Homebrew Digest Tuesday, 8 October 1996 Number 2220
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Mike Donald, Digest Janitor-in-training
Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!
Contents:
Raw wheat sources: A quick report on my results (Mark Thompson)
Survey (MadAntBrew at aol.com)
Re: Bergamot (Kelly Jones)
CALL FOR PNW BJCP JUDGES (Darryl Richman)
stuff ((Andy Walsh))
Robotic pallette (Jeremy Bergsman)
Beer is Beer Six Pack ((MR STEPHEN D GARRETT))
many many beer related ((beerdogs))
Infected Wyeast package (Alex Santic)
Need Chest Freezer Recommendations (michael j dix)
Robotic Palate (Carl Hattenburg)
RE: Starchy beer / Liquid Pumpkin Pie ((George De Piro))
Re: Un-Believer's Six-Pack / Wheat and Head ("MASSIMO FARAGGI")
Fermentation temperature (David Conger)
Re: teflon washers ((A. David Boccuti))
Making a starter (RPSGT at aol.com)
beer and 'skey ((beerdogs))
The Un-Believer's Six-Pack Challenge Results (KennyEddy at aol.com)
tap for fridge (Jay Hammond)
Sparging Comments Invited ("Craig Rode")
FW: dry hopping ("Robert Petersen")
all-grain migraines ("Ray Robert")
Which Malt to buy? ("Ray Robert")
Starch in oatmeal stout/whiskey/coffee/pumkin seeds (Paul Brian)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mark Thompson <markt at hpdocp3.cup.hp.com>
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 1996 16:08:03 -0700
Subject: Raw wheat sources: A quick report on my results
I have made several batches of beer using either raw wheat
or raw barley (stout %25). In pushing the envelop of cost
to the lowest possible point i thought that using flour for
a raw wheat would be an idea worth trying. I had been
certain that a mash that was half flour and half barley
would clog my mash tun unrecoverably. As it turned out
i was only partly right. It cloged but not beyond the point
of recovery. Here's what i did.
I doughed in the flour to 104df water with about 1/4 of
the barley desired in the final mash. I used a big
sifter and slowly stired and shook to get an even distribution
with no lumps. I used whole wheat flour. After a 45 minute
rest at 104 i boosted to 121 for 30m. then to 135 for 15m.
Then on to 140 for 30m and 158 for 30m. Then i brought the
whole thing to a boil for a few minutes. I was attempting to do the
procedure known as double mashing. I then let the mash cool to 140
and added the rest of the barley. Then i raised it slowly
to 158. Mashed for 60 minutes. Next i boosted with heat
to 170, added my steaped crystal and rested for 10m.
After this regime i transfered to the lauder and attemped to
start my sparge. My lauder tun is a 1/2 bbl keg with a double
easy masher in the bottom. It is able to drain 10g in 2 minutes.
The suction can be quite high, but with a normal mash i can
open the valve fully. In this case that was a mistake.
It cloged immediately and took about 45 to get 2 gallons.
I restired and opened the valve slowly. This allowed me
to sparge at a more reasonable rate.
I have made the same beer using wheat flakes and a simple 40/50/60/70C
schedule. The flour was much more difficult and probibally not
worth the time. Flaked cost me about $.60/# and ww flour is about
$.43/#, general purpose is $.20/$.
- --
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Mark E. Thompson mailto:mark_thompson at hp.com
Enterprise Objects Program Networked Computing Division
Hewlett-Packard Co. Cupertino CA
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Return to table of contents
From: MadAntBrew at aol.com
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 19:40:35 -0400
Subject: Survey
To all beginning and intermediate brewers: I would like to get your opinion
on the 10 or 15 most popular and widely available specialty or micro-brews (
ie Sam Adams, Petes, Guiness, etc.) that you would like to brew at home.
Please send your list to me e-mail and I will post results.
Return to table of contents
From: Kelly Jones <kejones at ptdcs2.intel.com>
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 1996 17:22:19 -0700
Subject: Re: Bergamot
Daniel Goodale (his real name) asks about bergamot, the herb which gives
Earl Gray it's wonderful aroma. This is also known as bee-balm, it is a
plant with beautiful pinkish flowers and very fragrant leaves. You might
try finding some dried from an herb place, or growing your own. I would
avoid "aromatherapy grade' oil, unless you know how it was extracted, there
could be some decidedly non food-grade residues in there.
