instructions on how to avoid guessing.  I 
 seem to have made a poor choice of words.  My point was that neither guessing 
 nor caluclating are required with kettle mashing.  One simply watches a 
 thermometer and stirs occasionally.... keeps it real simple for us senile old 
 timers.
 
 
 js
 

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Date:         Wed, 12 Jan 94 10:58:44 EST
From: John Eustace <3JCE1 at QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA>
Subject:      Dry Lager Yeast and off flavours

Hi all,

I've been advising a local BOP on all-grain brewing and yesterday the owner
called me with an intriguing problem.  Seems that for some reason his all-
grain lagers have the flavour and aroma of "a dairy barn".  I assumed this
meant that it had a grainy or grassy flavour and aroma and suggested several
reasons why these aromas might be cropping up.  But then I asked him how his
ales were turning out and he told me that they showed no signs of the same
flavour or aroma.  Of course, I told him right away that the problem must be
yeast related.  He's using a dried Maori lager yeast (ironically, it comes from
Australia, not New Zealand) and, though I think this yeast is pretty awful,
he is not at all anxious to get rid of it because it works fine (in his opinion
) for the all extract lagers he brews at his establishment.

So my questions are: first, am I correct in assuming that the problem is yeast
related given that the processes and grains are exactly the same for his ales
and lagers? and secondly, why might the lager yeast be producing these flavours
when the ale yeasts are not?

A brewers puzzle for all.
Cheers
JE

ps. I suggested he use a neutral ale yeast in a lager recipe to see if it makes
any difference.

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Date: 12 Jan 1994 08:35:48 U
From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com>
Subject: Pentagonal Immersion Chiller System

Hi Group,
Well, I've been telling myself for the last two weeks that nobody really cares
what John's immersion chiller system is, but after Wednesday's HBD, I couldn't
help myself.

I had read in the HBD last year about a guy that presented his 3 lobed
triangular design, getting more tubing into a smaller area. He commented that
more lobes would probably be even more effective. Also the idea was presented
by (someone) that suspending the chiller at the top of the kettle allowed
convection currents to do the stirring work.

Okay, I designed a five lobed arrangement to increase the length of tubing
used.  (Hey Rocky, watch me try to do an ascii drawing!...)
         _
        (0)              Ugh. Well, picture a symmetrical pentogram
         X               with the copper tubing wrapping from the inside, 
   _ /      \ _          around some 3 inch circular forms in a retrograde 
  (0X        X0)         manner, back to the inside and on to the next form.
     \  __  /            You end up with a small pentogram inside, with a
      X    X             circular lobe coming off each corner.
     (0)  (0)
      
This design yielded a chiller 6 inches high, 12 inch across and used 50 feet of
quarter inch copper tubing which cost 10 bucks. Then my wife told me that we
could not use that much water, this is S. Cal., conserve water, (crow
sounds...)
So I had to buy a pump to recirculate my water. $80.00  >:{
I use two ten lb blocks of ice in the bucket of water and run that to and from
the chiller. ice = 3 bucks, no problem.
This chiller cools my 3 gallon boils in 15 minutes to 70 degrees. Not bad.
I should comment that building the wrapping form for the tubing used 3 inch dia
PVC tubing with end caps, held thru the center to a piece of plywood with
carriage bolts. Actually wrapping the fifty foot coil was a royal pain but it
was worth it. I retrospect, perhaps I should have used 3/8 tubing for better
cooling water throughput. But, wrapping 3/8 like this may not work well...?

PS. I am working on a Sierra Nevada Porter Clone this weekend, I will let you
know how it turns out next month sometime.

