HOMEBREW Digest #1969 Mon 26 February 1996
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
simple recipe (John Carey)
labeling alternative ("Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM")
starting a homebrew festival/competition (Tracy Thomason)
cleaning PET bottles (Tracy Thomason)
Attn. Montreal area brewers (Matt_K)
Simple recipe addendum (John Carey)
Copper: how safe for brewing? (Jeff Benjamin)
nitrogen from the DOD ("Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM")
Starting Out (Brian Borgstede)
5th. ann. New York City Spring Regional Competition (Ken )
no carbonation in m (jim.hilliard)
Piraat Ale (Belgian Ale) (Curiouser and curiouser...)
Re: mixed gases....continued (Jeff Renner)
Zinc/Microwaves/Head (A. J. deLange)
Mac Software (Michael T. Bell)
MAC and other Software (KennyEddy)
"The Brewer's Companion", Mosher (D & S Painter)
Relax, have a homebrew (Jon Vilhauer)
European Brewery Tours. (Waverly)" <kbooth at isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
Pennies as weights (Braumeister Dave)
Chlorine Sanitizer (Richard Sharp)
RIMS (DONBREW)
Kraeusening Basque's typists! Whatta gas! ("Pat Babcock")
3/24/96 NYC Spring Homebrew Competition (Ken )
Sam Adams Finalsts (Kit Anderson)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 15:32:29 -0400
From: careyj at clan.TartanNET.ns.ca (John Carey)
Subject: simple recipe
I've been reading all the high tech info on brewing for the past week or so
but don't see much to help the average person who just wants to make a batch
of suds as simply as possible. Hence, for the help of any such person on
the HBD list I submit the following recipe which I have been using for some
twenty years or so with considerable success.
Ingredients:
4 kg white sugar,(corn if preferred)
2 cans (1.13kg) Brewmix malt
1 can doric malt
various types of hop pellets to taste.
This makes 14 doz. bottles of brew. About 7%
alcohol by vol.
I start with half a preserving kettle of water and when that is boiling I
dissolve the sugar therein. If I don't forget, I usually add the hops
first. Next I pour in the three cans of malt stirring as I do so. When this
mix is about to return to a boil I shut off the heat. I then put the mix in
a clean hard finish, plastic garbage pail (I thought that might get to some
of you.),
and add sufficient water to make the 14 doz. bottles.
The whole thing is then set on a wooden case about a foot high with a light
bulb under it. (40watts) I then cover the lot with a heavy quilt and leave
it alone for 7 or 8 days. After that I check with the Hydrometer to see if
the SP is up to about 1.0. If it is I bottle it using a plastic syphon.
I prefer not to drink any of this for at least a month, preferably longer,
but then I have about 45 doz. bottles at my disposal. There is a certain
amount of sediment in the bottles but if you pour carefully it comes out
crystal clear. There is no taste to the sediment anyway and I have drank it
straight out of the bottle on occasion. Cheers.
John Carey, Clementsport, N.S. Can.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 13:24:00 PST
From: "Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM" <GoodaleD at hood-03.army.mil>
Subject: labeling alternative
<<
dear cogs of the collective,
Have read some recent labeling posts
concerning silk screening labels onto bottles.
This has intrigued me as well but I didn't want to
fork over the bucks to have it done at the local
silk screening shop. This is the alternative that
I have come up with:
1. Buy some unmounted "battleship (gray)"
linoleum and cut into 2" X 3" rectangles. You
can get this at a good art supply store or mail
order, I order it from Dick Blick (insert lengthy
disclaimer). The stuff is dirt cheap for the size
of a label, so buy a few. When you inevitably
screw up, you can start over.
2. Draw your artwork on the linoleum, be sure
to reverse your lettering so it will show up
correctly on the bottle. For the artistically
challenged, design it on software, print it,
transfer it to the linoleum by tracing the design
with some carbon paper underneath.
3. Carve out your design with wood carving
tools or special linoleum cutters you can buy at
the aforementioned catalog.
4. Pull a test print on some paper by inking
up the surface with a roller or brayer as it is
called. I guess you could put it on with a
brush. I used white, oil based, block printing
ink which goes well on brown and green bottles.
Do this several times to check the progress. it is
easier to carve away than to put back. Just put
some paper on the inked linoleum, put paper
on top and rub the back of the paper with
the back of a spoon.
5. Once it is to your satisfaction, it is time
for the bottles. Ink up the linoleum and roll
the bottle along the flat linoleum. It takes
some practice to get the hang of it. If it
doesn't look good, just wipe off and try again.
6. You can wait for the bottles to dry (a few
days) or rush the process by putting them
in the oven and warming them to 200F for
a half hour (this gives off a lot of harmful
fumes so open the windows).
Materials:
4 label sized pieces of linoleum: $2.00
white oil based block printing ink: $3.89
rubber brayer (optional): $6.00
The result has a kind of hand crafted feel
to it. Perfect for hand crafted beer. The
design will last about five bottling cycles
(complete with dishwasher sanitization).
