---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
		Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of 
		Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
				URL: http://www.oeonline.com


Contents:
  Yo! AOL HBD subscibers! Read THIS!!! (Homebrew Digest)
  Grain Mills (Mike & Kim Walker)
  Haafbrau1:  yeast question (haafbrau1)
  Weizen/protein rest (Randy Ricchi)
  porter, hops, ramblings (Joseph.M.Labeck at brew.oeonline.com, "Jr.")
  Re:Wheat Beer - 120F rest or not? (Zurekbrau)
  Re: spent grains (Jeff Renner)
  Cutting Time Out of the Brew Session (Kyle Druey)
  RE: mash/sparge one day, boil the next ("Dr. Pivo")
  Suggestions for Schwartzbier grain bill ("Tidmarsh Major")
  Re; Bitter sweet (Kevin TenBrink)
  open fermentation (Breadnale)
  Re: Flat False Bottoms ("Ludwig's")
  HopsDirect Packaging (Loren Crow)
  accurate pH, finally ? ("Frederick L. Pauly")
  Oak chips ("David Johnson")
  Re: Butt Lube ("Charles L. Ehlers")
  LaChouffe Yeast Clone ? ("Frederick L. Pauly")
  mash/sparge one day, boil the next, (AND pitch the next) (Jack Schmidling)
  Follow-up on Pin-lock Keg Poppets (Randy Shreve)
  emu export lager recipe? (Jon Sandlin)
  The Jethro Report ("Rob Moline")
  Natural Gas Fired Outdoor Cookers ("Timothy A. Stelljes")


BURP's Spirit of Free Beer competition is June 6-7 and entry information
is available by contacting Jay Adams (adams at burp.org).


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


Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 09:25:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: Homebrew Digest <hbd at brew.oeonline.com>
Subject: Yo! AOL HBD subscibers! Read THIS!!!

Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...

A quick NOTE to those readers on AOL who are considering subscribing or
becoming SPAM free: If you've set your mail filters to not allow mail from
outside of AOL, the Digest WILL NOT reach you, and I'll be dealing with
the resulting error messages from AOL. Please consider unsubscribing from
the Digest before setting filters to save me the search and destroy effort
that results if you don't.

THANKS!


Cheers!

The Home Brew Digest Janitorial Staff




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Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 21:27:26 -0700
From: Mike & Kim Walker <azale at uswest.net>
Subject: Grain Mills

Greetings,

At the risk of starting up the dreaded mill thread again, I am looking
for some feedback from somebody who uses the BrewTek mill. Specifically
I would like to know about the roller diameter, gap adjustability,
quality of crush, and overall impression of this mill.

Thanks

Mike Walker
Mesa, AZ


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 07:50:22 -0400
From: haafbrau1 at juno.com
Subject: Haafbrau1:  yeast question

I'm reposting this in hopes of a response.
Since I only brew ales, I don't think using the bottom sludge would be a
smart move.  What is the collective's opinion on drawing 1-2 liters of
actively fermenting wort as a starter for a new batch?  Would this work
well?  The theory sounds good anyway.  Private e-mail OK.
Once again my apologies for the advert tacked onto this post, I have no
control over it.
Brewers make wort, yeast make beer.
Paul Haaf
haafbrau1 at juno.com
- --------- End forwarded message ----------

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 08:20:03 -0400
From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at ccisd.k12.mi.us>
Subject: Weizen/protein rest

Dave Humes asked whether a protein rest was needed with highly modified
wheat malt. Here's my own two cents.

I do a step infusion with 60% German Wheat & 40% German Pils (although I
have used Briess 2-row also).  I like to use a 10-15 min. rest at 105-111
deg.F., not because I think it helps with the clove character (although it
might), but because I read Fix's comments on how it can help improve the
lauter run-off.  I tried it, and it seems to do so.

I used to do an extended (1 hr) protein rest (upper 120's), thinking that
it was needed since I wasn't doing a traditional decoction with so much
wheat.  I now do 25 - 30 minutes at 129-30 deg.F.,and get excellent head
retention.

I don't know how it would work without any protein rest.





