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


Contents:
  seeking advice on beer body (Adam Rich)
  re questionnaire (Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna)
  Getting into HomeBrew - Just Do it...! (Richard=Myers)
  Bakers Chocolate/Fridge Temp Control (Rick Starke)
  Homebrew newbie (Jeff Foley)
  Yeast Repitching Technique (Tim Laatsch)
  enzymes in programmed mash (Rob Lauriston)
  Clearing Yeast Sediment.... (KittyONeil)
  Born again fermentation (David Mercer)
  Yeast Agar Formulae ("Harney,Alan")
  Re: #1(2) Homebrew Digest #1786 (July 20, 1995) (GeepMaley)
  How much grain to make up for extract? ("Robert Marshall")
  re: homebrew on campu ("Robert Marshall")
  Laaglander DME (LEE_BOLLARD)
  HELP!!!Re(2): Homebrew Digest Request (July 21, 1995) (Robert V. Ashley)
  Cancel- HELP!!!Re(2): Homebrew Digest Request (July 21, 1995) (Robert V. Ashley)
  Agar-agar/plastic petrie dishes ("Mark A. Melton")
  New brew pub in RI (Rolland Everitt)
  nobody home (Spliffo)
  Re: #1(3) Homebrew Digest #1788 (July 22, 1995) (Saylor1/Apple)
  keg measuring (Martin Hatlelid)
  Corny Keg measuring (Martin Hatlelid)
  Is My Beer Ruined?/Changes in Wyeast British Ale (Mark Peacock)
  Malting Grains (trl)
  Plastic bottles OK? (Rolland Everitt)
  Brewing & the Environment (Brent Irvine)
  Re: Beer In Space (Chris Strickland)
  Hot break dumpling update and raw wheat efficiency (Jeff Renner)
  Ginger wit recipe (Jeff Renner)



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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 11:16:21 -0500
From: rich.adam at mayo.edu (Adam Rich)
Subject: seeking advice on beer body

Hello:
        I have a couple of simple questions that I have been struggling with
for some time.  Some advice will be greatly appreciated!
        My beer has been criticized for 'low body' several times (contests
many months apart/ differnt beers each time).  I don't think that the body
is thin!  
        Question number one: what is body?  Maybe I just don't know what
body is!  How do I determine it?  That is, do I swirl the beer in my mouth,
let it sit on my tounge for a short time... 
        Here is a complete account of this batch of an IPA: 6 lbs Munton and
Fison DME, 1 lb Munich malt, 1/2 lb crystal (40L), 1/2 lb cara pils.  I
steeped the grains for 1 hour in 2 gallons of water at 170 degrees F, rinsed
the grain (raised/ lowered nylon bag several times), brought to a boil and
added 1 ounce Fuggles (AA 4.5%), another 1/2 ounce at 40 minutes, then 1/2
ounce at end of boil.  Cooled in an ice water rabth, then poured into carboy
with 3 gallons cold water.  Pitched yeast cake form previous batch (Wyeast
1084: British).  Active fermentation was evident in 6 hours. OG was 1.060.
Racked to a secondary in 4 day (gravity was 1.020) and dryhopped with 1
ounce Fuggles.  Bottled 6 days later (FG = 1.020). Note that the temperature
was very hot, mid 80's during fermentation.
        Now, I know that this beer is not brewed "true to style".  I was
hopeing for an English Style IPA and, according to Glen Tinseth's Brewsheet
the HBU's are only around 19.   I plan to work on style considerations but,
for now, my main concern is the low body score.  
Thanks,
Adam
      
Adam Rich
richa at mayo.edu
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Guggenheim 9
Mayo Foundation
Rochester, MN 55905
507-284-0879 (lab)
507-252-8115 (home)


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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 12:21:41 EST
From: Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna at relay.com
Subject: re questionnaire

James Gaspar states:
>I am an architecture student at the
>University of Southwestern Louisiana. I am distributing this questionnaire
>in an effort to gather information that will be very helpful to me in
>developing my architectural thesis

Wouldn't normally respond, but in former lives I used to do market analysis 
and sociological studies.  James' post doesn't ring true to me. Pls correct 
me if I'm wrong, but what does brewing have to do with an *architectural* 
thesis?

Well, yea, maybe if you asked about brewery construction... but your 
questions are targeted toward demographic and buying preference analysis.  
Come on... I don't see a single question that even remotely relates to 
architecture.....but you would like to know how much money I make?  What 
the revenue and *profit* numbers for Joe's microbrewery are? (only GOD and 
the accountants get the profit numbers)  How much I spend a year on brewing 
supplies? (I'd be afraid to calculate it ;-)

Something's rotten in the fermenter, and its' not a bat... what's this 
questionnaire got to do with architecture???