I'm sure that there is ink specifically
designed for bottles that would last longer.
This process is not as slick as some high
priced silkscreen job but it suits me.
Daniel Goodale goodaled at hood-03.army.mil
Biohazard Brewing Company
"Sure it's gonna kill ya, but who wants to
live forever"
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 20:08:33 GMT
From: tracyt at llano.net (Tracy Thomason)
Subject: starting a homebrew festival/competition
Can anybody out there tell me what's involved in getting a homebrew
festival/competition organized? We live in West Texas and there aren't
any competitions around, but there are lots of homebrew clubs.
We are wondering about laws, licenses, etc.
email me.
Thanks,
Tracy
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 20:11:35 GMT
From: tracyt at llano.net (Tracy Thomason)
Subject: cleaning PET bottles
Are PET bottles dishwasher safe? I was going to try a couple with my
next batch of beer but wanted to know how to clean them. Is just
bleaching enough if they can't make it through the dishwasher?
Tracy
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 15:23:24 est
From: Matt_K at ceo.sts-systems.ca
Subject: Attn. Montreal area brewers
I am interested in putting together a bulk order for malt. We need to
order 10 25kg bags or more to fulfill the minimum order. The price
for 25 kg of Canadian 2-row malt is $18.33 and 25 kg of Crystal are
$28.00. All prices are Canadian dollars. I'm not sure if there is
any tax on this but if there is enough interest, I'll find out.
Please drop me a line at Matt_k at ceo.sts-systems.ca in you are
intrerested.
Matt
in Montreal
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 16:38:07 -0400
From: careyj at clan.TartanNET.ns.ca (John Carey)
Subject: Simple recipe addendum
I neglected to mention the yeast in my recipe. I use one of the packages of
Brewers yeast that comes with the cans of malt. I take some of the mixture
from the preserving kettle, cool it down to approx. body temp, with cold
water, and add the yeast to this for a starter. Before I close up the vat
mix I add the started yeast on top of the mixture. By the second day you
can smell the delightful aroma of it working. The extra packages of yeast I
add to the septic system.
John Carey, Clementsport, N.S., Can.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 14:33:17 MST
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Copper: how safe for brewing?
This is a question for a metallurgist (John Palmer, you out there?) or
perhaps a biochem type. I'm probably going to stir up a lot of trub
by bringing this up (again), but here goes:
Conventional wisdom holds that brewing with copper utensils is okay,
both from a usefulness perspective and from a health perspective.
Many homebrewers (myself included) use copper lauter manifolds, wort
chillers, even kettles -- witness the beautiful copper brewhouse at
Celis, for example.
However, from the cooking side of things, copper cookware is considered
a not-so-good thing, as copper can be toxic. A quote from Harold
McGee's _On Food and Cooking_, which I have posted to HBD before:
"...copper cookware can be harmful. Its oxide coating is
sometimes porous and powdery, and copper ions are easily leached
into food solutions.... But the human body can excrete copper
in only limited amounts, and exessive intake can cause
gastrointestinal problems and, in more extreme cases, liver
damage. No one will be poisoned by the occasional zabaglione
whipped in a copper bowl, but clearly copper is not a good
candidate for everyday cooking."
Copper cookware is usually lined with a more inert metal (tin, stainless
steel).
So, why is copper okay for brewing but not for cooking in?
A few conjectures:
1. Copper leached into the wort during brewing is consumed by the yeast
during fermentation?
2. Copper ions attach to some other component of the wort and settle
out.
3. Beer doesn't leach much copper into the wort compared to other foods
you might cook (due to pH or ...)?
4. It's the mechanical action of cooking (scraping, etc.) that releases
copper during cooking; this doesn't happen nearly so much with
brewing?
5. The copper is in the beer, you just don't drink that much beer,
compared to the amount of food you eat.
Anyone know what the real scoop is?
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji at fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado
"Think! It ain't illegal yet." -- George Clinton
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 15:55:00 PST
From: "Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM" <GoodaleD at hood-03.army.mil>
Subject: nitrogen from the DOD
Dear collective,
While wandering around
DRMO (kind of an Army surplus store
run by the government) I came across
some nitrogen cylinders about the same
size as the normal CO2 cylinders for
dispensing from those mini-kegs. They
were used to pressurize M-11
decontamination sprayers (looks like
a fire extinguisher). Visions of creamy
heads came to mind as I bought them
$2.00 for 10. Questions:
1. Are these things under higher pressure
than normal gas? Will they blow up my
dispenser, minikegs, apartment??
2. They are slightly smaller than the
normal CO2 cartridges, and don't quite fit
well into dispenser, will this cause leakage?
3. Should I just give up, quit my job and join
the Michigan militia?
Daniel Goodale
Biohazard Brewing Company
Sure it's gonna kill ya, but who wants to live forever?
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 17:08:10 -0600
From: sbrborg at umslvma.umsl.edu (Brian Borgstede)
Subject: Starting Out
Help.
