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


Contents:
  Fixing thermometers ("Haber Justin ")
  Calorie program: what is the unit of measure?  Plus, a bug.. (31-Jan-1994 0920 -0500)
  re: Brown Malt (darrylri)
  Re: Esslinger beer (was bottles, praises) ("Greg Eslinger")
  bottles (TODD CARLSON)
  Brown Malt (Bob Jones)
  yeast (DAMON_NOEL/HP0800_01)
  Newbie Kegging Questions (GRAHAM)
  re: brewcap (Bob Mastors)
  Abbey Ale sugars (Aaron Birenboim)
  spent grain (RONALD DWELLE)
  Re: Igloo coolers (Dion Hollenbeck)
  Re:  Brown Malt (r.) cavasin" <cav at bnr.ca>
  wheat recipe? (Lance Encell)
  Laaglander Dry Malt Extract (WLK.Wbst311)
  Killians Red/Zymurgy (DAVE FLETCHER)
  One of Vermont's finest breweries (Timothy Staiano)
  converted kegs (Mark Garti  mrgarti at eng.xyplex.com)
  Re: Brewcap (Michael Burgeson)
  flat beer remedy/sell us (LLAPV)
  Brown and Amber malts (cg0scs)
  Brown Malt is Alive and Well... (Jeff Frane)
  RE: DeadHeads & infections (unrelated :-) (Jim Busch)
  Buzz Beer (Derrick Pohl)
  Miller Velvet Stout (art)
  OVERNIGHT MASHES (Dave Smucker)
  Queen of Beer competition ("Dave Suurballe")


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


Date: 31 Jan 94 12:44:18 UT
From: "Haber Justin "
Subject: Fixing thermometers


   I missed the original post, but I assume the questioner's 
mercury is no longer contiguous.  I have solved this problem 
numerous times by gently HEATING the bulb (usually with a 
flame) until the mercury fills the entire tube and enters  the 
expantion reservoir at the top end of the tube.  Allowing the 
thermometer to cool slowly should return it to its original 
state.  I have found that it is  easier to reach the high end of 
the scale than the lower.  Do not hold the bulb  directly in or on 
your heat source, and apply only enough heat so the mercury 
just begins to enter the expantion resrvoir.

Justin Haber
justin.haber at gtegsc3.sprint.com 


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 09:21:57 EST
From: 31-Jan-1994 0920 -0500 <ferguson at zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Calorie program: what is the unit of measure?  Plus, a bug..

Thanks for posting the calorie counter program.  Couple of things.  First
off, what is the unit of measure?  per 12 oz?  

Second, those " in the write statements were barfed back by our VAX Fortran
compiler - I change 'em all to single quotes (') and it worked fine.

JC Ferguson
Littleton MA USA		ferguson at zendia.enet.dec.com

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Date: Mon Jan 31 06:46:14 1994
From: darrylri at microsoft.com
Subject: re: Brown Malt

Brown malt is actually being made.  I have 10 lbs. of it (well,
actually, it's only 8 lbs. now, after I used some in a stout...)

Hugh Baird, the Scottish Maltster, makes a product called brown
malt.  It's a relatively pale looking malt, high dried and
slightly roasted, with about 70L color.  I don't have a data
sheet on it, however, so I can't tell you if it has any enzymatic
power or not.  But I don't think it matters;  this malt has such
a strong flavor characteristic that I'm very unlikely to try
a beer with a high quantity of this malt.  It has a very sharp,
dry, grainy flavor to it, which I think accentuates the dryness
in a stout or porter.  But I think it would be overpowering
as the principle malt in a batch.

The stout I made, for 15 gallons, was 22 lbs. GW 2 row, 2 lbs.
wheat malt, 2 lbs. brown malt, 2 lbs. roasted barley, and
0.5 lbs. chocolate malt.  The original gravity turned out
to be 1.054.  Even as 7% of the grist, the brown malt added a
distinct dry note to the beer.  I will try it again in a porter
in a slightly larger percent sometime soon.

Since Hugh Baird is owned by Canada Malting, who also owns Great
Western Malting, you might be able to get this malt through a
distributor working with either of the latter two.  And if you
get a data sheet, I'm very interested to see it!

		--Darryl Richman


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 07:52:18 MST
From: "Greg Eslinger" <eslinger at saifr00.ateng.az.honeywell.com>
Subject: Re: Esslinger beer (was bottles, praises)


esonn1 at cc.swrthmore.edu wrote about Esslinger beer bottles.  