 -Tim

Tim Fields / Vienna, VA, USA / timf at relay.com



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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 11:03:23 CDT
From: <Richard=Myers%Corp=Admin=Sys%IM=Hou at bangate.compaq.com>
Subject: Getting into HomeBrew - Just Do it...!

Jeff,

Don't let all the new terms get to you...  The basics for extract brewing 
are clean, sanatize, boil, cool, place in fermenter, clean, ferment, clean, 
sanatize, bottle, let age, drink, enjoy, start over...

I would suggest that you go to the local book store and get a book on 
HomeBrewing.  They will be in the Wine/Spirits section.  The books will 
explain the process and the other terms.

The other thing to do is locate the nearest HomeBrew Supply store and talk 
with the people who work there.  They will usually be happy to talk about 
the brewing process and to get you what you need to get started.

I currently brew using extracts and have been very very happy with all but 
one batch (it has a sour taste due to an infection).  I have been "reading 
the books" and seeing what others are doing and will be making the move to 
all-grain in the near future.  

Most importantly remember - Relax, Don't Worry and have a HomeBrew.

Richard Myers

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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 12:53:51 EDT
From: fastarke at rickstr.mawes.ingr.com (Rick Starke)
Subject: Bakers Chocolate/Fridge Temp Control

  Good Day HBD'ers

   I'm looking for comments/experiences/gotchas regarding the use of Bakers
   Chocolate in a Stout we (my cousin and I) plan on brewing. Oil and and the
   problems it brings come to mind immediately. Any more?

   I recently brewed my first Pils using dry lager yeast. (Please no liquid
   yeast comments, I'm getting there) Anyway, the instructions involved keep-
   ing the temp at 50-60 for a couple of weeks, no easy task in July. I was
   fortunate in being able to commandeer the fridge in the basement for beer,
   and resolved the temp control problem by plugging and unplugging it daily.
   While while unplugging it the other night, and lamenting the fact that I
   have no thermostat and no plans to actually buy one (yeesh, buy something
   for brewing besides ingredients....) I hit upon the idea of using a simple
   timer I had bought for about $6. You know, the kind that turn your lights
   on and off when you are on vacation. I have an old fridge which has only
   a 2-prong plug, and I just plugged it into the timer. I run the fridge for
   5 hours a day, and my brew stays at a (fairly) constant 55 degrees. Just
   a little info for you folks who are to cheap/mechanically impaired to buy
   and/or install a thermometer on your beer fridge.
   

        Rick Starke  
  fastarke at ingr.com                

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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 13:05:30 EST
From: Jeff.Foley at f1.n309.z1.fidonet.org (Jeff Foley)
Subject: Homebrew newbie

Hello Jeff,
>I am thinking about getting into brewing. At first I thought it was basiclly
>boil, ferment, and bottle. But now I hear the terms sparge, wort, carboy and
>a ton of other terms I have never heard of. Can anyone help learn what all
>this is or turn me in the right direction to find out. The more I hear the
>more it is causing me to second guess about trying homebrew.

I don't want to sound rude or anything, but are you interested in reading 
about homebrewing?  All the terms you mentioned should show up in any text on 
the subject.

Two really good books to look for are:
  Dave Miller, The Complete Handbook of Home Brewing.
  Charlie Papazian, The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing.

There are lots of other references, the ftp repository at stanford, magazines,
etc.  Feel free to ask additional questions.

John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet:  1:109/131  Internet:  jdecarlo at mitre.org


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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 13:14:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: Tim Laatsch <LAATSCH at kbs.msu.edu>
Subject: Yeast Repitching Technique

Hello Collective,

Here's my latest approach to yeast repitching for your 
comments/critique/discussion.  Disclaimer:  The technique is a little bit 
unconventional but I believe it results in selection of flocculent and healthy 
yeast, minimizes contamination risk, allows for adequate control over 
pitching rates, minimizes trub carryover, and gives rapid starts and vigorous 
fermentation.  

After racking to the secondary, I flame-sterilize the mouth of my primary 
carboy by wiping it down with ethanol and setting it on fire.  It's not really 
dangerous and it can be quite thrilling. ;)  Please use some common sense and 
don't burn your house down or set your hand on fire. (end safety paranoia)
We routinely use this technique in our micro lab.  I then cover the mouth of 
the carboy with flame-sterilized aluminum foil.  

I prepare a starter directly in a 1000-ml Erlenmeyer Flask.  As I'm sure 
many of you are aware, they're made of Pyrex, so you can put them right over 
the flame, boil, chill, and ferment in the same vessel---i.e. no transfer
means less chance of bacterial contamination.  I swirl up the remaining beer, 
trub, and yeast cake, then flame-sterilize the mouths of the carboy and starter 
flask, and pour about 50-mls of the yeast mixture into the starter.  The 
starter is allowed to ferment out as normal and is pitched to fresh wort.