Kelly
Return to table of contents
From: Darryl Richman <darrylri at MICROSOFT.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 17:05:15 -0700
Subject: CALL FOR PNW BJCP JUDGES
The Brews Brothers
Malting, Mashing, Sparging, Hopping, Barming, & Drinking Society
Of Greater Seattle
Are Proud to Announce
NovemBEERfest 1996
...And we are looking for BJCP judges to sample entries at our
competition!
Novembeerfest 1996 is to be held on November 2nd. Judges should be
present at 9:30am to sign in at Redmond Brewing Co., at 7950 164th Ave
NE in Redmond, WA. Judging comences at 10am. Lunch will be supplied
after the first round of judging. Second round will be held in the
afternoon followed by the Best of Show judging. We will be using the
1996 AHA National Competition beer styles as our guide. Afterwards, an
informal pub crawl is planned.
You can point your browser at http://members.aol.com/novembeer for more
details. If you're interested in judging, please reply to me at
mailto:darrylri at microsoft.com. Please include a list of styles you
would like to judge, and especially, those styles you would rather not
judge.
Besides the web page, for more information about Novembeerfest you can:
Call Rob Nelson at (206) 788-0271 and choose mailbox 2. You may
leave a voice
mail message and he will return your call.
If you call the number above from a fax machine, you may request
bottle tags, rules, style guides, entry forms, and prize samples
by return fax.
Sent e-mail to Rob_Nelson at msn.com or jhinken at accessone.com
Contact us on AOL at NOVEMBEER
Contact us on CompuServe at 70206,1316
Potential judges should contact darrylri at microsoft.com
--Darryl Richman
BJCP Master Judge
Novembeerfest Chief Judge
Return to table of contents
From: awalsh at crl.com.au (Andy Walsh)
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 12:23:22 +1000 (EST)
Subject: stuff
Hi.
John Bell writes:
>George de Piro wrote
> "A friend of mine has found that yeast cultured from Adelaide sparkling
>ale is a good high-temperature performer. In fact, he's had trouble with it
>getting stuck at more conventional temperatures!" My experience too, in fact
>in their HB kits they used to warn to keep fermentation temp at about 25 C
>(? 77 F)! Last time I drank this (excellent) beer I was struck by the very
>estery character at room temp.
Some points:
- -Was George referring specifically to Coopers Sparkling Ale? This defines
the style, but there are several imitators. I also find the yeast from the
bottle to be a good performer at high temperatures. It can be very phenolic,
in addition to the esters. The yeast found in Coopers kits *is not the same*
as in the bottle. It is supplied to Coopers by Mauri Foods. And forget the
instructions in the kits - they must be the worst in existence. I have
spoken to the manager of the homebrew division of Coopers about this. He
told me they say 25C just so those who live in the tropics are not put off
about making them! 20C gives a better result.
*****
What's the deal with rice hulls? I want to make a 100% wheat beer. What
proportion of rice hulls do I need? Should they be added to the mash or just
the lauter?
*****
Charlie Scandrett, are you there? My email keeps bouncing.
Andy Walsh
Return to table of contents
From: Jeremy Bergsman <jeremybb at leland.stanford.edu>
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 1996 18:32:55 -0800
Subject: Robotic pallette
Carlos writes from a different email address, quoting me:
> >>If you just measure your specific gravity=20
> >>before and after fermentation you can calculate any=20
> >>of these quantities.
> The instrument directly measures Specific Gravity and=20
> Alcohol, and from that calculates the remaining numbers.=20
You still don't say why someone would want to spend money
to mail out beer to get some numbers he/she can get about
as accurately him/herself.
> >>I doubt it can measure IBU's, since these are quite=20
> >>different from alcohol and gravity measurements,=20
> >>which it would seem is all you can do.
> Incorrect. The instrument is a spectrum analyzer,
What kind of spectrum does it analyze? Why is it better
than the standard ways of measuring things like extract,
IBUs, color (which isn't actually on your list I guess)?
The ASBC and other groups have standard methods for measuring
these things.
> I would like to build a library
> (a chemical database) to recognize the following compounds:
>
> Alpha Acid
> Beta Acid - too volatile?