I've been looking for this beer for a while now.  Any Ideas on how I can
get a case of it sent to Phoenix, Arizona?
                                                  
Greg Eslinger                                    |ooo|
Amatuer Brewer                                   |   |)
"One day I'll get my wife to like this stuff!"   |___|

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 10:10:22 EST
From: carlsont at GVSU.EDU (TODD CARLSON)
Subject: bottles

          About favorite bottles:

          I like Corona bottles from Mexico because
               they are colorless (you can see your beer)
               they are durable
               they painted labels (no labels to remove)

          I have also seen Rolling Rock in our stores recently
          They also have painted labels but are green.  Some are well
          scratched which indicates to me that they are quite durable,
          albeit ugly.

          As MI has a bottle bill, I get these for the cost of the
          deposit ($0.10) and don't drink the beer.

          Todd
          carlsont at gvsu.edu

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 07:50:02 +0800
From: bjones at novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
Subject: Brown Malt

Brown malt is being sold by Hugh Baird. A few members of my local club split 
a bag of it recently. I have not brewed with it yet. I have tasted some of 
the other brewers beers that used it. It is interesting stuff. I think it 
may be better suited to brown ales than Porters, IMHO.

Bob Jones
bjones at novax.llnl.gov



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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 08:46:00 -0700
From: DAMON_NOEL/HP0800_01 at mailhub.cs.itc.hp.com
Subject: yeast

I'm puzzled why as stated in a recent posting, the storage
of yeast for longer terms on slants is better than on a flat
surface such as a Petri dish/plate.  Can someone explain to the
microbiologically handicapped?

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 09:53:01 -0600
From: graham at SEDSystems.ca (GRAHAM)
Subject: Newbie Kegging Questions



I am preparing to kiss the bottles goodbye and enter the world of 
kegging.  I intend to use Cornelius kegs with a CO2 setup.  I have 
FTP'd a copy of the kegging_info file from the the Sierra site, but 
would appreciate any information possible regarding the following 
questions:

CO2 Regulators.  What kinds are commonly used for kegging.  Where can 
they be purchased and what should I expect to pay for a suitable model.

Check Valves.  Same questions as regulators.

Dispenser.  Can you use a regular soft drink dispenser? if so how do 
you deal with foaming?  Are there more suitable taps to use?

Hints.  I would enjoy hearing about those helpful hints not covered in 
the homebrew books.


Please feel free to reply via E-mail to    allen at sedsystems.ca

Thanks for the help!

Barry Allen

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 09:15:06 +0700
From: Bob.Mastors at Central.Sun.COM (Bob Mastors)
Subject: re: brewcap

The BrewCap is great.  I love it.

My results with getting a good blowoff with the brewcap have been mixed.
Mostly I do not care anymore.  I do not notice any difference in
the beer taste.

I have had no problems collecting the yeast even after letting it
sit for a few days.  Sometimes it would run slow but it never stuck.

I have not had a problem using a priming solution with the brewcap.
Being able to add priming solution without racking is the best feature.
No more cleaning the priming bucket.  This makes the bottling experience
better.

The BrewCap is a strange bit of equipment.  But it is so cheap (under $20)
that it is worth purchasing just to see if it makes brewing more
enjoyable.  It certainly has for me.

Bob

ps: This was an unpaid un-solicited testimonial.


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 09:21:27 MST
From: abirenbo at redwood.hac.com (Aaron Birenboim)
Subject: Abbey Ale sugars


    I just brewed an abbey ale yesterday...  with the help of a starter
recipe from Jeff Frame (thanx Jeff!).  I played around a bit with the malt
bill, however.

   I used:
       9.5# Belgian pils malt
       2#   Aeromatic malt
       0.5# CaraVienna
       0.25# Special B
       1#   flaked wheat.
       ~2#  carmelized table sugar molten syrup.

   The color is not as dark as chimay, and is almost more of a deep, deep
red than brown.  Also...  this much grain is really pushing my 5 gallon
mash/lauter tun, and I got lousy extraction effeciency due to sparging
difficultiews and the lack of a mash-out.  (27 pts/lb/gal)  But I expected
this (hence the 2# sugar).  I got a wee under 6 gal of 1.078 wort.