I think this is advantageous for several reasons:

1.  By taking yeast from the bottom of the primary, you select for the most
flocculent and healthy yeast (as opposed to taking it from the secondary,
which has yeast that hung around in suspension the first time--i.e. less
flocculent).  If you repeatedly harvest yeast from the secondary to minimize 
trub carryover, then you are acting as a natural selection force and thereby 
causing your yeast strain to gradually become less flocculent.  OTOH, yeast 
from the secondary may be more alcohol tolerant or perhaps you're looking for 
non-flocculent varieties.  But not me.

2.  More control over pitching rates, thus more predictable and
repeatable results and no worries about overpitching.  Overpitching may not 
be that large a concern, but I have had problems with yeastbite when pouring 
fresh wort over dregs from the primary.  Others do this routinely, so as 
always, YMMV.

3.  Less residual trub in your new beer, thus less potential off-flavor
development (as opposed to pouring wort on dregs).

4. Very little chance for contamination as with yeast washing techniques, due 
to minimal transfers.  (Unless you acid-wash)

5.  As usual, I can taste the starter before pitching to ensure that things 
are in order.  You can do the same with finished beer from the primary, I know,
but nonetheless... 

6.  I still get rapid starts, on the order of 10-12 hours and healthy 
fermentations (mean 74% attenuation with 1084 Irish in 3 batches).

The biggest possible disadvantage I can see is that using a starter between 
batches increases the number of generations, increasing the risk for 
mutations.  However, I recently tried this approach with a packet of Wyeast 
Irish and got 3 very nice beers out of it before I became paranoid and 
discarded the last yeastcake.  It may be less suitable for a yeast like 1056 
that is supposedly more prone to mutation.  I think I could have gone several 
more generations, but was advised to switch yeasts for my needs and wanton 
desires.

One unusual observation was that the yeast seemed to be gradually becoming 
more flocculent and exhibited attached growth on the ribs of the fermenter. 
This phenomenon seemed to increase with successive generations.  What else 
could account for this?

The reason why I've gone to this technique is that the only 2 times I've tried 
fermenting by racking to a primary yeastcake, I made bad beers---not so bad 
that I couldn't drink them, mind you.  ;)  One was a porter that had a nasty 
yeastbite and lots of suspended yeast----I think this was due to 
overpitching.  Also, I'm not confident that my yeast washing techniques are 
sanitary enough at home (haven't built my BT $100 laminar flow hood yet or 
installed an autoclave!).  Lastly, I'm financially strapped (no thanks to grad 
school) and need to save money on yeast.  This technique has proven itself 
effective, is saving me loads of money, and I'm going to continue using it 
despite your inevitable criticisms.  ;-)  Asbestos shields up!  Just wanted to 
share my experiences in hopes of helping out someone else.  

Tim

PS  Has anybody experienced oxidation trouble with dark beers when stove-top 
mashing and transferring to a Zapap-style lauter-tun?  If so, contact me 
offline.  Thanks.

*=============================================================================*
| Timothy P. Laatsch             | email: laatsch at kbs.msu.edu   | Aspiring    |
| Graduate Student-Microbiology  | biz phone: 616-671-2329      | All-Grain   |
| Michigan State University/KBS  | fax:       616-671-2104      | Homebrewer  |
| Kalamazoo, MI (Home of Bell's) | obsession: American Pale Ale | & Scientist |
*=============================================================================*

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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 12:30:06 -0700
From: robtrish at noif.ncp.bc.ca (Rob Lauriston)
Subject: enzymes in programmed mash

Howdy folks,

I do temperature program mashes almost exclusively, and I am wondering if
anyone has info or rumours about the speed at which the amylases work or why
1'C/minute is often given as the optimal rate at which to heat the mash.

For example, on page 283 of volume one Malting and Brewing Science (Briggs,
Hough,Stevens,Young) there is a graph which shows the increase in
carbohydrate fractions during a programmed mash, and the rate seems to be
1'C/min.  MOST OF THE FERMENTABLES ARE PRESENT AFTER THE RISE TO 65'C!  And
the unfermentables increase more during the rise than during the rest.  This
suggests that the rate of rise is of far, far more importance than the
temperature and length of the rest.  I'd say offhand that the idea of
controlling your body and fermentables via mash temperature is applicable
mainly to single step infusion.

If this is a re-run, could some one direct me to the museum?  Even less than
$0.02 would be a worthwhile contribution, so dammit, stop lurking and talk
to me!  - Rob


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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 15:45:07 -0400
From: KittyONeil at aol.com
Subject: Clearing Yeast Sediment....

I'd like to hear some ideas for clearing yeast sediment from finished beer.
 I've left ale in secondary for 3 weeks or so which has cleared 90% of the
sediment, but I still get a little in the bottom of my bottles.  Is it
possible to end up with no sediment?  I realize there will be some yeast
growth in the bottle.  Is there anything that works better than just leaving
beer in the secondary for some length of time?