> Tannins? (may be too general)
> Esters=20
> Diacetyl
> Dextrin - irrelevant?
> Acetic Acid
> Lactic Acid
> Proteins
> Phenols? (may be too close to lower alcohol=92s??)
Well, you missed quite a few. One of my favorites would be
the hop oils. You might do DMS, H2S...
To what end would you build this
library? Which esters smell good and which smell bad? What
ratios of various things work and what ratios don't? When is
a level of chemical X too much? How about when the level of
chemical Y various? Morton Meilgard (?) and others have identified
>900 taste compounds in beer. That's a lot of dimensions. Have
fun "training" your pallette. I'm having fun training mine,
but at least I'm drinking beer while I'm doing it.
How is your desire to build the library related to wanting
beers from the peanut gallery? Should I wait until you're
almost done with it before I send mine in so I can get
a more complete analysis? Wouldn't shelling out a few
bucks for some pure versions of these chemicals make it a
lot easier to train?
I got three emails about my first followup. All three scolded
me for not realizing you were joking. I'm still vacillating
between joke and scam.
I'll be taking any further responses off line.
====================================
I should point out that I was slightly glib in my first
followup. Everyone should realize that formulae like
the one I tossed out are rules of thumb that work OK
for homebrewers who, in general, are measuring things
rather inaccurately to start with.
- --
Jeremy Bergsman
mailto:jeremybb at leland.stanford.edu
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jeremybb
Return to table of contents
From: sdginc at prodigy.com (MR STEPHEN D GARRETT)
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 21:46:55, -0500
Subject: Beer is Beer Six Pack
I've noticed 2 beers that have been on virtually everyone's list that
I have what I think are relevant stories about.
Guinness Stout - I was having dinner in Washington D.C. at the
Rathskeller(?) which served literally hundreds of beers from all over
the world. One of the fellows with us wasn't much of a beer drinker,
but was in a good mood to try something different. I suggested a
German pils to start. He really liked it. He asked me to suggest
something else. I went for an English ale. Bulls Eye! Finally after
the meal, I decided on a nice thick Guinness Stout "for dessert". My
friend eagerly followed my example and ordered the same. I took a
long draw on mine and waxed eloquently about the perfection of the
brewing art. My friend took a strong chug on his. His eyes got big
and he came real close to losing his dinner! I went too far. But I
did get to finish his Guinness :-). Moral: you can push too far too
fast.
Pilsner Urquell - About 15 years ago, I was on a business trip with a
young colleague in Orlando. After work, we went to a shopping mall
and came across a little liquor store that had a sign advertising
imported beers. I had a reputation of being a beer aficionado, and so
was answering lots of questions from the young fellow about the finer
points of beers of the world. He had never had anything other than
Budmilloors. Wanting to win him over to the world of good beer, I
went in and bought a couple of bottles of Pilsner Urquell. I waxed
eloquently about how this was perhaps the single best beer in the
world, yadda yadda yadda. I poured the beers emphasizing the thick
luscious head that was formed...the rich golden color... Took a swig
and nearly gagged. SKUNK CITY. Young impressionable guy was NOT
impressed. Is that why it's called PU? He's probably drinking Coors
Light to this day. As several have pointed out here, PU does not
always travel well. Moral: taste it before you offer it up.
Cheers!
Steve Garrett
sdginc at prodigy.com
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From: beerdogs at cyclops.dcache.net (beerdogs)
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 02:25:13 -0500
Subject: many many beer related
1) i read this in hbd refering to a recent trip to England. sorry i
didn't get who wrote it!:-(
they briefly mentioned a
recent, annual real ale competition. The winner was called Harvest Festival
from the Orange Brewery in Pimlico. . . Harvest Festival turned out to
be a superb Bitter. Interestingly enough, it was not a traditional English
Bitter because it was strongly hopped with Cascades (one of my favorite
hops), which would be more typical of an American Pale Ale. Apparently, the
English liked Cascades enough to make Harvest Festival this years winner. .
.The Harvest Festival ale
was brewed from the same recipe as their standard Bitter, called SW1, except
that it used Cascade hops in place of the Kent Goldings they usually used.
reading on the PPBT deal about english real ales that are not worthy of
accailm because they use american hops i have to stop and say, what the .