My wife said I couldn't keep bees.
So I asked her if I could make my own beer.
The answer was yes, so,
I went to the library and got some books.
The only equipment I have is a bottle capper.
(I get the bottles tonight.)
None of the kits look good to me so,
I plan to buy a primary firmenter (Large plastic food grade bucket w/lid.)
and carboy w/bubbler.
What size carboy should I buy. (This seems to be the most expensive part
and I only want to buy one)
I plan to start with the malt kits (The ones that come with all you
need including bottle caps)
Most of these seem to make five gallons.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Brian Borgstede Phone: (314) 516-6433
Instructional Technology Fax: (314) 516-5294
University of Missouri sbrborg at umslvma.umsl.edu
St. Louis
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 19:11:07 -0500
From: kbjohns at escape.com (Ken )
Subject: 5th. ann. New York City Spring Regional Competition
Following is general info for the NYCSH Comp. Please load it to your word
processor & print out. Xs indicate page breaks for entry forms etc.
Additional info can be found on our web page URL http://www.wp.com/HOSI
HOMEBREWERS OF STATEN ISLAND
5th. Annual
NEW YORK CITY SPRING REGIONAL HOMEBREW COMPETITION
Sunday, March 24, 1996 - 10:00 A.M.
CAROL'S PUB
1571 Richmond Rd.
Staten Island, New York 10304
ORGANIZER Frank Salt (718) 984-0373, eves.
Msg. 718 667-4459 Fax 718-987-3942
E-mail kbjohns at escape.com
The fifth annual New York City Spring Regional Homebrew Competition will
take place on Sunday, March 24th., at Carol's. The competition is sanctioned
by both the AHA and BJCP and
sponsored by the Homebrewers of Staten Island.
All judging will take place at Carol's. Judging will begin promptly at 10:00
am. The first round judging will be a closed session. Best of show judging
will take place, after a lunch break, at 2:00 p.m. and will be open to the
public. Party to follow, call for details.
Last years competition brought 157 entries. This year we are expecting a
minimum of 200. As we are in the middle of brewing season most brewers
should have a number of entries.
Carol's is located 3 miles south of the Staten Island Expressway. Take the
Richmond Road (not Richmond Ave.) exit. If you need directions please
contact Frank Salt at 718-948-0373 or
Ken Johnsen at 718- 667-4459S.N.Y.S.R.
Additional information can be found at the HOSI web site URL
http://www.wp.com/HOSI
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
____________________________________________________________________________
COMPETITION RULES:
1. ELIGIBILITY: The competition is open to all homebrewers. Beer must be
brewed at home.
2. ALL AHA recognized categories, with sub categories, will be judged.
Categories with sub-categories will be set under 6 classes. Based on past
experience we anticipate combining
categories as shown in the attached sheet. Categories with less than 6
entries will be collapsed according to AHA/BJCP procedures. Sub-categories
with 6 or more entries may, at the discretion of the organizer, be judged as
a separate category. To insure proper placement, please include as much
information about your entries as possible.
3. NUMBER of entries: Brewers may enter more than one beer per category
provided it is a different recipe. Each entry must be clearly identified and
labeled.
4. BOTTLES: Brewers must submit three 7 - 16 oz., plain brown or green glass
bottles. No labels or identifying marks. Plain gold caps are preferred.
Other caps must be completely blacked out.
Grolsch bottles will be accepted.
5. ENTRY fee is $5.00 per entry. For five or more entries the fee for all
entries drops to $4.00 per entry. (if you enter 4 or 5 beers cost is
$20.00). Entries beyond ten (10) are free. For
entries received after Thursday March 21st. the entry fee is $6.00 per entry
regardless of number. Paper work must be in (faxed, mailed) prior to the
24th. Make checks payable to Frank Salt.
6. DEADLINE for entries sent to East Coast is Thursday March 21st. Entries
will be accepted after March 1, 1995. Entries will be accepted on the day of
the copetition PROVIDED ALL PAPER WORK IS RECEIVED BY THE 23rd. AND ENTRIES
ARRIVE BY 9:00 AM
7. REGISTRATION forms must be attached, with a rubber band, no tape, to all
bottles. Recipes must be included on the entry form in case there is a
question as to category. Winning recipes may
be published, with credit given to the brewer.
8. SEND entries, adressed to HOSI Comp, by UPS, or bring to East Coast
Brewing Supply. It is legal to send beer for evaluations. Identify contents
as non perishable food. Pack carefully.
Include a self addressed stamped envelope to receive a rapid return of results.
Main Drop-off East Coast Brewing Supply
124 Jacques Ave.
Staten Island, New York 10306.
Phn (718) 667-4459, Fax (718) 987-3942
Other Drop-off points. (Entries must be dropped off by Wed. Mar.