   Anyhow, the big news is the sugar.  After some discussions appeared
in the Lambic mailing list, I decided to try to make something like
candi sugar.  I painstakingly stirred 2# of table sugar for about
45 minutes over medium heat until I had a beautiful tan-blonde syrup.
I then added the syrup to the unhopped boiling wort, and stood back
to watch the explosions.  it was quite impressive.  Do not attempt this
if your brew-kettle is more than about 60-65% full.

   This beer is a little lighter in color than most abbeys.  I'm wondering
what effect the blonde syrup had on final color?   Could the red be
from the Special B? CaraVienna? sugar?  I dunno.  This was my first
time using belgian malts.

   Also...   there were rootlets in my grist.  I did not notice them at
grinding.  Anybody know where they might have come from?  I was
using DeWolf & Cosins malts (i believe).

    I've got the thing fermenting now in a 68F chamber.  The beer is still
at about 64F now.  The tap water here in denver is really cold right now,
and I chilled the beer to under 60F before racking to a carbouy.

    Anybody else ever use home-carmelized sugar?

    In "Belgian Ale" Rojette is very insistent on re-priming with
fresh yeast at bottling.  Has anybody ever had problems with just priming
a 1.078 OG beer?  I'm using a chimay culture... so it should be alchahol
tolerant.  If homebrewers agree that fresh yeast is necessary, I could save 
some slurry from the primary.  (i guess if i do, i should wash it.)

         aaron

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 11:26:17 EST
From: dweller at GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE)
Subject: spent grain

          Two inquiries and one note:
          1.For you experienced all-grainers (from someone just 3 
          batches into the procedure): What do you do with the spent 
          (left-over) grain? Books say the biggies sell it as cattle 
          fodder, but I've got no pigs. Throw it in the garbage? Seems 
          like such a waste.
          2. In spite of care, chore-boy and panty-hose filtering, I'm 
          getting huge amounts of trub, like 1" to 2" in the bottom of 
          a five-gallon carboy. Is this normal? Avoidable? Is this 
          stuff going to screw up the brew? Can I still recover yeast 
          off this gunk?
          3. On the Grand Rapids Brewery (GR's first brew-pub), very 
          promising, but the place is mobbed (yuppified). They also 
          serve food (it's owned by Shelde's, a regional chain of good 
          "family" restaurants), and you'll probably have a long long 
          wait to get in the door, anytime after 5 pm. I've only been 
          once and gave up after getting one brew (it was good). Tried 
          to get in a second time and gave up after standing in the 
          cold. Barkeep said the brewmaster was Canadian import, 
          graduate of some brewschool there. Both bartenders I talked 
          to were pretty sketchy on beer matters (I imagine they'll 
          get better). 

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 08:53:28 PST
From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck)
Subject: Re: Igloo coolers

>>>>> "dan" == dan fox <dan_fox at ccmail.GSFC.NASA.GOV> writes:

dan> Of what possible use to a homebrewer is a large plastic picnic
dan> cooler full of grain? I've just been using steel pots and such. I
dan> have seen much mention of the practice here.

A single step infusion mash can be done in a cooler by adding mash
water at the right temperature to cause the grain and water to
stabilize at sacchrification temperature.  The insulation of a picnic
cooler will generally only allow the mash to drop a couple of degrees
over an hour mash time.  Makes things quite simple, put in grain, add
hot water, let it sit, sparge.

Dion Hollenbeck (619)455-5590x2814     Email: hollen at megatek.com
Staff Software Engineer                       megatek!hollen at uunet.uu.net
Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California    ucsd!megatek!hollen

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Date:  Mon, 31 Jan 1994 12:05:00 +0000 
From: "rick (r.) cavasin" <cav at bnr.ca>
Subject:  Re:  Brown Malt 

I've made brown malt according to the recipe in
'Old British Beers and how to make them', but I've
recently found a source of it.  A friend who does
homebrew supply business out of his home can get it
from his supplier.  It seemed to have a slightly more
acrid flavour than the brown malt I made myself, but
then the colour of the cracked grain is slightly
darker (the inside of the kernel has the colour of
a brown paper bag).  I've been using it in Brown Ales
and Stouts.  The beers have turned out quite well,
but I haven't done any sort of A/B comparison to analyse 
what contribution the commercial Brown malt makes.

The short answer is that Brown Malt is available commercially
here in Canada if you know how to get it. I would guess that
it's imported from the U.K.  

Cheers, Rick C.