. .?
if brits award real ales hopped with cascades why can't we damn yankees?
2) i mashed a pale ale today. my first all-grain. only one problem
turned up. after 2.5 hrs at 158, iodine still indicated incomplete
conversion. i relaxed, didn't worry, told myself that it was just a test
run anyway and proceeded to proceed with sparging as usual. the final
result was a gravity of about 1.052 on a target of 1.060. my question:
was my iodine erronious or is does my gravity reflect some starch content
or what. complicating the whole thing is the fact that when i began my
protein rest, i overshot the temp to 132 but let it cool to 122. did this
deactivate the lower temp enzymes. put more generally, does an
overshooting of tempature affect enzyme activity at lower foregone temps?
are enzymes like yeasts in that they die at higher temps? what is an
enzyme anyway? is it like a tribble? what's going on here? should i have
been even more patient???
3) i asked before, i'll ask again: does anyone know about any similar
forums held for professional brewers. i would like to ask some equipment
questions.
thanks alot.
prost, salud, nostrovia and
cheers,
Sara&Rod
***blessed is the woman who gives birth to a brewer***
-inscription outside of Pilsner Urquel, Czechoslovokia
Return to table of contents
From: Alex Santic <alex at brainlink.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 03:55:38 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Infected Wyeast package
I'm not sure if this is worth posting, but it surprised me a bit and I
thought I'd mention it for the record...
I just pitched a package of Wyeast 1056 into a starter flask, and noticed
that the wort coming out of the package looked a little off in color.
Then I caught a brief whiff of sulfery odor.
After getting the starter squared away, I sniffed the cut corner of the
Wyeast package...a little strange. Gave the envelope a little squeeze and
the sharp sour/sulphery smell nearly bowled me over. Badly infected.
Evil is breeding in my starter flask. Think I will get rid of it. :)
Alex Santic
NYC
Return to table of contents
From: michael j dix <mdix at dcssc.sj.hp.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 96 14:38:40 PDT
Subject: Need Chest Freezer Recommendations
I need the wisdom of the collective: I have finally made up my mind
to get a chest freezer for lagering (I bought a Hunter Airstat when they
were still available, and it sits there, taunting me.)
My vision is that it will hold at least two 6-1/2 gallon carboys, in their
styrofoam nests (so they can be lifted in and out.) Has any one
bought one to hold these 25 liter carboys? Are some brands
better than others (reliability/cost to operate/quietness/etc?)
Thanks in advance,
Mike Dix
Return to table of contents
From: Carl Hattenburg <CHattenburg at Perstorp-us.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 08:40:21 -0400
Subject: Robotic Palate
>>You still don't say why someone would want to spend money
>>to mail out beer to get some numbers he/she can get about
>>as accurately him/herself.
Your right. I don't.
>>What kind of spectrum does it analyze?
Near Infrared, 400 nm to 2500 nm.
>> Why is it better than the standard ways of measuring things like extract,
>>IBUs, color (which isn't actually on your list I guess)?
>>The ASBC and other groups have standard methods for measuring
>>these things.
The only reason it would be better is that it would be free. As a
homebrewer, I don't have $50 per bottle for testing. If you do, more
power to you. I just hope you save some money for that high blood
pressure medicine.
>>One of my favorites would be the hop oils.
Oops! Sorry - thought these were included in Alpha/Beta acids
>>You might do DMS, H2S...
OK.
>>Wouldn't shelling out a few bucks for some pure versions of these
>>chemicals make it a lot easier to train?
Once again, I'd rather spend $$ on a rims system....
>>I'm still vacillating between joke and scam.
It's true. I'm a scam artist who dreams all day of robbing you of your
brown bottles. Next: THE WORLD!
- - Carl H.
(w) 301.680.7276; (fx) 301.236.0134; (h) 301.942.3756
(e) CHattenburg at Perstorp-us.com (e) CHatten at Erols.com
Perstorp Analytical, Inc.
Quality Control at the speed of light.....
Return to table of contents
From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 08:21:17 -0700
Subject: RE: Starchy beer / Liquid Pumpkin Pie
Howdy!