Thanks for your help.

Kitty O'Neil
Novice Brewer

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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 14:01:04 -0700
From: dmercer at path.org (David Mercer)
Subject: Born again fermentation

No, this is not part of the religious thread...

I am a newbie (this post refers to my second batch) so forgive me if I
appear to be worrying too much.  Four weeks ago I brewed an ale: 7# DME,
1# crystal, 2oz Northern brewer (boil), 1 oz cascade (finish), one packet of
Coopers dry ale yeast.  Full wort boil with a quick chill.  I pitched the
yeast at about 75 degrees, and active, but not violent, fermentation had
started by 12 hours.  It continued for about two days before dying down, and
after a week I racked to a secondary and took a reading (1.038).  I figured
it would probably take about three weeks in the secondary, even though it
was *real* quiet - e.g. no activity at all in my airlock.  So after another
week, when I thought there'd be another two to go, I threw in an ounce of
cascade pellets.  Well.  Suddenly the airlock is bubbling away as the hops
expanded on the surface of the beer.  No big deal.  I figured they were real
cold (I'd kept them in the freezer) and they were just triggering some
dissolved CO2.  The hops dropped down after a day or so, and so did the
activity in the airlock, except now I was getting a bubble every 40 seconds
(whereas before I added the hops I was getting nothing).  The next day it
was every 30 seconds, the day after that every 25... you get the picture.
Now, after four weeks, the damn thing is chugging along almost at the rate
of an active fermentation - a thick head has formed on the top - and the
airlock is glugging every 5 seconds.  Clearly this is going to continue for
a while.  Next week I am going out of town for three weeks.  My questions are:

Is this going to form another trub and should I rack this to a 'tertiary'
fermenter before I leave?

I clearly dry-hopped a little too early.  Will this active fermentation
defeat the purpose of the dry-hopping and should I throw in another half
ounce when the activity in the carboy settles down?

Could throwing in the hop pellets have 'shocked' the yeast into doing it's
thing, or is the timing just a coincidence?

Thanks in advance.

Dave Mercer


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Date: 21 Jul 1995 15:24:32 U
From: "Harney,Alan" <harney at mail.labmed.washington.edu>
Subject: Yeast Agar Formulae

On 7/21, BixMeister asked;

Date: Wed, 19 Jul 1995 19:54:31 -0400
From: BixMeister at aol.com
Subject: Agar Agar-How Much?

Could some knowledgeable yeast culturist give me an idea how much Agar
Agar(dried
seaweed) to use with 8 ounces of wort in order to make a brewing agar media
for culturing yeast.  I want to pour the gelatinized solution into
polystyrene petri dishes.  Also ideas concerning maintaining sterile media
would be helpful.

                                                            BixMeister
- --------------------------------------------------------

The formulation for "Yeast Morphology Agar", taken from the Difco Manual,
calls for 18 grams of Bacto agar per 100 grams of dehydrated medium. 100
grams rehydrates to make 2.8 liters of medium suitable for plating. Since we
are assuming that the wort is taking the place of the 26 other salts, amino
acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and nitrogen sources the formaulation
specifies, I would go with 6.5 grams of agar per liter of wort. You ought to
check the pH of the final product, though. The final reaction of this medium
is pH=5.6 out of the box. YMMV with wort as the diluent.

You can store your plates at RT, but keep them in sealed plastic bags.
Culture media is (obviously!) a wonderful place to grow things. And the
endemic saprophytic fungi that normally infest our homes and brewhouses would
love nothing more than to find a cozy home on board your media plates. If any
become contaminated, DO NOT open the bag to get a closer look!!! When you
open a plate, you tend to spew billions of spores hither and yon. So unless
you relish the idea of bleaching your entire brewhouse to knock down an
Aspergillus epidemic, just throw the contaminated plates away.

You might want to acquire a copy of "The Manual of Clinical Microbiology",
published by the American Society for Microbiology. It has several chapters
on basic micro lab techniques that you may find useful.

Alan

"Pilsener- one of the four basic food groups"
_________________________________________________________________

Alan Harney                      		"Anything worth doing is worth
Dept. of Laboratory Medicine	     	 doing to excess"
University of Washington			                   -Hipshot Percussion
harney at mail.labmed.washington.edu
_________________________________________________________________



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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 18:52:23 -0400
From: GeepMaley at aol.com
Subject: Re: #1(2) Homebrew Digest #1786 (July 20, 1995)

In HBD 1786, James Drago writes:

>Some reading I have done has lead me to believe the easiest and most
inexpensive
>way to do this is to add corn sugar. I have about 1# available and I am
considering
>doing this....