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 11:18:44 CST
From: lencell at unmc.edu (Lance Encell)
Subject: wheat recipe?

I'd like a little advice or opinion on a potential wheat ale.  I'm an extract
brewer first of all, and am considering using Syrian Goldings for bittering
and Tettnanger for aroma.  I've used the Tettnanger before with Wheat beers and
it's great.  Oh by the way, I've also added 100-200 g honey with the malts and
honey to prime with.  I guess what I'm wondering is whether or not anyone
thinks Styrian Goldings (sorry about prev. spelling) would be a mistake or
an attribute to the recipe that I've so briefly described.  Thanks for any
responses....

 -Lance

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Date: 	Mon, 31 Jan 1994 09:38:35 PST
From: WLK.Wbst311 at xerox.com
Subject: Laaglander Dry Malt Extract

Greetings:
Does anyone out there have any comments on the various Laaglander dried
extracts?
I've seen them mentioned in numerous extract recipes, usually the pale (or very
pale) being recommended for light lagers and pilsners. I've seen the amber and
the dark in beer shops, though I haven't anything heard about them. Are they
hopped?  Any comments on their use?
Thanks
Bill King

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Date: Sat, 29 Jan 1994 22:02:00 GMT
From: fletch at poohs.com (DAVE FLETCHER)
Subject: Killians Red/Zymurgy

Hello all!  I'm new to homebrewing with 5 all-extract batches, and was
wondering if anyone may have an approximate recipe for Killian's Red?  I
don't particularly favor it over any of my homebrewed ales, but it seems
that my friends who are BIG "American Std" fans will drink Killian's, so
I would like to start with something they are familiar with before I
"expand" their beer horizons.  Email me if doing so would be in the best
interest of thwarting "old" bandwidth.

Also, I was interested in subscribing to "Zymurgy," and would appreciate
comments on its content (is it worth the subscription price), and where
does one send correspondence to subscribe?  Again, Email me if this is
FAQ material.  Thanks.

fletch at poohs.com


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 13:38:49 -0500 (EST)
From: Timothy Staiano <tstaiano at ultrix.ramapo.edu>
Subject: One of Vermont's finest breweries

I have a message that may be alarming to all of us beer lovers.  One of 
Vermont's finest breweries, the Mountain Brewers, Inc. (brewers of Long 
Trail Ale, IPA, Bicentenial, Smoked Stout, and Kolsch) is stopping 
distribution of its beers outside of Vermont.  I learned of this 
disquieting news on a recent (Dec/Jan 93-4) trip to its brewery.  If you 
live outside the Green Mountain State, pick up as much of their fine ales 
as soon as possible.

If it so happens that you have purchased some of their fine products in 
the past and found them flat, oxidized, etc., this is the main reason 
that they are pulling back into Vermont.  It seems that the demand for 
their ales is so great that they are having trouble keeping up with it.

If you cannot get any, and will be in Vermont, the Mountain Brewers are 
located in the basement of the Bridgewater Mall on Route 4 in 
Bridgewater, Vt. (about 5-10 miles west of Woodstock).  Their ales are 
available for purchase on site in 12oz. and 22oz. bottles.  When my 
fiancee and I were there, we got a special treat in that they had a Brown 
Ale available.  This was a test batch and only available in limited 
amounts.  They also have the standard t-shirts, pint glasses, etc.  Their 
self-guided tour is fun, and the free samples available at the end is a 
welcome treat.  Ask for Bill-the-beer-guy, he's one of the "bartenders" 
pouring samples.

Also, if anyone could keep me updated on local and/or regional beer 
festivals in the mid-Atlantic/North East region that would be great.

Have a hoppy day!
Tim Staiano (tstaiano at ultrix.ramapo.edu)


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 13:59:47 EST
From: mrg at mrg.xyplex.com (Mark Garti mrgarti at eng.xyplex.com)
Subject: converted kegs

A while back many were talking of purchasing kegs converted
into brew kettles.  Where and how much?  Do they have handles?
Mark
mrgarti at eng.xyplex.com

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 11:53:08 PST
From: Michael.Burgeson at Eng.Sun.COM (Michael Burgeson)
Subject: Re: Brewcap

> From 73552.2074 at CompuServe.COM Sat Jan 29 00:34:25 1994
> Date: 28 Jan 94 14:02:44 EST
> From: Peter Rust <73552.2074 at CompuServe.COM>
> Subject: Brewcap
> 

<snip>
> I purchased a brewcap several months ago after getting positive email on 
> the item from another forum but would not recommend it.  
<snip>

I on the other hand, would highly recommend it.