20th.for Thurs. pick-up)
The Home Brewery 56 W. Main St. Bogota, N.J 07603 201-525-1833
Hop & Vine 11 DeHart St Morristown, N.J 07960 201-993-3191
Red Bank Brewing Supply 67 Monmouth St Red Bank. N.J. 07708
908-842-7507
Little Shop of Hops 9 E. 37th. St./79 New St. New York, N.Y. 10018
212-704-4248/952-4374
Brews Brothers at Kedco 564 Smith St. Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735 (516)
454-7800
SIMTAC 15 Colton Rd. East Lime, Ct. 06333 (203) 739-3609
U-Brew Co 319 1/2 Milburn Ave Milburn, N.J. 07041 (201) 376-0963
10. PRIZES will be awarded for Best of Show, as well as 1st. and 2nd.
runners-up. Prizes will also be awarded to 1st. place winners of each
category. We currently have committments for $500.00 in prizes and are
making efforts to secure additional prizes. All 1st. 2nd. and 3rd. place
category winners will be also be awarded a certificate.
Ken,
Internet Catalogs at:
Precision Brewing Systems URL http://www.wp.com/hosi/pbscat.html
East Coast Brewing Supply URL http://virtumall.com/EastCoastBrewing/ECBMain.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 19:44:57 -0500
From: jim.hilliard at circellar.com
Subject: no carbonation in m
Subj: no carbonation in my bottles :(
A question for the collective wisdom here:
I have just finished my third batch, and am beginning to go out on a limb with
some techniques. I started with straight malt syrup and priming sugar the
first two times, as well as pellet hops. Now, I am attempting a Bass-alike,
using light malt extract syrup, DME, brown sugar, and DME to prime. I had an
OG of 1.038 and a FG of 1.008. I primed with DME, as I mentioned, and bottled.
Three weeks later, I popped one open, poured, and was shocked that there was
no head. Not only no head, but no carbonation. Tastes like a flat Bass
(blech). BTW, I used 1 cup of DME for a 5 gallon batch. I kept the bottled
brew at 70F for one week, then reduced the room temp to 55F for the second 2
weeks. On Charlie P.'s recommendation, I raised the room temp again to 70F,
and haven't tried it yet. Please help me. Is 55F too cold for an ale to
prime? What is the appropriate temp?
Private e-mail appreciated as I don't read the digest daily.
Jim Hilliard
jim.hilliard at circellar.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 1996 17:38:48 -0800
From: ruderman at esca.com (Curiouser and curiouser...)
Subject: Piraat Ale (Belgian Ale)
Hello All,
On a recent incursion into Southern California, my wife and I came across a
ale called Piraat Ale. It professed to be of Belgian origin and came in a
short stubbie brown bottle.
It tastes marvelous.
Has anyone out there ever brewed a clone of Piraat Ale? If so, would you
please share a copy of your recipe with me?
Many thanks,
Robert Ruderman
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 96 09:28:19 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: mixed gases....continued
In HBD 1968, "Rich Byrnes" <rich.byrnes at e-mail.com> said
<snip>
> Now, from an economic and complexibility standpoint, would it make
> sense to force carbonate as usual and just dispense with the
nitrogen
> mix? I have the spare tanks to do so, or would it make more sense
to
> force carbonate as usual and push with pure nitrogen? I haven't
> bought the regulator yet, nor have I bought the valve for my "soon
to
> be ex-fire-extinguisher" so I could go either way at this point.
> FWIW the welding supplier I mentioned yesterday will fill a 20lb
> tank with al-eh-gal (60/40) for $12, not bad considering I've heard
> other places charge upwards of $20 for a 5lb tank. Also, is 70/30
> any better of a mix than 60/40?
Rich
If you keep a few basic principles in mind, you can dope this out
yourself. First of all, you need to figure what level of carbonation
you want in your beer and what pressure CO2 will produce this. There
are tables that give this. Second, you need to realize that the N2 is
essentially insoluble, and therefor simply provides inert dispensing
pressure. Third, you need to know about partial pressures. 20psi (to
use an arbitrary pressure) of 70/30 N2/CO2 mix will give exactly the
same carbonation (at equilibrium) as 6 psi of CO2 (0.3x20psi) but will
dispense with the force of 20 psi. If you did this with 20 psi CO2 (at
equilibrium, with the CO2 at saturation at 20 psi), you'd have
overcarbonated beer and a glass full of foam.