A question is asked in the last digest about starchy beer, this time
caused by steeping oats in an extract boil. If the beer tastes good
now, DRINK IT NOW, because the bacteria and wild yeast that are most
certainly in it will soon start to work their dark magic on the brew.
Brewer's yeast do not metabolize starch, but some yeasts and bacteria
can. What you now have is a liquid with lots of food for unwanted
microbes, but none for brewer's yeast. This means that the nasty bugs
have free run of the beer. It will go bad relatively quickly, so
drink it now!
As an enlightening lesson, reserve a couple of bottles at room temp.
and try one in a month and the other a couple of months after that...
---------------------------
There was a "LIQUID PUMPKIN PIE" recipe in the last HBD. The
procedure called for topping off the fermenter by pouring cold water
through the pumpkin and grain that had been set aside.
DON'T DO THIS! Unless you keep the grain and pumpkin at 160F for a
while to pasteurize it, you will be rinsing all sorts of unwanted
microbes into your fermenter! Sparging warm grain with cold water
into the fermenter is just about the best way to guarantee an
infection.
You really should never be sparging grains into the fermenter. You
should sparge into the boil kettle so that EVERYTHING gets boiled to
remove protein, sterilize the wort, etc.
Also, the "minimash" will probably not convert all the starch in the
pumpkin because one pound of pale ale malt in two gallons of water is
not going to provide the proper enzyme concentration for efficient
conversion. The remaining starch will provide food for all the
microbes that were put into the wort during the cool-water sparge!
If you are truly and uniquely blessed by the Beer Deities, you might
not end up with infected beer, but why tempt fate?
Have fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
Return to table of contents
From: "MASSIMO FARAGGI" <maxfarag at hotmail.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 06:29:42 -0700
Subject: Re: Un-Believer's Six-Pack / Wheat and Head
Dear HBDers,
I am a bit late on the 6-pack thread (MODEM problems) but here is my
suggestion:
I would include 2 word classics that any drinker must appreciate and 4 more
"extreme" examples; I stay with European beers but I suppose they are available
somewhere in USA
Two "Classics"
1. Pilsener Urquell
2. Chimay Blue
Two "Extreme"
3. Eku 28 (extra -strong, -malty, -sweet)
4. Courage (of Grant?) Imp. Stout (extra -strong, -bitter)
Two lighter but very characterful examples
5. Celis White (Belgium or USA)
6. Lindemans Peche-Lambic, or Boon's Kriek, or whatever you can find in USA
You can have at 5. or 6. Rodenbach Grand Cru, Liefmans Goudenband or an hoppy
IPA or even Schenkerla Rauchbier to show more styles, but you should always
include a low-alcohol example (lambic, Berliner Weisse) to show that even a
not-so-strong beer can be amazingly rich and complex.
You may try for 3. or 4. SA Triple Bock (but I never could taste it here in
Italy: could someone email me a bottle?) or Guinness Extra Stout or even
Guinness Foreign Stout if it's still available somewhere in the world (I tasted
it 18 years ago) or others.
- -------------------------------------
And now one question:
My beers are not usually lacking condition, the head may be good but it
disappeares too quickly; I read many times that you can use small quantities of
wheat to improve head or head retention.
First question, is that true? Any other tip on this subject?
Second, which is the best way I can use wheat?
I'm an extraxt brewer, not yet equipped for mashing; I use specialty grains
steeped before boil. So I could use:
1. Unmalted wheat grains
2. Unmalted (home-)roasted (toasted,torrified..) wheat grains.
3. Wheat malt
4. Wheat cara- or roast- malt
5. Wheat flakes
I usually brew pale ales, strong ales and stouts.
I guess 3) and maybe 1) would require mashing.
1), 2) or 5) are more readily available to me, but 3) and 4) are also possible.
TIA
Massimo Faraggi GENOVA - ITALY
maxfarag at hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------
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From: David Conger <dconger at hal.hscribe.com>
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 1996 09:38:09 -0400
Subject: Fermentation temperature
Collective,
Yesterday Lou Heavner wrote, in part:
>...
> Remember, fermentation is exothermic (generates heat) so your wort will
> probably be warmer than the room you are fermenting in.
>...