<snip>
> 1. It does not leak but I was unable to get the blowoff to effectively work 
> its way out of the blowoff tube. 
<snip>

I had no problem with this; that is, no more problem than I have with an
upright carboy.  As far as stuff sticking to the sides of the glass, this
happens to me when the carboy is upright also.

Most of the time I don't use blowoff anyhow.  Using a 6 gal carboy for a
5 gallon batch, it won't blow off at all.  And as soon as the grunge falls
back into the beer, and precipitates to the bottom, I drain it out of the
collection tube.

> 2. The tube on the bottom was designed to collect the yeast sediment but it 
> was way too small to do this properly.  

I had clogging my first time also.  But I learned to drain the yeast
collection tube a couple times a day when the sediment was collecting
quickly.  Once every couple of days is sufficient after 4-5 days.

I have also found that cropping yeast through the collection tube is very
easy and quite handy.

> 3. You can add priming sugar to the beer with the brewcap but there is no 
> way to mix the solution without disturbing the scum stuck to the sides/top 
> and if all of the yeast was not filtered out this will drain into your 
> bottles.
> 
> 

You can add the priming sugar, stir a little with the blowoff tube, then
let it sit for 30 minutes or so to let the priming solution diffuse through
the beer.

I don't know what you mean about the yeast.  The yeast collection tube
should be drained before you start, and the yeast on the shoulder of the
carboy seems to stick in mine until the very end.  Maybe you have a LOT
of yeast on the shoulder.  You can minimize this by giving the carboy
a sharp twist once a day.  The yeast will loosen, and fall into the
collection tube.

Overall, I really like using the brewcap.  Once I get it set up, I don't
move it until its empty.  I drain off all trub as soon as it precipitates.
All this is done with relatively little risk of contamination or oxidation.
It is also less work than siphoning to a secondary.

Insert your favorite discalimer here.

 - --mik

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Date: Monday, 31 January 94 14:10:23 CST
From: LLAPV at utxdp.dp.utexas.edu
Subject: flat beer remedy/sell us

Howdy,

Not long ago, I posted my flat beer problem (it seems to have been contagious).
I received several private replies, & came up with my own solution.  First,
some of the received suggestions:

1)  Make sure the bottles are somewhere warm enough.  65 to 70 degrees seems to
    be the going suggestions.  My beer was at 68.

2)  Make sure you waited long enough.  Someone suggested up to 6 weeks.  Being
    as that I've never waited that long before, my patience wouldn't allow it.

3)  Re-prime with more sugar.  I would've done this, but I knew it already had
    plenty of sugar in it, & if that didn't work, I could be making little
    grenades.

4)  Tilt the bottles around.  This is to stir up any yeast that may have
    settled.  I would've done this, but I was sure that there was not
    yeast in it to begin with (see below).

My problem was that the beer was _COMPLETELY_ flat.  Most of the above
treatments/problems are associated with some carbonation (albeit little)
at three weeks, but mine had none.  My theory was that when the beer was
racked into the secondary, after a 3 week primary fermentation, all the yeast
was left behind.  There was a good layer of trub left, & my brother, who can
be anal about these things, likes to get as little of it into the secondary as
possible.  Well, he was very successful this time.  Since the beer had already
fermented out, even if there was a little yeast, there was nothing for it to
eat, so it couldn't reproduce.

My beer was in a Party Pig and a few bottles.  I siphoned out the Pig, & tried
to siphon out the bottles, which proved a fiasco.  So, I just _carefully_
poured them into the bucket, making sure to get the bottle as close to the
surface of the beer as possible, & not letting the beer "glug".

Next, I pitched some yeast that had been started into the beer, stirring
carefully, then rebottled it into clean, fresh bottles.  I used the same yeast,
Wyeast American Ale, because I received some very helpful tips explaining that
using a different yeast might cause problems if it attenuates at a higher
level.  I patiently waited one week, then checked the bottom of the bottles.
At last!  There was a nice layer of sediment on the bottom of each bottle,
whereas before the bottoms were clean.  I excitedly cooled a bottle in the
fridge a couple of hours, then, with great anxiety, popped open a bottle.