So the beer mix is a way of keeping low carbonation with high dispensing
force. This is expecially nice when forcing the beer through little
holes such as in the Guinness nozzles. It produces that creamy head. It
also knocks out some of the carbonation by agitation, so you need to
play with the pressure level that gives you the best overall results,
ie, carbonation level in the glass and head height. (I think that
draft stout and real ale taste best (creamiest) with NO excess
carbonation, that is, with just saturation of CO2 at atmospheric
pressure - NO rising bubbles.) You could accomplish the same thing by
carbonating with just CO2 at 6 psi, then turning it up to 20 psi for
dispensing, then immediately bleeding off the excess pressure down to 6
psi again before any CO2 dissolved and the carbonation increased. Or,
you could keep the carbonation VERY low and dispense the beer forcefully
using a hand pump, which is, of course, the whole point of this. ;-)
So, to answer your questions, you must carbonate with just CO2 at 6 psi
(to use our arbitrary pressure) until you are at equilibrium. Then
switch to beer mix. If you pushed with pure N2, then you would lose
carbonation to the head space until equilibrium was reached. The more
beer you dispensed, the more N2 would go into the head space, and the
more CO2 would come out of your beer. Eventually you would end up with
flat beer. You must keep the partial pressure of CO2 over the beer at
the same level as it was when you carbonated (which is the same as the
partial pressure of CO2 in the beer). (Anticipating another question,
if you used beer mix to carbonate, the CO2 would go into solution,
leaving behind a higher concentration of N2 in the head space, screwing
up your nice partial pressure plans.)
As far as which is better, 70/30 or 60/40, I'd say that depends on what
pressure your system behaves best at and/or economics. Just remember to
keep the partial pressure of the CO2 at the same level as the pressure
of 100% CO2 was for carbonation. Then you won't gain or lose
carbonation.
Hope this is clear. It may be more than you (and HBDers) wanted to
know, but as a former teacher, I always feel it's best to explain the
principles so you can figure it out yourself. Of course, this drives my
kids crazy. They always say, "just give me the short answer." ;-)
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 10:48:43 -0500
From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange)
Subject: Zinc/Microwaves/Head
In #1963 Keith Royster worries about zinc:
Wort should contain some zinc (cofactor for various ueast enzymes) but not
too much. Apparantly levels above 0.6 mg/L retards yeast growth although
this effect is mitigated if manganese is present as well. The USEPA
secondary standard (the level above which taste is adversely affected) for
drinking water is 5 mg/L. Above this level zinc is bitter. If there is a
primary standard (above which level there is a health hazzard) I can't find
it. The main problem where there is zinc from galvanized pipe is that there
may be cadmium and lead as these are often present as impurities in the
zinc used in galvanizing.
In # 1966 Greger Olson asked about microwaving extract to warm it for
pouring: No problem for the extract. Big problem for the microwave oven if
the extract is in a can which it usually is in which case you'd have to
pour it out first to put it a suitable container. If the extract is in a
pouch which is not metallized then there should be no problem if you open a
couple of holes for escape of the expanding gasses. Needless to say,
excessive heating of the extract will hasten Maillard reactions and the
syrup will darken.
In # 1968 Dave Whitman wrote "I can make a hand-wavy chemist's argument for
divalent calcium ions complexing to proteins in solutions to form ionic
crosslinks.." I don't think that's too hand-wavy. Metal ion crosslinking of
proteins is suspected to be a factor in foam stability. The major factor in
foam stability is the spectrum of molecular weights of proteins (see recent
discussions of same) and this is, of course, influenced by the activities
of the various enzymes which bring about proteolysis. Some of these enzymes
have metal ion co-factors.
Dave also mentions adding gypsum to sparge water. If the intent is to lower
the pH I wouldn't expect it to be too effective. By the time sparge comes
around the enzyme (phytase) which catalyzes the calcium/phytin reaction
should be deactivated (especially in a decoction mash). If, OTOH, the
intent is to get some calcium and sulfate into the beer, no problem.
A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore!
ajdel at interramp.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 09:13:55 -0500
From: belltex at onramp.net (Michael T. Bell)
Subject: Mac Software
Howdy Ya'll,
I the past few days, there has been an onslaught of requests for Mac
brewing share/freeware on the HBD. Specifically, there has been two. For
Mac users, this DEFINATELY qualifies as an offical onslaught. After
spending many hours searching the WWW, I have found a few pieces of
shareware on various beer related pages for the Mac. The problem with most
of these is that they are using Excel as the spreadsheet of choice. That's
not so great if you don't have Excel( mine came w/Claris ). I do have a
translator but something definately gets lost in the switch.
What I think we all (3 of us?) would like to find is a piece of
stand-alone shareware that we can download from a page like THE BREWERY or
THE WWW VIRTUAL LIBRARY - BEER AND BREWING.
Lance Skidmore mentioned in HBD #1966 that there is a very good program
called BrewMeister located on Compuserve in their Beer forum. He informed
me that he can't attach doc.'s to his E-mail so him posting this is out of
the question. If somebody out there has a Mac and Compuserve, were in
business. All you have to do is go to one of the pages mentioned above.
There are instructions on how to contribute (usually just E-mail the
Administrator the doc.). That way we can download it directly. It would
also certainly be allright to just E-mail me the doc. and I would be more
than happy to go through to footwork (fingerwork?).
If anybody out there in cyberland knows of ANY stand-alone
applications besides BrewMeister, please let us know!!!
Many thanks to the all-knowing collective in advance,
Mike Bell
beer is good food
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Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 10:17:11 -0500
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Subject: MAC and other Software
Tom Ayres asks:
>Does anyone know of any SUDS-like shareware for the Mac.