DON'T DO IT.....adding 1 lb sugar to 5 lbs of extract will give you a much
lighter version of the beer you are trying to make. If possible, get some
wheat extract from your local homebrew shop (is there one nearby??). In
liquid form, the extract is usually a blend (60/40 or so) of wheat and barley
malt extract and will add much better flavor, etc to your batch. You will
need to boost your hops as well, but most wheat beers are not all that hoppy
to begin with.

Happy brewing,
Geep


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Date:          Tue, 18 Jul 1995 04:47:39 -0800
From: "Robert Marshall" <robertjm at hooked.net>
Subject:       How much grain to make up for extract?

I saw a post the other day asking about DME vs. Extract and got me 
thinking about my future batch of pale ale.

Usually I put in 5 pounds of light malt extract (liquid), however, I 
was thinking about doing a 100% all grain batch instead. If I do 
that, how much Klages 2-row malt do I need to make up for each pound 
of malt extract?

Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

Later,


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Date:          Tue, 18 Jul 1995 04:58:39 -0800
From: "Robert Marshall" <robertjm at hooked.net>
Subject:       re: homebrew on campu

Mark W. Wilson wrote:

>Homebrewing, however, is the BEST thing that could happen to a college
>campus.  My freshman year I was pretty much a wreck, probably an alcoholic
>by most definitions.  That summer, after reading about homebrewing on
>BBOARDS (including HBD) I bought Papazian's book and started brewing.  Voila
> - overconsumption cured.  Forcing down the special of the week to get a huge
>headache is no competition to enjoying a few homeade brown ales.  The more
>exposure inexperienced drinkers have with good alcohol tends to make them
>shy from binging.  (I also "Converted" three fraternity brothers to the

I agree with Mark 100% on this one. When I first got to my college, 
it was my first time away from home. Also the state's drinking age 
was 19!!

Pretty much everyone in the fraternity bought the beer du jeur 
(whatever was the cheapest at the time) and it was usually pretty 
bad.

After waking up with too many hangovers, I moved towards the "fancy 
beers" as some of my brothers would say. I never forget the look on 
their face when they told me to pick out a good six pack. I 
did....Guiness Stout!! One guy took one taste and swore, "this stuff 
tastes like charcoal." Its kinda ironic that he confided to me that 
he has become quite a stout drinker now. :)

As a home brewer you start to appreciate beer more. For me it is not 
just the taste, but also the process of making the stuff. I forget 
where I read it, but someone suggested that it was "dissrespective" 
to your beer if you drink it straight out of the bottle and don't use 
a glass. While I think that this is taking it to the extreme perhaps, 
I do follow that at home, no matter what beer it is I'm drinking. 

I think that more fraternity brothers are starting to respect beer 
more, especially as you see the better quality beers coming out in 
kegs. 

Of course you're still going to get the Bud and Miller people, but 
that's just the way things are going to be. Afterall, could you 
imagine a party with kegs of nothing but Celis Grand Cru or Guiness 
Stout? I sure could, but the party budget would sure be a wee bit 
high!!!

Later,


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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 21:41:02 -0600
From: LEE_BOLLARD at HP-Spokane-om2.om.hp.com
Subject: Laaglander DME

Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
     The other day I bought a bunch of Laaglander DME for making yeast 
     starters.  Today I read about the high percentage of unfermentable 
     sugars in this DME.  Will this affect my yeast starters?
     
     Is Laaglander a good choice for yeast starters?  I want to optimize my 
     yeast starters and really build them up... I want no chance of error!
     
     Lee Bollard
     bollard at spk.hp.com

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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 95 23:55:54 EST
From: Robert_V._Ashley at fc1.glfn.org (Robert V. Ashley)
Subject: HELP!!!Re(2): Homebrew Digest Request (July 21, 1995)

I had typed a homebrew-request for an address, now I'm getting my mailbox
filled with the same message.  HELP.

Thanks.

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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 95 00:21:58 EST
From: Robert_V._Ashley at fc1.glfn.org (Robert V. Ashley)
Subject: Cancel- HELP!!!Re(2): Homebrew Digest Request (July 21, 1995)

I had typed a homebrew-request for an address, now I'm getting my mailbox
filled with the same message.  HELP.

Thanks.
=======================================
My auto reply was left on.  Ya ya the laughs on me guys.
Robert Ashley

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Date: 22 Jul 95 00:54:35 EDT
From: "Mark A. Melton" <75452.277 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Agar-agar/plastic petrie dishes

BixMeister (on 19 July) asked about the amount of (presumably raw, crude)
agar-agar to use in 8 oz of wort to make agar plates in plastic petrie dishes.
For years I have made giotis, a Greek flan-like dessert using 1/6th cup of
agar-agar clippings in 2 cups of sweetened, milk-enriched water to make a very
solid gel. Thus the answer would be 1/12 oz. per 8 oz. However, for an agar
plate this quantity could probably be cut in half and a good gel achieved.
Japanese or Korean grocery store agar is not expensive so the amount is not
critical. I suggest that after boiling the agar strips in the wort for about 10
minutes, the solution should be strained through an old T-shirt to remove the
proportion that does not dissolve. 