"Pssst" said the bottle, as a cheerful tear ran down my cheek.  I carefully
decanted the brown ale into a glass, watching a slight head form on the
surface of the beer (remember, it's only a week old), & took a sip.  No off
flavors, just nice, malty brown ale.  It worked, apparently there is no
infection, & by this next weekend the beer should be fully carbonated.

A batch was saved.

BTW, I have a t-shirt from Celis, purchased at the brewery itself, which states
on the back "Celis a beer!"*  That's how they say it, that's how I say it,
that's how it's said.

Good brewing,
Alan of Austin

*For the pun impaired, try "sell us a beer".

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 19:10:26 +0000 (GMT)
From: cg0scs <G.A.Cooper at greenwich.ac.uk>
Subject: Brown and Amber malts

Jim Grady in response to Randall Brown gives a description of Brown Malt.
Unfortunately there is not full agreement over which words were used,
historically, to decribe the colour of malt, and even today the Maltsters
Hugh Baird will happily refer to the same malt as either Amber or Brown
depending on who they are talking to. Yes, Hugh Baird produce a product 
that they refer to as Brown malt, but....

Jim Grady's description:
>                                                       It was a
> "high-dried" malt but was not as dark as modern high-dried or roasted
> malts.  It had enough diastatic power to be the main malt in a porter.

correctly describes the malt that was used by some as the dominant malt
in a porter grist, but it wasn't usually called brown. It would best be 
refered to as (Diastatic) Pale Amber and was also known as 'high dried',
'scotch malt' and (in Ireland) 'porter malt'. Its colour would have been
about EBC 30 (not far different from carapils) and it had reasonably good
diastatic power. Amber was used to describe a malt whose colour was around
EBC 70 (with not much diastatic activity) and Brown would normally refer
to a malt of colour around EBC 150 (similar to an 'average' crystal malt
in colour).

As Ed Westermeier points out, it can be made at home by roasting in a
domestic oven, but the usual methods destroy the diastatic activity, so
it cannot be used as the main malt in a mash.

Ed goes on to say:
> By the way, this information (and much more) is available in the book
> "Old British Beers," published by the Durden Park Beer Circle.
> My understanding is that a new printing has recently been made, so
> it may be available again.  Perhaps Geoff Cooper could provide more
> information on how to obtain a copy.  Geoff?

It is still available and it has been reprinted. Currently the Beverage
People have it in stock, and I understand that our very own Al Korzonas
of the Shaef and Vine might soon stock it to.

As for the appendix on home roasting, I have an electronic copy which
needs a bit of conversion, but I shall submit it to the HBD as soon as
I get enough free time (I've been extremely busy since changing jobs)
and if there is sufficient interest I shall happily deposit it in the
sierra archives. (John Harrison is happy for it to be made available
provided usual courtesies of acknowleding copyright are practised)


Regards
Geoff


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 13:27:12 -0800 (PST)
From: gummitch at teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Brown Malt is Alive and Well...

Several people reported on the death of Brown Malt, citing Terry Foster
in one case.  I have a list of specialty malts produced by Hugh Baird,
one of (if not *the*) largest producer of such malts in Great Britain.
They list Brown Malt as a synonym for Amber Malt -- and they do produce
it.

By their definition: "Normally kilned pale malt is roasted in a cylinder
at temperatures of 138-149C, resulting in a malt that provides a
somewhat bitter flavor.  Colors are 55-70 ASBC."

This is probably *not* the Brown Malt referred to in recipes from the
early 19th century, but...

- --Jeff


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 17:37:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: RE: DeadHeads & infections (unrelated :-)

Conn writes:
> Subject: Re : yeast culturing
> 
> bacteria. It's easy to pick a single colony and grow up a perfectly pure 
> culture of wild yeast. Two morals here: (a) it can be a good idea to make up
> multiple rather than single starters from plates, and (b) as Jim Busch says,
> tasting provides the ultimate test. 

Absolutely!  I forgot about the wild yeasts, they are always a problem, as they
look just like yeast and they also survive acid washing.  Cant you streak with
dies for these?? (not that I want to bother....) 
> ------------------------------
Dick writes:
> 
> abirenbo at redwood.hac.com (Aaron Birenboim) added:
> > To the best of my knowledge, it was started by venture capitolists...
> 
> Was this true from the start?  The initial brewplace seemed like it was run
> by a bunch of DeadHeads; I think they still have a subtle lightning-bolt
> (not 13-point) reference to that on the label.  Gosh, I'd really like to
> know that it was all just a front and there's been big money behind them
> all along--hey, we need some local Koch-like scandal, something better
> than Coors dumping old beer into Clear Creek!