I was just wondering about this. I'm fermenting an ale right now with Wyeast
1056. The instructions on the yeast pack recommend fermenting at 68 degrees
F and the air temp around the fermenter is a steady 68 throughout the day
and night. The wort temperature, however, is between 70 and 75 degrees F
today (second day of active fermentation).
Would I get a better tasting beer by forcing the air temperature down or
does Wyeast's 68 degree recommendation refer to the air temperature?
I think I could force the air temperature to around 60 degrees F with my
fermentation chiller. I'm not sure how much cooler that will make the wort.
Thank you in advance for your wise replies.
- ------------------------------------------
David Conger
dconger at hscribe.com
HealthScribe, Inc.
6 Export Drive
Sterling, VA 20164
(703) 444-9090
- -------------------------------------------
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From: boccuti at ias.com (A. David Boccuti)
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 96 09:41:59 -0400
Subject: Re: teflon washers
Try McMaster Carr. 908 329 3200
- --
A. David Boccuti <boccuti at ias.com>
Intelligent Automation Systems, Inc.
149 Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
voice:(617)354-3830 x230, fax:(617)547-9727
http://www.ias.com/
Return to table of contents
From: RPSGT at aol.com
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 10:01:00 -0400
Subject: Making a starter
I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I would like to ask the
collective a question. I use liquid yeast smack packs and would like to know
how big the starter should be. I've heard everything from 1 quart to 1/2
gallon. Is bigger better? How much malt extract should be used? I would
appreciate any information.
TIA
Dennis Putnam
Asheville, NC
Return to table of contents
From: beerdogs at cyclops.dcache.net (beerdogs)
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 10:54:59 -0500
Subject: beer and 'skey
regarding: "In the process of lifting, the pail acted as a diaphram and
sucked about half of the whiskey from the airlock into the beer.
My question is, how will the affect the final product?"
Question: do you like whiskey? do you like whiskey with beer chasers?
have you ever been annoyed at having to lift TWO(!!!) glasses, to drink
your whiskey and beer chasers? what i think you have is the solution to
this age old dilema.
i heard from a friend who lived in france that he had a whiskey beer at a
bar. he liked whisey and said the beer was interesting.
cheers,
Sara&Rod
***blessed is the woman who gives birth to a brewer***
-inscription outside of Pilsner Urquel, Czechoslovokia
Return to table of contents
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 10:56:53 -0400
Subject: The Un-Believer's Six-Pack Challenge Results
Muchisimas gracias to everyone who responded to the Un-Believer's Six-Pack
Challenge!! This really *was* fun. I figured on getting a few responses but
close to two dozen folks responded either through the HBD or private e-mail.
The tally represents responses as of Monday October 7th. I suppose more
might trickle in but the trends seem to be well-established at this point,
so I'm cutting it off (hey, it's MY poll, dammit).
I've taken some liberties with the raw data, since in many instances the nod
went more to style than brand, and I sorta lumped some of them together.
The votes have been carelessly tallied and the clear winners are:
=====
Specific Brand votes:
*Pilsner Urquell with 16 votes
*Guiness Stout with 14 votes
*Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with 11 votes
The next two are presented as "categories" rather than specific brands since
so many brands were mentioned. know these two categories have a wide-open
range of interpretations brand-to-brand but I just had to collapse them
into groups (as you will see in a second, there are 11 more that received at
least two votes, and over two dozen others with one vote each):
*"Belgian or Lambic" with 12 votes
(Boon and Chimay tied for most popular with 3 votes each; Rodenbach
was
mentioned twice)
*Weissen-Class with 11 votes
(Spaten & Paulaner were tops with a couple votes for Red Hook)
And finally,
*Celis Wit wit 7 votes
==========
Also-Ran with Two or More Votes:
Several "Bocks" with 6 total votes
Bud / Bud Lite (5) -- more on this in a second...
Oktoberfest (5 -- Paulaner got 2)
Fruit/Spice Beer (5)
Fuller's ESB (4)
"Amber" Ale (3)
Imperial Stout (3)
Barleywine (3)
Redhook ESB (3)
Scottish Ale (3)
Oatmeal Stout (2)
BUD?!?!?! Yes! Bud. The evil swill that started this whole affair! Look
- -- it gives a rookie a starting-off point, and as one respondent pointed
out, it'd also be a great place to end up, to illustrate its blandness after
touring the world a pint at a time.