John Palmer MDA-SSD M&P palmer#d#john at ssdgwy.mdc.com
(Its hard to work in a group when you are omniscient. - Q in Star Trek NG)
(New NASA Management Slogan)

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 11:38:54 EST
From: Steve Scampini <scampini at hp-and.an.hp.com>
Subject: no subject (file transmission)

Back to the well for more help:

Does anyone have a good mail-order source of standard chemistry
hardware such as flasks, glass tubing, flexible tubing, stoppers,
etc..  I am aware of the big houses like Cole-Parmer (sp?) and
Fischer Scientific; I am looking for a smaller, funkier kind of
place where the owner answers the phone and deals with small
orders (or a retail outlet in the Boston area).  I thought maybe
some photographer/brewers (a family album of memorable brewing
moments?) out there might also be tapped into such a source.  I
also realize that some mail-order brewing supply houses sell a
small variety of this stuff; I thought there may be a source with
more variety.  My immediate need is for a yeast starter container
as well as some stuff to set up some kitchen chemistry
demonstrations for the local grammer school. 

On another note:  I used an immersion cooler for a Thanksgiving
boil session.  I did the deed in an open garage.  Outside temp
about 45 F.  I ran about 200 feet of garden hose from the outside
spigot over the cold, cold ground ahead of the cooler.  I filled
the hose prior to the session.  I think this quick and dirty
prechiller got the cooling off to a brisk start.  There is alot
of cold to be had outside in the Northeast this winter to be put
the benefit of personkind.  

Thanks in advance,

Steve Scampini

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 11:59:12 EST
From: JEBURNS at ucs.indiana.edu
Subject: Soda Extracts in Homebrew


There has been a discussion regarding the use of fruit flavorings
in homebrew.  I was wondering if anyone has tried using soda 
flavorings such as root beer,ginger beer, sasparilla etc.. I almost
dumped half a bottle of extract in my last batch but decided to 
wait.  Any actual experiences would be helpful.

As a side note has anyone thought of using auto heater cores for a 
reverse immersion chiller.  The chiller has been described recently,
a coil of copper tubing in a bucket of ice.  The heater cores have 
lots of fins and are good at conducting heat.  I would worry about
the solder that is used on them and the fact that they carried anti-
freeze.  If they could be sanitized a series of them linked together
would make a great chiller.

Responses to JEBURNS at ucs.indiana.edu

Thanks,
Dave

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 12:06:18 -0500 (EST)
From: "Christopher V. Sack" <cvsack at mailbox.syr.edu>
Subject: Re:  Chiller in ice bucket (correction)

Dear netters,
I was informed by e-mail that my calculations were incorrect.  I must 
admit that I used the wrong value for the "heat of fusion" (the heat 
required to melt one gram of ice) when calculating the amount of ice 
required to cool the 5 gal of wort.  I have no idea where I came up with 
this value.  

The amount of ice required to cool 5 gal of boiling wort to 60 deg.F 
using the chiller coil in an ice bucket method is closer to 40#, not 80# 
as I reported previously.  My apologies to all.  

Chris 
   +--------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |      ___            ___                        Christopher V. Sack |
   |     /   )  |    /  /   )         |              Graduate Student   |
   |    /       |   /  (___   __   __ |             Dept. of Chemistry  |
   |   /        |  /       ) __ ) /  )|  /          State Univ. of N.Y. |
   |  /         | /       / /  / /    | /           Syracuse, NY  13210 |
   | (____/*    |/* (____/ (__\ (__/  |/ \         <cvsack at lor.syr.edu> |
   +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
 




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Date: 	Wed, 12 Jan 1994 10:21:00 -0500
From: carlo.fusco at canrem.com (Carlo Fusco)
Subject: uploading to sierra.stanf


Hello everyone,

I want to post some new items to the archives at sierra.stanford.edu, but 
I no longer have FTP ability. Can I email the items to sierra and have 
them uploaded?

BTW, what I want to upload is the updated version of my "brewing online" 
article and a spreadsheet recipe formulator that I have been working on.

Thanks
Carlo

- ---
 * Freddie 1.2.5 * email: carlo.fusco at canrem.com  Sharon,Ontario,Canada

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 12:47:35 EST
From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu
Subject: Beer travel in GB

Found this online:

 Weekend beer breaks are organised by the tourist office in
Burton-on-Trent, where there are still five breweries, ranging in
size from the huge Bass and Allied plants to the Burton Bridge
Inn brewery tap. There are also beer tours available in Sheffield
and Dudley. ``Interest in beer tends to be greater where there
are relatively few other natural attractions,'' a Camra spokesman
commented unkindly.