Hey, are you insinuating that DeadHeads dont have any money??  Remember that
the Grateful Dead were the largest grossing act last year, and it wasnt all 
paid by veggieburritos!  Of course, I travel for beer, but hey, if a show is 
nearby too......
> 
> [the Denver brewery]
> > Once again, the brewing facilities are near the kitchen and open to the
> > air of the pub.  The bottling line is seperated from the dining hall
> > only by a "devider" which does not reach the roof.  Seeing this, 
> > infection seems likely.
> 
> I wonder how much this matters.  What sorts of infection are likely?  I've
> seen various micros which are...well, perhaps not open to a kitchen, but
> not exactly clean-room character, and located in industrial districts.  

I agree, you would amazed at how dirty a room can be, yet fine beer can 
come from it.  Its all in the yeast, mate, we need better yeast.

> Hey, man, we keep the good stuff here!  Let 'em ship Breckenridge and
> Rockies; we can get by with Wynkoop and High Country and O'Dell's and
> Coopersmith's and Berger and New Belgium and Oasis and Walnut and...

Tabernash, by Eric Warner, you lucky guys!

Good brewing,

Jim Busch


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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 13:57:34 -0800
From: pohl at unixg.ubc.ca (Derrick Pohl)
Subject: Buzz Beer

Re the recent query about cannabis in beer for aroma &/or a buzz:

Man, you must have money to burn.  Or large quantities of something else
to burn in little white tubes of paper.  Top-grade sensimilla goes for what,
$250/oz.?  It's very aromatic, so say you use only half an ounce for
aroma, that's a pretty darn expensive brew, and completely _without_
cannabis psychoactivity.  As far as I know, hemp tea will not get you off,
though it will taste terrible.  Some magical chemical conversion happens
at higher temperatures (i.e. well above boiling point, closer to
combustion) apparently, which lends the plant's active ingredients their
psychedelic powers.  That's why you have to cook it before you eat it. 
Frying it in oil works, but you don't want oil in your beer either. 

I can think of one way:  apply dry heat by stirring the hemp in a dry
frying pan at medium temperatures for a while, until it browns and the odd
wisp of smoke appears.  (This also works great just sprinkled on toast &
honey).  Then mix it with pure grain alcohol or vodka, maybe half a cup or
so.  Let it soak for a few days (apparently the resins are not water
soluble but will dissolve in alcohol).  Finally, add that to the secondary
fermenter or maybe just before bottling.  How much cannabis you use depends
very much on the strength of the herb.

I must caution that I have no idea whether this would work or not, and
important questions remain:  should one filter out the hemp vegetable
matter when adding the laced alcohol?  Will the active ingredients (THC et
al.), being big complex molecules and maybe even bound to the resin
somehow, sink to the bottom of the carboy or bottle?  Recalling how time
mellows all brews, maybe this is why beer becomes less hoppy with time, or
less spicy if it's a spiced brew.  More research needs to be done in this
area.  Maybe some big brewery like Coors could contribute the research $$$.


- -----
Derrick Pohl <pohl at unixg.ubc.ca>, Faculty of Graduate Studies
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.



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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 14:48:20 PST
From: art at art.md.interlink.com
Subject: Miller Velvet Stout

Hello everyone. I was invited to a friends house to watch the superbowl.
This friend works for Miller, and I was offered a Miller Reserve Velvet 
Stout. I had been looking forward to this stout since I read about it in
the hbd. It was served too cold, and my first impression was "not bad".
I was pleased that Miller had produced a semi-drinkable beverage. As the
stout warmed up and my taste buds thawed a bit, I was overwhelmed by the
taste of Miller. It tasted like one would think a Miller stout would 
taste. I only had one, and was then offered an Icehouse. Hard to say 
which was worse. That said, I find it laudable that Miller has produced
anything like the Velvet stout. While I believe MY stout to be far 
superior to their Velvet stout, the mere fact that it was produced at 
all is a testament to just how far we have pushed the big boys. Let us
hope they continue. We all win if they do (all except perhaps Jim(tm)
Koch(tm)) ;-).

Thanks to all for the invaluable input in this digest. 