Another suggestion that made sense was to add somehting like a brown ale as
an illustration that "dark" doesn't necessarily mean "heavy".
"Amber Ale" included both Fischer and US microbrew varieties.
Perhaps surprisingly, Anchor Steam only rated one vote.
I was a bit surprised by the high showing of the Belgian styles. I
personally believe the untrained palate would have trouble with this style,
although perhaps that's as good an illustration as any, huh?
BTW such a six-pack might make an excellent Christmas gift. I have several
friends who enjoy my beer but really have no idea what's out there in the
"real beer" world. A guided tour, either on paper or in person, should
accomany the beers to educate and explain. Dress up the six-pack carton
with wrapping paper.
FWIW I'll include "my" sixer. I already had one sketched out before I asked
the question so any similarities to the "winners" is strictly coincidence!
(yeah right):
*Pilsner Urquell -- What the megabrews purport to be (not)
*Guinness Pub Draft -- Smoother than the bottle; probably more palatable to
the rookie
*Sierra Nevada Pale Ale -- Crisp hop explosion; illustrates "American"
microbrew style
*Bass Ale (or Fuller's ESB or even Double Diamond) -- "Classic" English Ale
*Oktoberfest (Hacker-Pschorr or Paulaner) -- Malty, not too bitter
*Franziskaner Hefe-Weissen -- Something different
The assumption of course is that "fresh" bottles can be found; all bets are
off if the beer is skunked or stale. Best perhaps to buy a six of each, so
you can be sure the ones you give are worthy of their labels.
Some people came up with "megabrew" six-packs -- Redhook, Sam Adams, Pete's
- -- which is a good idea since it may be more of a "stepping stone" approach
for the uninitiated.
As several folks pointed out, this really should be a "twelve-pack" to do the
task justice. I agree, but I think the six-pack concept at least address
the issue of beer diversity. It's not our place to force our tastes and
opinions on others but at the same time, I'm pleasantly surprised at how
many people do take well to better beer if only given the opportunity.
Now that I've done your Christmas shopping for you, let's get back to
brewing.
*****
Ken Schwartz
El Paso, TX
KennyEddy at aol.com
http://members.aol.com/kennyeddy
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From: Jay Hammond <jhammond at acad.bryant.edu>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 11:27:16 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: tap for fridge
I currently keep my corney kegs in a "dorm size" refridgerator and have
to open the door everytime I want to use the tap.
I was wondering if anyone has ideas about where I could get a tower style
tap to mount on the top of the fridge. What I have in mind is the same
type that are seen at bars, sometimes brass with the handle on it.
Any other ideas or suggestions are welcome.
Thanx.
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From: "Craig Rode" <craig.rode at sdrc.com>
Date: 8 Oct 1996 10:46:30 -0600
Subject: Sparging Comments Invited
Reply to: Sparging Comments Invited
I use a 33 quart enamel pot with an EZ Masher (TM). My grain load is usually
about 10-12 lbs. My sparge technique is:
1) Mash out at 170F for about 15 minutes.
2) Recirculate until clear (a couple of cups)
3) Attach hose to ezm spout that goes to bottom of brewpot to avoid splashing
and HSA.
4) Open spigot, until I get just a trickle.
5) Get a gallon of water boiling.
6) Pour it slowly around top of grain (which already has 1-2" of liquid in it)
7) Collect 7 gallons, usually taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Questions:
A) Does pouring the water, as opposed to using a distribution device, create
serious channeling?
B) Is boiling water too hot? The grain stays 160-170F (I keep a thermometer in
it.)
C) If I notice small bits of particulate matter in the initial runnings,
should I start over? Will these "bits-o-grain" cause starch haze or what?
D) Does that new Miller ad with the guy making fun of beer geeks make you all
want to punch him in the nose or is it just me?
E) Do most of you using enamel pots with EZ Masher (TM) insulate same?
F) Is it possible to sparge too slowly? What would I gain by shortening the
sparge time to 45min- 1 hour?
TIA...Craig
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From: "Robert Petersen" <StoneRidgeFarm at msn.com>
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 96 00:02:00 UT
Subject: FW: dry hopping
Just one man's opinion, but I'd use the pellets for bittering and try to get
some plugs or even fresh hops for dry hopping. You're really after aroma at
this stage, not bitterness.