Try http://www.mindspring.com/~jlock/wwwbeer.html : the WWW Virtual Beer
Library. Specifically .../wwwbeer7.html has a pretty good list of brewing
software including that for MAC.
Ken Schwartz
KennyEddy at aol.com
me brew beer, drink lots, yah
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Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 12:23:41 -0500
From: D & S Painter <painter at CAM.ORG>
Subject: "The Brewer's Companion", Mosher
Hello to All,
I thank everyone who responded personally to my previous Gott questions.
I now have a quick question for anyone who has purchased or has been in
contact with Randy Mosher's book The Brewer's Companion; could you
please give me a review on this book.
I live in Canada and don't have access to this book but I can order it.
I don't want to pay about $30-$40 on a book I know nothing about. The
AHA's "Beer Enthusiast" vol6,#2, totes it as having detailed charts,
graphs, etc ... for easy reference and with a number of worksheets etc.
Thanks in advance
Douglas <painter at cam.org>
Montreal, PQ
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Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 14:27:54 GMT
From: jon.vilhauer at drcss.com (Jon Vilhauer)
Subject: Relax, have a homebrew
I was particularly interested in recent discussion of lauter
tun grain depth, as I've always thought 6" or 8" was much too
shallow, resulting in lower extraction rates and a lot of extra
trouble dribbling sparge water evenly over the larger surface
area: picnic coolers aren't better, they're just easier.
One of the more helpful articles explained the set up at
Siebel and made a lot of sense (ideal depth about 18"). It was
interesting to read and whatever grammatic or typographic
liberties it may have taken interfered not at all with my
understanding and enjoyment of the information.
Give it a rest Lance,
Jon Vilhauer
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Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 14:18:59 -0500 (EST)
From: "Kathy Booth (Waverly)" <kbooth at isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
Subject: European Brewery Tours.
Sposual unit and I will be touring in England, Scotland, Ireland,
France, Belgium and Holland in July. I have a limited opportunity to
visit notable breweries and pubs and I would appreciate "do not miss" tours.
Sposual unit has seen numerous US breweries and pubs, and the modern
industrial scene is "Ho-hum".
So far I've identified:
Brewing Museum on Brussell's great square
Straffe Hendrik Brewrie in Bruges,
Guiness in Dublin, IRE
Samual Smith Museum in York, England
Your suggestions about historically interesting places would be appreciated.
Jim Booth, Lansing MI
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Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 16:52:47 -0700 (MST)
From: Braumeister Dave <woodstok at rupert.oscs.montana.edu>
Subject: Pennies as weights
Regarding the recent fiddling with coins as counter-weights I just HAD to
comment on why you should be careful with using pennies. This is really
nit-picky but i've gotta say this. I'm in an analytical chemistry class
right now and we just recently did a lab using pennies (what's that have
to do with chem? Don't ask me, i'm just an undergrad) and calculating
standard deviations and mean weights etc, of pennies before and after
1982 (this is the year when they switched from the old heavier
pennies to the new lighter ones). We didn't look at just 7 pennies or a
roll of pennies, but _700_ pennies.
Needless to say, i think our count was pretty thorough. We found the
following:
Pennies made before 1982 have an average weight of 3 grams
Pennies made after 1982 have an average weight of 2.5 grams
You will find greater variation as the penny's age increases due to wear
and tear. Also, you should completely ignore pennies made in 1982 as
they made both types of pennies during that year and you would have to
weight them out to tell which type they were - which is kind of pointless.
Sorry for my anal-retentive post, but i couldn't believe that i would
ever find a real-world application for that lab, and it was such a royal
pain in the ass to do, i just couldn't resist.
Happy weighing!
David
Why should I
Weep, wail, or sigh?
What if luck has passed me by?
What if my hopes are dead,-
My pleasures fled?
Have I not still
My fill
Of right good cheer,- From "Beer" by George Arnold
Cigars and beer?
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 21:14:03 -0600
From: dsharp at ionet.net (Richard Sharp)
Subject: Chlorine Sanitizer
A coupple of issues ago , Mitch Hogg had a question on chlorine , hot or cold .
I waited a while for all of the Chemistry majors to jump in but so far none
have done so .I will try to shine a little light on the issue . The active
ingredient in a chlorine solution is hypochlorus accid . This chemical is a
very active reagent and highly unstable . It will breakdown into chemicles
that do nothing to help in the sanitizing process when exposed to heat
(among other things). So the question of a hot or cold chlorine comes up .
If you wanted a very active but short lived solution , hot water could
probably be used . However if you are going to get that "grunge" off of
carboys and fermentors an overnight night soak would be appropriate along
with cold water . This is only an opinion based on old Chemistry text books .
Opinions corrections or additions are welcome .
Best ,
Dick Sharp
Dick Sharp
PGP2.6 KeyId 39EB1C6D
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Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 00:16:16 -0500
From: DONBREW at aol.com
Subject: RIMS
Kirk Fleming said:
>n #1966 Dion said:
>
>> With a RIMS system, stirring of the mash should *never* be necessary
>> and if it is, indicates something wrong with the design and/or
>> implementation.
