---

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

Contents:
  Re: Homebrew Digest #160 (May 26, 1989) (Darryl Richman)
  Aluminium vs. Enameled Steel Pots (Mike Fertsch)
  Re:  Homebrew Digest #160 (May 26, 1989) (Paul Perlmutter)

Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com


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

Date: Fri, 26 May 89 07:32:11 PDT
From: Darryl Richman <darryl at ism780c.isc.com>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #160 (May 26, 1989)

From: florianb%tekred.cna.tek.com at RELAY.CS.NET
"Wouldn't you know my Mac would break down just as I needed it to 
"defend myself...

Before I get back to the debate, I'd like to point out that I carefully
phrased my previous reply to indicate that I was expressing my opinion,
and trying to be polite about it.  The very last thing I want to do in
this forum is flame.  If my comments appear to be flames, I've obviously
failed at this, but it is still my intention not to flame, but discuss.
That's why I use phrases such as "I believe", and when you use them, I
also take it as opinion.  From me, you need not defend yourself.  It
is your ideas that I'd like to talk about.

"Darryl continues:
">Save for man made contaminants in the brewing water, it seems very
">unlikely that the water brings on hangovers.  I think you were much
">closer to the mark in discussing fermenting practices;  many have
">attributed hangovers to the content of higher alcohols and fusel oils,
">which often result from runaway fermenting temperatures.
"Maybe, and maybe not.  The citizens of Stuttgart regarded their beer
"with greater favoritism than the more southern Bavarian brews 
"(naturally), and they firmly believed that their beer was made with
"the finest ingredients and with the greatest care.  None of this 
"explains why I got such terrible hangovers from drinking relatively
"little of their local brews.  However, even the residents of 
"Stuttgart don't drink their water.  I can see why--it tasted like
"&*#$.  I proposed the water quality as a possible reason for the
"beer sickness.  Sorry.  I didn't know speculation was so dangerous.

Hmmm, I suffered no ill effects when indulging myself at Stuttgart's
Bad Canstatt Volksfest a few years ago, and I had my fill (perhaps
more ;-).  Oh, how the Dinkelacker and Schwabenbrau did flow!  Can't
say that I drank the water, though.  Perhaps I just don't have anything
to be affected.

"I didn't say anything about Budweiser.  If I made you laugh, OK.  Look,
"I am a relative novice to brewing.  There are a lot of things I don't
"know.  But this I know.  I brew excellent home beers.  I drink a lot of
"them.  I have never had even the slightest hint of a hangover from them.
"Some commercial beers make me feel awful the next day after relatively
"few consumed.  My position on this is that it's either the water or 
"the process.  What else could it be?
"
"Sure, the US breweries can make consistent grog.  I don't disagree with
"that.  Who cares about consistency when you are brewing swill?  I am
"going to stick to my guns on the question of bad beer in the US.  I 
"challenge anyone on this net or anywhere else to come up with a better
"explanation for the ill-health effects of US beer, which is outside
"of the hypothesis of poor water and/or temperature process which I have
"proposed.  I've also thought of additives, preservatives, vitamin B
"in homebrew, etc., but I can find holes in all those hypotheses.

Perhaps there is something in beer itself that you are sensitive to, but
which is masked by the looser control we have over the process.  Perhaps
there is a protein that the big boys leave free, because their beer is
so extensively filtered and fined, that is bound up by the tanins that
we just can't remove?  You would be right that it is process related,
but it would be hard to pin down what does or does not affect it in the
process.  It's definitely hard to say.  My experiences tell me that
American premium lagers are fine beers, I just don't care much for the
style.

		--Darryl Richman

Return to table of contents


Date: Fri, 26 May 89 13:28 EDT
From: Mike Fertsch <hplabs!uiucdcs!adc1.RAY.COM!FERTSCH>
Subject: Aluminium vs. Enameled Steel Pots

I own two 5 gallon boiling pots (one stainless and one enameled steel) 
and am considering moving up to a 7 or 8 gallon pot (enough for a five 
gallon boil).  I can't afford stainless, and am considering aluminium or 
enameled steel.

Some recent discussion has been on this net regarding aluminium:

> The major reason (that I have heard) that people advise against using
> aluminum is that large quantities of it in the brain are linked with
> Alzheimer's disease.  

> There is another reason to avoid the aluminum boiling vessel besides
> the obvious health risk.  Aluminum imparts a nasty flavour to most
> anything cooked in it.  Avoid it, and you have eliminate one source
> of off-flavours in your beer.

I went to my local restaurant-supply store today, looking for a kettle.  I
found stainless and aluminium, but no enameled steel.  Based on the above
discussion, I was surprised that restaurants use aluminium pots - do they
get nasty flavors or Alzheimer's disease? 

I've was told that enameled steel pots are not allowed in restaurants; the
health authorities are afraid of chipped pots.  I'm not sure if they are
worried about the chips themselves, or the reaction of the exposed metal
with the food.  Either way, restaurants seem to have no problems using
aluminium, but shy away from enamel because of health risks. 

Are our requirements that different from restaurants?  My feeling is that
they are so I'll look around some more for a 8 gallon enameled steel pot. 

mike fertsch 

Return to table of contents


Date: Fri, 26 May 89 13:19:03 mdt
From: Paul Perlmutter <paul at hppaul>
Subject: Re:  Homebrew Digest #160 (May 26, 1989)

Rob,

Please discontinue the brewing newsletter until I get set up
in Bristol.

Thanks,
Paul

Return to table of contents

---