I question the home use of plastic petrie dishes that cannot be autoclaved.
Every one that I have made by pouring boiling agar/wort into a sanitized plastic
petrie dish, covered, and placed in a zip-lock (T) bag that has been rinsed with
iodophor, has become contaminated with lactobacillus (?--it smells cheezy)
within 12 hours. Without a lab environment there are too many air-borne
contaminants for this to work. Get Pyrex or other autoclavable petrie dishes and
autoclave the agar/wort in the covered dish for 20 minutes, and very quickly
seal it while still hot with plastic wrap. Even that is dicey.  The difficulty
in making uncontaminated agar plates is demonstrated by ordering a bunch of them
from one of the brewing supply houses. The order of 8 that I got recently had 5
contaminated with molds --and they were made in a univ. bacteriological lab by a
moonlighter.

Mark A. Melton
75452.277 at compuserve.com  


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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 08:11:15 -0400
From: af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov (Rolland Everitt)
Subject: New brew pub in RI



If any of you are planning a trip to the Newport, Rhode Island
area, plan to visit the Coddington Brewing Company.  It's a new
brew pub and restaurant on Coddington Highway just outside
Newport.  They have four different home brews on tap, as well as
Woodchuck cider.  All are quite good IMHO.


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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 10:34:54 -0400
From: Spliffo at aol.com
Subject: nobody home 


     I'm having a blast just absorbing brewing info and reading the HBD.
                                 As far as accessing: 
     < If you do not have
  ftp capability you may access the files via e-mail using the ftpmail
  service at gatekeeper.dec.com.  For information about this service,
  send an e-mail message to ftpmail at gatekeeper.dec.com with the word
  "help" (without the quotes) in the body of the message.>
      These folks are overloaded and never home! 
                                                 (
ftpmail at gatekeeper.dec.com)
      Any other ftpmail at ------------  sites!!
TIA.....   

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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 16:14:25 -0700
From: Saylor1/Apple at eworld.com
Subject: Re: #1(3) Homebrew Digest #1788 (July 22, 1995)

Could some one please help me with the proper method for prep'n rice for
brewing?  I've a desire to make a Basmati Ale.  The rice has a real nice
aroma and I'd like to see how it translates in the beer.  I'm thinking I'll
follow my standard IPA all grain tact and use the basmati as a 2# adjunct.

Comments?

"A good day brewing beats a bad day fishing any time."


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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 16:36:12 -0700
From: martunes at unix.infoserve.net (Martin Hatlelid)
Subject: keg measuring

Matt K writes
>A friend asked me the other day is there is a gadget which would tell 
>him how much beer is left in his keg.  I usually tell either by weight 
> or by the condensation that forms when you take the keg out of the 
>fridge for a while but he still wants some kind of gizmo.  So, 
>gadget-heads, anyone know of anything?
>
 A friend suggested I put a bathroom scale under my kegs. You see them at
flea markets and yard/garage sales for nothing. One could fill it with water
and weigh it, record the info, dispense a gallon - weigh it - record, etc.
You could be as accurate as you wanted to be. The scale wouldn't even have
to be very accurate as long as it's consistent. I haven't tried this but it
sounds like a good idea.

Martin 
Vancouver B.C.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A lot of people are afraid of heights.  Not me, I'm afraid of widths.
	-- Steven Wright


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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 16:55:29 -0700
From: martunes at unix.infoserve.net (Martin Hatlelid)
Subject: Corny Keg measuring

Matt K writes
>A friend asked me the other day is there is a gadget which would tell 
>him how much beer is left in his keg.  I usually tell either by weight 
> or by the condensation that forms when you take the keg out of the 
>fridge for a while but he still wants some kind of gizmo.  So, 
>gadget-heads, anyone know of anything?
>
 A friend suggested I put a bathroom scale under my kegs. You see them at
flea markets and yard/garage sales for nothing. One could fill it with water
and weigh it, record the info, dispense a gallon - weigh it - record, etc.
You could be as accurate as you wanted to be. The scale wouldn't even have
to be very accurate as long as it's consistent. I haven't tried this but it
sounds like a good idea.

Martin 
Vancouver B.C.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A lot of people are afraid of heights.  Not me, I'm afraid of widths.
	-- Steven Wright


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Date: Fri, 21 Jul 1995 19:01:43 -0700
From: mpeacock at oeonline.com (Mark Peacock)
Subject: Is My Beer Ruined?/Changes in Wyeast British Ale

A new addition to the Is My Beer Ruined FAQ:

I live in the MidWest, and was brewing a wheat beer with Wyeast #3068
Weihenstephan yeast during last week's heat wave.  I just racked to the
secondary what smelled like a banana smoothie.  Is my beer ruined?