>
>I agree it shouldn't be *necessary*; I would argue that mechanical
>agitation (stirring, for example) will almost always produce a higher
>yield though, regardless of how good flow thru the bed is. Can't prove
>it in the general case, of course.
>
Gee, in my particular RIMS setup I have found that the one absolutely sure
way to stick the bed is to stir the mash. I (almost) always get better than
30 pts. yield (usually >34pts. or mid 80%s according to SUDW) without ever
stirring.
Don
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Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 01:37:14 +0500
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock at oeonline.com>
Subject: Kraeusening Basque's typists! Whatta gas!
Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...
In HBD #1968, Jason Henning asks about freezing gyle for
kraeusening...
> I was think about doing it. I would use his formula to calculate
> the amount of gyle required, freeze it in a clean plastic
> container. I would then thaw it out in a pan and boil it. Allow
> it to cold. Then add it to the wort in my bottling bucket. CP
> says to save in a sterile jar in the refrigerator and then pitch.
> Is there any reason way freezing and reboiling wouldn't be better?
> Or is this whole process just a PITA and just not worth the
> trouble?
I leave whether or not it is worth it to you. For long lagering
brews, your reserve/freeze/thaw/boil/cool/prime routine is almost
elegant.
The key to either method is sanitation. You don't want some hungry
beasty to consume your gyle before you're ready to use it. If
contaminated, your gyle is much more likely to ferment into "The
Beverage That Grossed-Out New Jersey" in the fridge than in the
freezer. Freeze away, I say!
- ---------------------------------
Imanol asks about making beer in his country...
> If someone can help me telling the first things i have to do,thank
> you. The level of the digest is very high, maybe i must go to other
> list.If you think that i have to go tell me and i unsuscribe.
First, locate a source for malt extract or malted grains, yeast, and
some hops. Some extracts already contain hops. Those are fine, too.
There's no point doing much else until you can determine where you
can get the base ingredients.
Next, locate a source for suitable bottles and caps. Brown glass
with crown caps (and a capper) are preferable, but anything that
once held a CARBONATED beverage should do fine.
When you find sources, get about 4.5 pounds of light or amber DRY
malt extract or about 5 pounds of LIQUID malt extract; about a cup of
corn sugar, and about 2.5 ounces of hops. Hallertau is preferred for
this simple recipe, but we're only interested in getting you
started, so we won't be picky. The beer will be great.
Boil up about 1.5 to 2 gallons of water, take it off the heat, and
add the extracts. Mix thoroughly. Return to heat and boil for
fifteen minutes or so with the lid off. Add an ounce of your hops.
Boil for another fifteen minutes. Toss in another ounce of hops; boil
for another fifteen minutes. Toss in the remaining half ounce of
hops, put your cover on the pot, and take the pot off the heat. Set
the pot into a sink or tub full of COLD water. Swirl it around every
once in a while and cool it to as close to 70 deg F as you can bear
waiting for. Definitely not hotter than 80, though!
Put two gallons of cool water into your fermenter. The fermenter will
be a vessel capable of holding at least five gallons. Glass
water cooler jugs are ideal, but anything that held food or drink is
ok. Make sure it is clean. Sanitize it with boiling water or a bleach
solution before using it. I also recommend that you boil about four
gallons of water the night prior to your brewing for use in diluting
your concentrated wort (extract and water).
Now, pour your cooled mixture into the fermenter. Mix it up with a
clean, sanitized spoon, or shake the covered fermenter. This is to
both mix and aerate the contents. Top up to the five gallon mark with
more water.
Add your yeast, and cover the fermenter. Feel free to peek in on it
from time to time to see the yeast's activity. Should be about done
fermenting within two weeks.
At this time, add 1/2 to 3/4 cups of corn sugar to about a pint of
water, mix and boil for about 15 minutes. Let this cool, then put it
into a clean, sanitized container similar in size to your fermenter.
Siphon your beer onto this solution. Use clean and sanitized vinyl
hose to siphon. Try to stop siphoning before you begin sucking up the
sediment from the bottom of your fermenter. (A little won't hurt.)
Siphon this mixture to your sanitized bottles, one at a time. Leave
about an inch to an inch-and-a-half of empty space at the top of
each bottle. Cap them, let them sit for a couple weeks, chill, and
enjoy!
If you can locate no extract but can locate grains, report back to
the HBD, and we'll tell you what to do...
- ---------------------------------
Lance Stronk comments on the unique utilization of the English
language appearing in the digest...
Well, Lance, I wouldn't call the quoted text "garbage", though it was
not indicative of higher literary learning. The "nugget" of
information in that post was very succinctly put belying an
intelligence and understanding that you quite apparently miss. But I
ramble, so I quote:
> The thing that would be most important to consider would be depth
> of those grain husk areas. If your small batch was spread out over
> a larger surface area, the particle size distibution layers would
> all be thin.