Art Tumolo
art at leo.md.interlink.com

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Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 20:24:31 -0600 (CST)
From: Dave Smucker <TWF99 at ISUVAX.IASTATE.EDU>
Subject: OVERNIGHT MASHES

Some months back I became became interested in doing overnight 
mashes.  The basic reason was one of the amount of time 
required for a brew day.  I had found that I loved all grain 
brewing but is was "expensive" in time required.  To a large 
extend I didn't like giving up a whole Saturday to just 
brewing.
 
I found through conversations in this forum that a number of 
brewers where doing 5 gallon overnight mashes in their ovens.
Well I like doing 15 gallon batches and they are a little to 
big for a typical oven.
 
What I have found is that doing overnight mashes in 
a 15.5 gallon Sanke keg works very well.  I do a kettle mash 
by heating my brewing water up to adding my grain, waiting my
rest time of 30 minutes and then 
raising my mash temperature to my conversion temperature, 
usually 152 to 154 F.  Here I wrap 6 inch fiber glass 
insulation around the mash turn, (keg).  I use bungee cords to 
retain the insulation around the keg and cover the top with 
several pieces.  I also stuff some small pieces around my 
burner at the bottom.  I use gloves to handle the insulation.  
I have plans to make a insulated drum to set over my mash turn 
but haven't got to it yet.
 
After doing my insulation job I go to bed.  Early next morning 
I get up and continue my brewing (6 to 8 hours mash time.)
The temperature drop is only about 4 to 5 degrees F.  Part of 
this is helped by the thermal mass of 12 to 14 gallons of mash 
the rest by the poor conductivity of the stainless keg and the 
insulation.
 
I then proceed to mash out at 168 F and then transfer my mash 
to a cooler with a copper manifold for sparging.   I use my 
keg brew kettle to bring my sprage water up to 168 F starting 
with water from a water heater (just a few minutes).  After 
collecting the run off I use my keg brew kettle to boil the 
wort. I get very good extract rates and don't want to start a 
claim war, your mileage may vary, but for sure conversion will
be complete.  (I am now putting together a 
two kettle two burner system which will make things easier and 
a little faster.)
 
To date I have done 7 overnight mashes all of a batch size
of 15 gallons.  All have turned out very well.  Only one has 
shown any signs of souring because of the long mash time and 
this was a wheat beer and it only has a slight hint of 
sourness.  I understand that wheat malt has more souring effects
than barley malt.  If you want souring letting 
the temperature drop to 130 F and adding room temperature 
wheat malt is what others have said is recommended to get it 
going. (I have not wanted a sour beer.)
 
The overnight mashes let me split my brewing into Friday night 
and Saturday morning which I like very much, I expect to keep 
using this "time saver".
 
Dave Smucker   Brewing beer, not making jelly !!

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Date: 31 Jan 1994 20:47:53 -0800
From: "Dave Suurballe" <suurb at farallon.com>
Subject: Queen of Beer competition

******

A new national homebrew competition is scheduled for April 1994
with only one major entry criteria - women only.  The Queen of Beer
Women's Homebrewing Competition is an opportunity for women brewers
throughout the country to put forward their best brews, not as part
of a brewing team with their husbands or boyfriends, but in
recognition of their own efforts as brewers.

Organized by Beth Sangeri of the Hangtown Area Zymurgy Enthusiasts
(HAZE) homebrew club in Placerville, CA., the competition is an
encouragement to women brewers to brew their own and become more
active participants in the homebrewing community.  Surveys of
homebrewers have found that women comprise a not so surprisingly
small percentage of homebrewers, although women have been recognized
as Homebrewer of the Year in the American Homebrewers Association
National Competition and many serve as judges, including National
and Master rankings, in the Beer Judge Certification Program.

The competition will be judged April 16, 1994, in Placerville.
Categories include Pale Ale, Dark Ale, Strong Beer, Wheat,
California Common, Light Lager, Dark Lager, Specialty and Mead.
Entries are $6 each and an awards dinner is planned following the
competition judging.  The competition is being organized by both
HAZE and the Gold Country Brewers Association of Sacramento.

For more information on entering, judging, or participating in the
Queen of Beer Women's Homebrewing Competition, contact Beth Sangeri
at (916) 626-7733.

*******
The above is reprinted from the Celebrator Beer News.


Beth tells me entries should arrive between April 1 and April 8 at

The Winesmith
346 Main Street
Placerville
CA  95667

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1339, 02/01/94