And a corollary:

My power was out for two days last week.  Is my yeast ranch ruined?


Now for some value-added comments:

Has anybody noticed a change in Wyeast #1098 British Ale yeast?  Last year,
when I used it to make a pale ale, it fired off with a short lag time and
bubbled away aggressively.  Last month, I brewed a pale ale with a similar
recipe/OG/ aeration techniques, and the #1098 was very slow in starting.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Mark Peacock
Birmingham, Michigan
mpeacock at oeonline.com
{Big Business} On the Web - http://oeonline.com/~mpeacock/bbusiness.html


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Date: Sat, 22 Jul 1995 23:15:20 -0400
From: trl at richmond.infi.net
Subject: Malting Grains

I have scanned my previous HBD for a couple hours and have been unsuccesful
locating the request some time ago regarding information on malting Barley
so I am asking for help.

I am interested in attempting to malt my own Barley and was trying to locate
the person requesting the information before to get a summary of the info he
recieved.  I would appreciate his E-Mail address if anyone has it OR any
info on malting OR the name of a good source of info.

On Friday I bought 1 bushel of 6 row and want to try.

As everyone else says..... TIA

Tom


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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 1995 09:22:14 -0400
From: af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov (Rolland Everitt)
Subject: Plastic bottles OK?



I am a beginner who has made one batch of beer years ago from an
extract kit.  The results were...um...unsatisfactory.  I want to
have another go at it, but I am hoping to avoid the hassle of
using crown capped bottles.  I'm not ready for a keg yet, so I
am considering using 1.5 liter plastic soda bottles.  They seem
to be made to take high pressure and shipping, and I think that
the way the bottom is shaped might help keep the dregs from
mobilizing (the way the steal does in the bottom of a champagne
bottle).

Has anyone tried this?  Any comments or suggestions?


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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 95 11:14:19 EDT
From: Brent Irvine <brenirvi at village.ca>
Subject: Brewing & the Environment

There are many things which are dear to me. Among them are homebrewing and
doing my part preserving our environment. Consequently, when I can put a few
of these principles/hobbies/etc. together, I am quite pleased. Thus is the
case in my quest for better and tastier suds in a sacred way (NOTE - nothing
religious implied.)

With these in mind, I throw to the collective my questions and ideas theat
relate to my little home brewery.

1. If there were a legal way to do it, if we removed the alcohol from, say, a
not-too-tasty batch, for use in perhaps a lawnmower or chainsaw, what %
pureness would be required in order to run these machines cleanly?
Furthermore, what % could one achieve in a non-laboratory setting? Finally,
what red tape would one require to do such a thing - or is that a question as
far-fetched as will Windows 95 ever exist?

2. When I began brewing while at Queen's University, Kingston, ON, in 1992, I
gave a lot of consideration to the type of storage medium I would use. What I
found at most supply stores were the PET bottles in 500 ml and 1 l sizes,
regular 341 ml beer bottles, and of course, numerous types of kegs, pigs,
chickens (just kidding) and balls. On my daily bicycle ride to school (yes,
even during snowstorms) I would see all kinds of PET (or their glass
equivalent) bottles in the recycling bins. Lo and behold, the neck sizes were
the same as the PET bottles in the stores. Other than being clear/green
instead of brown, it seemed that I had my problem solved. So, I diligently set
out collecting enough bottles. I kept my own. Friends gave me their bottles.
Until I had accumulated 20 two-fours of 500 ml bottles. Or ten 5-gallon
batches. I spent a few dollars on the re-usable caps, and was all set.

With this set-up, I am not hoarding Labatt's or Molson's bottles. I am not
tying up 10 cents per bottle. I can re-use bottles and caps indefinitely. I
have saved land fill space and/or recycling costs. The larger sized bottle
translates to less time bottling. Less beer is wasted to the bottom sediment.
And each beer is a full size beer, rather than the puny commercial sizes. None
of these on their own is tremendously significant; however, all told, I am
pleased with the accumulated total.

Now, one might argue that using clear or green bottles may lead to skunky
beer. To alleviate this problem, I store them in a dark room in the basement,
which is a constant 60 F. I pop them into the fridge as needed. Yum.

3. When I prepare my brews, I tend to pour out the sediment from my primary
and secondary either into the lawn, garden, or compost pile. Other than making
the yeard smell like a brewery for a few hours, this seems to be nothing less
than a good idea. Particularly when even up here in northern Ontario, we have
had some pretty hot weather and dry spells - a good use for rinsing water (of
course, not with chlorine added!) I do the same thing with unpalatable
batches. Any other uses?

4. When on any of these hot summer days I wish to ponder any of these
priciples or hobbies, I have a solution. Search out one of those pre-chilled
brews. Make your way out to the back yard with the chilly and a frosty glass.
Put the chilly into the frosty. Slowly sip while pondering.