'Nuff said. Try a little tolerance. And have some coffee before
replying next time :-)
- ---------------------------------
AND, finally, Rich Byrnes (do I know you?!?) asks about gasses in
brew dispensing...
> would it make sense to force carbonate as usual and just dispense
> with the nitrogen mix? I have the spare tanks to do so, or would it
> make more sense to force carbonate as usual and push with pure
> nitrogen?
You're forgetting the partial pressure issue. As the headspace is
enriched with nitrogen, and the beer having X volumes of CO2 goes
into your glass, the microenvironment in you keg is going to rush to
equilibrium - the remaining beer will give up CO2 to the headspace to
keep the partial pressures in balance. It will eventually result in
flat beer.
As was previously stated, mixes are best used where the pressure
required to dispense are higher than those require to carbonate. And
the ratio should be reflective of the difference.
In my case, as we've discussed, I carbonate with 25 psig at 60F, and
my draft system requires I dispense at 35 psig. Therefor, my ideal
mix would be 25/35 or 71% CO2 (we'll accept the "error" and use 70%)
and 100%-70%=30% N2 or Ar. From what I could find out, either one is
acceptable, though N2 is more soluble in water than is Ar.
See ya!
Pat Babcock in Canton, Michigan (Western Suburb of Detroit)
pbabcock at oeonline.com URL: http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/
Take advantage of the Drinkur Purdee document echo!
Send a note to pbabcock at oeonline.com with the word
help on the subject line to see what's on tap!
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 11:23:22 -0500
From: kbjohns at escape.com (Ken )
Subject: 3/24/96 NYC Spring Homebrew Competition
The 5th. ann NYCSR Competition is less than a month away.
$1,000.00 in prizes will be given away.
Entries will be accepted between 3/1 and 3/21
All AHA beer categories will be judged by AHA/BJCP judges only.
Complete details: categories, cost, drop-off locations, entry form
information and call for judges can be found at the Homebrewers of Staten
Island home page. URL http://www.wp.com/HOSI/ Look for the competition
announcement
Ken
URL http://www.wp.com/hosi/
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Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 13:05:47 -0500
From: Kit Anderson <kit at maine.com>
Subject: Sam Adams Finalsts
More info on the Sam Adams Homebrew finalists.
>>>On March 7, the GREAT LOST BEAR (Portland, Maine)will be pouring seven
finalists from the
>>>American Homebrewer's Association home brew competition with those recipes
>>>brewed by Sam Adams in Jamaica Plain, MA...Black Lager, IPA, Amber Ale,
>>>Porter,Smoked Brown Ale, Bock and Pilsner. Also, they will be recruiting
>>>judges for future competitions. We do not have all the details, this is
>>>what we have been told so far....Contact Mike Dickson at 772-0300 for more
>>>details
>>
>Kit,
>Here are the tasting notes on the styles of beer to be available on March 7
>(indicates Sam Adams name)
>PILSNER (New World Boston Lager) Classic Pilsner, with a good malty
>character up front, and a nice hoppy, bitter finish. Lager yeast character
>does predominate its yeasty without the fruity notes of an ale yeast.
>BOCK (Sam Adams Brown Ale)
>Full bodied and chewy, this bock has a very big caramel, malty flavor. It
>is very big and malty, a classic bock.
> *SCHWARZBIER (Showdown Ale)
>This is a black lager. It is very complex- brewed with several roasted
>malts and fermented with Lager yeast, it has many layers. It is very
>smooth, and has many of the characteristics of a porter or a stout. The
>lager yeast, however, imparts a smoothness theat is both surprising and
>delightful.
>PORTER(Secret Ale)
>An excellent example of an English porter. It's malty, and the use of
>caramel, chocolate and black malt add a pleasant roasted character. It is
>also hopped with Kent Goldings for that classic English ale hop character.
>The fruity notes come from the ale yeast.
>IPA (Brewer's Gold Ale)
>This IPA is a hop lover's dream. Coming in at 50 bu's, and supported by a
>good malt character and our ale yeast's fruity notes, this is a very nice
>IPA indeed. It is a good study in American hop character: the hops are
>American Northern Brewers and Cascades. The dry hop is with cascades.
>*AMERICAN PALE ALE (Tall Ship's Ale)
>This a very well balanced ale in the "California Common" style. Malty,
>Hoppy, and fruity, this is a great beer. It is brewed with pale and
>caramel malts, and dry hopped with cascades.
>SMOKED BROWN ALE (Longshot Ale)
>This is a big, smokey, chewy brown ale that was brewed with 40% smoked
>german two row malt. The balance falls more toward the malt side, with a
>great smokiness that is unique.
>* Contest Winner- These beers will go into production, along with a
>Hazelnut Brown Ale, and be released under the brand name LONGSHOT
Kit Anderson
Bath, Maine
<kit at maine.com>
The Maine Brew Page
http://www.maine.com/brew
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