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


Contents:
  Propane cookers (TPuskar)
  Easy Cleaning Method for Enamel on Steel Kettles (Todd Swanson)
  Faulty mailer (Diane S. Put)
  Re: yeast for Zymergy Holiday Spiced Ale (Robert Marshall)
  Mash Temperature Control Summary (berkun at decwet.enet.dec.com)



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Date: Mon, 26 Dec 1994 09:09:09 -0500
From: TPuskar at aol.com
Subject: Propane cookers

My wife and I have noticed that every time I brew a batch of beer her kitchen
is a mess.  Seems like the floor is sticky, the stove dirty and in general
the counter tops a mess.  We can't figure out why this keeps happening and
have tried to tie the two events together.  Seems like more than just
coincidence!  I told her I was getting kinda tired of it and if things didn't
get better, I wasn't going to brew in her kitchen anymore!  

Now my question.  What's the collective netwisdom on propane cookers!!!
 Things like Cajun cooker or King Cooker as examples.  All of the lables say
they must be used outdoors and with adequate ventilation.  Has anyone used the
m in basement (with windows open or fans going) or in a garage (with door
open) and lived to tell about it?  Anyone who did not survive need not reply!

How many 5 gallon batched of extract bre can one expect from a 20 lb tank
with a 1 hour boil?  Are these economical in general?  Will a 20 quart pot
fit on them and be relatively stable?  

My wife, our kitchen and our marriage would benefit from from responses. ;>)
 I'm new to the HBD so please excuse if this has been covered in the past.
 Reference to FAQ or previous discussions would be appreciated.

Thanks and happy brewing
Tom Puskar

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Date:         Mon, 26 Dec 94 09:40:37 CST
From: Todd Swanson <BCHM014 at UNLVM.UNL.EDU>
Subject:      Easy Cleaning Method for Enamel on Steel Kettles

Greeting Homebrewers and Happy Holidays,

I wanted to share a cleaning method that I found to be extremely easy.  I brew
extract beers and do a full boil in a 33qt enamel on steel canning kettle.
Since steel is does not conduct heat as well as say copper or aluminum, hot
spots do develop and if one dumps extract on top of them then it will stick
to the bottom of the pot.  I had some stains on the bottom of my kettle that
would not come off, even with much scrubbing.  In fact, I was beginning to
think that these spots were discolorations of the surface due to excess heat.
(in other words, I had given up)

The solution to my burnt on problem was suggested to me by my wife.  I believe
she read about this idea from one of those helpful hints books that I always
make fun of.

Step 1:  add equal parts distilled white vinegar and lemon juice to cover the
         stain.  Ignore for 15 minutes or more.
Step 2:  add table salt to the mixture (enough so that it doesn't all dissolve)
Step 3:  scrub gently (minimal effort) and rinse.

This process left the bottom of my kettle looking like new! and I didn't work
too hard or use harsh or toxic chemicals.  The table salt works as a gentle
abrasive and the vinegar/lemon juice softens the baked on mess.  I hope
someone else will find this useful. YMMV.  I didn't have an inch of charcoal to
clean off the bottom of my kettle but a thin baked on coating.   Maybe now my
lighter colored beers will be lighter colored. :)

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Date: Mon, 26 Dec 94 09:18:37 PST
From: diput at eis.calstate.edu (Diane S. Put)
Subject: Faulty mailer

Hello all:

A few people wrote to me about the recent article in BT regarding
motorized mash mixing.  I did respond to you, but the mailer here
has been giving a bit of trouble lately.  If you didn't receive
a response from me, please try contacting me again.  

don (diput at eis.calstate.edu)

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Date: Mon, 26 Dec 1994 11:20:29 -0800
From: robertjm at ix.netcom.com (Robert Marshall)
Subject: Re: yeast for Zymergy Holiday Spiced Ale

Myette asked:

>If any of you have seen the Zymurgy Special Issue that has the Holiday 
>Spiced Ale, using Vanilla beans and Nutmeg, and Mace, the recipe 
>mentions use of "Ale Yeast", but which Ale Yeast to use? 
>
>There are a bunch of Liquid ones out there, does anyone have any good 
>ones to try with this recipe. Also would anyone modify this recipe and 
>if so how? Please tell me soon, I want to make it next week.
>
>Myette at delphi.com

My two cents worth...

 Though I haven't seen the recipe, I would be to use either the European 
Ale Yeast or the ESB Ale Yeast. I used the European Ale Yeast in my XMAS 
Ale, and it turned out very well. It gave a well rounded smooth taste 
the the beer. I have not used the ESB. However, I do remember a great 
majority of the XMAS beers that people talked about, both in the HBD, 
and in rec.crafts.brewing, used that yeast. The warning that I took out 
of all the posts, was that it was sort of like the energizer bunny, it 
kept going and going and going. Also, it was quite active in its 
fermentaion cycle, being violent at times. I found that the European Ale 
Yeast was pretty violent too! I racked to my secondary after 7 days of 
fermentation, and wished that I had waited a full ten. It was quite a 
mess, at times, on days 7-8.

   Good luck, and hope that helps.

Merry XMAS and Happy Brew Year,

						Robert Marshall
						robertjm at ix.netcom.com


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Date: Mon, 26 Dec 94 16:17:09 PST
From: berkun at decwet.enet.dec.com <berkun at decwet.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Mash Temperature Control Summary

Thanks to the many (!) of you who replied to my question about 
controlling the temperature of my mash in a 10 gallon cooler.

The answers boiled down to 3:

1. Give it up - stay with a single temperature infusion. Mash out is 
not important to the homebrewer.

2. Go to a decoction scheme - and special thanks to Paul Stokely for
actually attaching the decoction FAQ to his email.  This is in fact
what I more or less did the last time I brewed (out of desperation, 
not for style).

3. Try steam injection (ala recent article in Brewing Techniques). Two 
people had tried this, one with success, one not so sure.

I'm just going to stay with a single temperature infusion mash until I 
get a refrigerator and start doing lagers.  But for all the people who 
use coolers out there and for all of you who are thinking of getting a 
cooler - don't count on precise temperature control!  I'm just 
surprised that there hasn't been more discussion of this.

Thanks again everybody! (I hope I got you all be email as well, my 
apologies if I missed you).

Ken B.
Seattle

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1615, 12/27/94