 One travel agency promoting beer tours, Magic Compass (0530-
815353), specialises in taking British drinkers to visit
breweries and beer festivals abroad.


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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 13:02:06 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel at MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: BrewArt Collection, volume

                      BrewArt Collection, volume #1

I am posting the following and submitting the self-extracting
archive (in binhex "hqx" form) to sierra.stanford.edu and
sumex-aim.stanford.edu (info-mac). Check for the file
"BrewArt_1.hqx" on sierra.stanford.edu in a few days
(giving Steve Hansen a chance to move it into the proper
archive location).


Thanks to all those who inspired this collection!

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

Welcome to the BrewArt Collection (for Macintosh)!

copyright 1994 George (Ty) Tempel


ABSTRACT:
This collection is the first edition of a set of brewing
related clip art that I am in the process of creating and
compiling. I have used some of these elements on my beer
labels, and a few of my network-friends have found them 
helpful as well.

DESCRIPTION:
The artwork is provided in the form of PICT files, which
are easily handled by nearly all major applications in
the Macintosh universe. I considered converting some stuff
to EPS (postscript) format, but not everyone out there has
access to nice postscript printers, such as myself. Since
the files are PICTS, it is feasible to convert them to
one or more various DOS/Windows formats, but you will loose
information in the conversion process. Since I don't have
a DOS/Windows machine (insert large grin here), I cannot
do the conversion for you, so it is left as an exercise
for the user (didn't you hate it when textbooks would
do that?).

Just for the record, I created the artwork using
Canvas 3.5, Color-It 2.3.2, and Adobe Streamline 3.
Some of the artwork is pre-colored, but you can change 
that if you like. I have an accellerated Macintosh II 
(Dove Racer, 32MHz), a DeskWriter inkjet printer, 
and the Logitech ScanMan. I also find that if you wish
to use Avery labels, try to find a box of #5164, which
are 3.33" x 4". They come right off of the bottle when
you use a little B-Brite cleanser, and some graphics
programs support the Avery label formats for templates
(mine didn't, however).

THE FINE PRINT:
This collection is released as brew/credit-ware (I know,
an awkward term, but you'll see that it fits). If you
decide to use any of the clip art from the collection, you
must give me, George (Ty) Tempel, partial credit for the
artwork and send me a bottle of the homebrew that you've
labelled. It's just that simple. No messy fees, etc. Please
remember that it is unlawful to send alcohol via the
US Postal Service, but private carriers (UPS, FedEx, Airborne,
etc), _can_ ship the stuff, just make sure that the brew
is securely packaged (try placing the bottles into tight
plastic bags just in case...). I have shipped several
bottles without problems, but sometimes I label the
contents as "food", "yeast culture equipment", or "glassware"
and have never had a problem (knock on formica).

I can be reached via the following:

George Tempel
65 West George Street
Freehold, NJ 07728

netromancr at aol.com

Comments and suggestions are welcome, and stay tuned for
more collections to be released at later dates!

- ------Volume #1 Contents-------

	animals:
		ram head pict
	equipment:
		enamel kettle (closed)
		enamel kettle (open)
		mash tun
	glassware:
		glass pitcher, empty
		pint glass, empty
		raven's head mug
		short pint of stout
		single stylized stein
		woodcut stylized stein
	grain...:
		grain head
		grain head #2
		stylized grain heads pict
		stylized grain pict
	hops...:
		hop flower
		hop leaf
		hop plants pict
		hops vine illustration
		stylized hop flower
		woodcut style hop leaf & cones
	misc label stuff:
		bronze-like oval label
		metal placard
		oval/rect label
		spices
		wine cellar

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

happy brewing!
ty




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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 10:20:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Emily Breed <emilyb at netcom.com>
Subject: Re: transporting beer

Last summer, I carried twelve bottles of homebrew in my carry-on luggage
to England.  I'd left the labels on the bottles, in hopes that that would
reassure any nervous security folks, but they never even asked to look at
the bottles. Ymmv, but I was pleased to get through international security
into a paranoid airport like Gatwick with no problems.

- -- Emily Breed


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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1324, 01/14/94