If anyone else has any such thoughts, I'd be happy to hear them. If we each do
a little, we'll all contribute a lot.


Brent Irvine
Lake Commando B & B
Cochrane, ON
*Home of the Polar Bear Express*

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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 1995 11:58:42 -0400
From: cstrick at iu.net (Chris Strickland)
Subject: Re: Beer In Space

Hmm! I don't remember the sender (Mark), of the beer in space article, 
taking credit for writing it.  I seem to remember it quoted an unknown 
author.  Of course I'm approaching 40 and you know us old folks start losing 
our memories.  I have been the victim of flames on other listservers when 
someone has skipped part of the message (the part that was important).  I 
use flame back to the group, about not reading a whole message and emotions 
where raised.  However, I once had a kind person question me privately 
without flame.  I replied with a friendly response, and the problem was 
solved.  I saw how he could have misinterperted what I said and sent another 
message to the server clearing up the problem. When we talked privately, 
things were cleared up and the problem solved without any flaming.  Could I 
suggest for a first salvo, sending an email requesting a clarification of 
the original email.  Even drinking a few homebrews before replying.  The 
problem will be resolved in a friendly manner in 99% of the cases.  If that 
doesn't work, then flame away.  But most of all, is our motto to just 
"relax, have a homebrew".
- --------------
Chris Strickland
cstrick at iu.net


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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 95 15:56:14 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Hot break dumpling update and raw wheat efficiency

Several weeks ago I reported on the large coagulations (dumplings) of
hot break I got in a wit beer (see following post for recipe), and
worried that I would not have sufficient proteins remaining for head
retention.  I needn't have worried.  The head is better than on any beer
I have ever made (no doubt all of that raw wheat).  It is incredibly
tight and leaves _clumps_ of meringue-like foam on the sides and bottom
of the empty glass.  I am pleased. :-)

WRT lower extraction from raw wheat (as reported by A.J. deLange), I got
virtually my usual extraction rate (31.6 p*g/p into the boiler) using
45% raw wheat.  My success may be attributable to my having used *soft*
wheat.  This is literally softer, so it mills more easily.  I used a
Corona mill and milled to a coarse meal in two passes.  Hard wheat's
protein matrix may also physically interfere with enzyme access.

I think that soft wheat is a natural for brewing, especially the white
varieties we grow here in Michigan (and also in NY).  Soft wheat has
lower protein (typically 9% compared to 11-14% for hard), which is in
line with the protein levels of the best malting barleys.  The proteins
are weak glutens as opposed to the strong glutens of hard wheat, and
absorb less water.  I think these may make for an easier sparge.
Furthermore, white wheat has lower levels of phenols and tannins than
red varieties, giving potentially a less harsh flavor.  I am certainly
pleased with the results.

Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu


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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 95 16:01:10 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Ginger wit recipe

My ginger wit is bottled and tastes great.  It is a wonderfully
refreshing summer cooler that even non-beer drinkers seem to like.  The
ginger is present but not "in your face," and the orangey coriander
makes it recognizably a wit.  The cardamom and grain of paradise are at
present subliminal, as are the flavor and aroma hops.  I expect it to
evolve further.

I substituted ginger for the more traditional bitter orange peal, but I
feel that this is a variable style where "traditional" is hard to pin
down, and this kind of recipe is in keeping with the spirit of
tradition.  The subtle ginger "bite" seems to substitute nicely for the
omitted lactic acidity.  At 19 days from mash to mouth, there's still
time to brew and enjoy this summer!

7-1/2 gallons with OG 1.047:

Grain bill:

6 lb. American 6-row malt (for its higher enzyme levels) (50%), roller
milled
5 lb, 6oz. soft, white, winter, Michigan wheat (45%), double ground in
Corona to a coarse meal
11 oz. rolled oats (5%)

Water:

Boiled and decanted (to soften) well water plus 2 tsp. CaCl2*2H2O in 12
gal.

Hops (18 IBU Target):

1 oz. Liberty plugs  at  5.9% alpha acid, 80 minutes boil
1 oz. ditto, 12 minutes boil
1 oz. ditto, at strike out, plus 30 minute steep during water bath
cooling before counter current cooling

Spices, all boiled 7 minutes plus above steep:

3.2 oz peeled fresh ginger, pureed
1 oz. freshly ground coriander
5 g. freshly ground cardamom
3 g. freshly ground grain of paradise

Yeast:  YeastLab W52 Wit (Bruges), sediment from 1 liter starter

Mash:

30 minutes each at 50, 60 and 70^C, mashout at 76^C.

Fermented at 69^F ambient, 71^F beer temp (this yeast gets sleepy below
~65^F) 12 days, racked to secondary for 4 days, bottled with 7.4 oz.
dextrose.

Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu


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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1789, 07/24/95