- ----------
From: bacchus at aob.org on behalf of Homebrew Digest REQUEST Address Only
Sent: Saturday, October 05, 1996 6:46 PM
To: homebrew at aob.org
Subject: dry hopping
Hombrew Collective,
I just dry hopped my first batch. I put the pellet hopps in the secondary
last night. This morning when I went to check on the brew, a question occured
to me. Is all this stuff going to settle out in the next week (in time to
bottle)? If not will I need to rack it again so to avoid getting pelletized
hopps in my kegs? Thanks in advance.
Brent Smith
Raleigh, North Carolina
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From: "Ray Robert" <Ray_Robert at bah.com>
Date: 8 Oct 1996 14:16:25 U
Subject: all-grain migraines
I come seeking advice and counsel from this august forum.
After seriously considering chucking all of my equipment, I reconsidered and I
am now determined to overcome my brewing problems. The problem I face is
recurring infections (in my beer of course). My last four batches have had
some sort of infection or another, and I am getting a little frustrated.
My latest was a test batch to try to determine the root cause of my problems.
It was a simple pale ale. The recipe was as follows:
8# 2 row malt
1# Crystal
1# carapils
Infusion mashed at 150F, held for 1 hour. 60 min boil. Hops at 45, 15, and
5. Immersion chilled, racked to primary. Pitched Wyeast American.
Fermented 1 week at around 75f, racked to secondary, another week.
Racked to corny, with 1/2 cup corn sugar to prime. 1 1/2 weeks tapped.
Result: Hazy amber color with slight sour taste, with mild carbonation.
Based on past comments from the digest, I used spring water, did not use a
starter, replaced my siphon hoses. ( I did not eliminate my plastic
fermenter). Other data points. I use a copper racking cane, soaked
everything in idophor after cleaning.
Results from previous three batches:
ESB Clone - strong sherry flavors at bottling, diminished in two months,
consumed entire batch.
Honey Wheat - slight sour taste, had several gushers. Last few were trashed.
Pale Ale - strong sour taste, undrinkable, used it to water the lawn.
These were all made using Briess 2 row malt.
Any suggestions.
Regards
Robert Ray
ray_robert at bah.com
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From: "Ray Robert" <Ray_Robert at bah.com>
Date: 8 Oct 1996 14:20:01 U
Subject: Which Malt to buy?
After spectating on the recent malt thread, I had a question regarding the
best to buy. I brew predominately pale ales, brown ales, and would like to
try a porter and stout. What would be the recommended base malt for these
styles? (I would like to buy a 50/55lb bag). In the past I have purchased
Briess 2 row and used recipes that fit that style of malt.
Thanks
Robert
ray_robert at bah.com
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From: Paul Brian <pbrian at Tudor.Com>
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 96 15:51:29 -0400
Subject: Starch in oatmeal stout/whiskey/coffee/pumkin seeds
Anton asks about the starch in his 'extract' Oatmeal Stout-
I too made an extract oatmeal stout about a year ago. The beer was (and still
is) pretty good but there was always something about it that I couldn't quite
pinpoint. Not until about a month ago, when I started to read a lot more about
mashing, did I realize it was 'starchy'. Not bad, but 'flawed in some way.'
I do not, however, remember there being a foam sitting on top of this batch.
But this has happened on another batch I brewed. That batch was the first and
only time I brewed with Wyeast American II and Cara-Pils malt so I attributed
it to either the yeast or the dextrins in the malt. The foam just sat there
like whipped cream on an Irish coffee so I just racked from under it and
everything turned out excellent.
Mark asks about whiskey in his beer-
I would imagine that the reason they recommend whiskey in the airlock is so
that if it happens to get into the beer, you don't have to worry about
contamination. So...don't worry about it.
Cory asks a couple of questions-
About coffee- Steep coffee at the end of the boil, not with the grains before
the boil. Coffee shouldn't be boiled, it brings out the bitter tannins in the
beans.
About pumpkin beer- Clean, salt, bake and eat the seeds, don't steep them to
make pumpkin beer. Follow the recipe in HBD 2219 for pumpkin ale, it looks
terrific.
Cheers,
Paul
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