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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 10:27:15 +0800
From: Joseph.M.Labeck at brew.oeonline.com, "Jr." <joe-sysop at cyberbury.net>
Subject: porter, hops, ramblings

Greetings, Folks;
    I want to thank everyone who replied a few weeks ago to my post about my 
porter. I had added WAY too much molasses. The advice was unanimus, and 
agreed with my own instincts; wait and see.
    I tried some recently, and it has improved a lot. A little while longer, 
and it might be a very good beer.
    I was also gratified that you were nice enough to share some of your own 
stoopid mistakes. 
    I've planted hops, which are now about 4 inches high. When I ordered 
them, I asked if they knew the variety, and they answered "Oregon Golden 
Nuggett". Anyone familiar with this? I imagine it's the Nuggett variety, but 
I wonder what the "Oregon Golden" means.
    Finally, you can see from my sig that I have almost as much fun naming my 
beers as brewing them. I've never been able to come up with a name for my 
mild ale, and I'd like the collective's help. It's just a basic mild ale 
recipe, to which I add some flavor hops (Fuggles or Willamette) at the end of 
the boil.
Thanks,
Joe Labeck
Joe's Beer
Cuppa Joe Stout		Uncle Bill's Porter	Nut 'n' Tuit Brown Ale
Nothing Special Bitters				Un-named Mild Ale



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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 10:28:44 EDT
From: Zurekbrau at aol.com
Subject: Re:Wheat Beer - 120F rest or not?

Here is my reply to Dave Humes about doing a protien rest for wheat beer

>I'm getting ready to do a Bavarian wheat beer and I'm wondering about
>whether I should use a protein rest or not.  I'm planning on using 50-60%
>wheat in the recipe (probably Briess), about 5-10% German Munich malt, and
>the balance Briess two-row pale brewers malt.  It seems to me that many of
>the desirable characteristics of wheat would be comprimised by a protein
>rest if the wheat malt is already highly modified.  I want a fairly
>significant body, very good foam formation and stability, and I don't care
>if it is cloudy.  

This is just one data point but I made a wheat beer last september and used
50% malted wheat and 50% 6 row malt. I did a 15 min rest at 122 degress and 15
min at 135 degress.  The beer was the most clear beer I ever made from all
grain.  It also had very little foam formation.  When I make this again I will
not use any protein rests.

Rich Zurek
Carpentersville IL
North West of Chicago


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 10:15:53 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: spent grains

Jim Booth <kbooth at scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us> wrote:
>I've used spent brewing grains in baking by drying and grinding in a
>coffee bean  mill.  It does reduce the volume on the loaf and probably
>should be added at the end of kneading so the sharp fibers doesn't cut
>the gluten that is being developed.

It shouldn't matter when you add them as far as developing gluten "fibers."
The gluten cross linking that occurs during kneading (and fermentation of
the dough, as well) is on a molecular scale.  The cutting of gluten by the
grain particles is on a macro scale and is a matter of the piercing of CO2
bubbles.  If you add the grains late,m there is the danger of their
absorbing water from the dough and making it too stiff, so I'd suggest
adding them early.  If you use the sponge method I posted earlier this
week, add them then so they become fully rehydreated.

Jeff

 -=-=-=-=-
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943. 




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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 20:15:20 -0700
From: Kyle Druey <druey at ibm.net>
Subject: Cutting Time Out of the Brew Session

I have developed some brewing methods over the last several years to
help shave time off the long brew day.  It used to take me 7 or 8 hours
to perform a 5 gallon, all grain, step mashed brew, now I can do it in
4.5 to 6 hours depending on the mashing process.  Here are the biggest
time savers:  

1)  Setup the night before.  I setup up my RIMS, measure the gross water
volume, and crush the grain the night before brew day.  The yeast
starter has been prepared 1 to 2 weeks before.

2)  Preheat the mash water.  I come home at lunch and heat up the 7 to 8
gallons of water to about 130 to 140 F.  This allows me to dough in
right when I walk through the door at 5 after work.  The dough in strike
temp is in the range of 95-110 F, which is perfect for my pseudo acid
rest (this is not really an acid rest, but a beta glucan rest, and is
when I also adjust the mash pH to 5.4-5.6).

3)  Skip the protein rest if possible.  I now only infrequently use a
protein rest, this cuts 20 to 40 minutes out of the mash.  If I decide
to do a decoction here, I will only pull one 5/9 decoct and let is rest
for 20'  at  150, then boil for 30'.  Doing a single decoct shaves a couple
of hour off of the mashing process.

4)  Warpspeed Sparge.  I open up my 1/2" ball valve all the way and let
the mash tun drain as fast as possible.  I do the same with the sparge
water to the mash tun, open up the feed valve all the way.  I can sparge
this way in 10'-15', cutting about 40'-50' out of the sparging process. 
Doing this causes me to lose about 1 point of extraction, and I now get
27-28 points per pound per gallon.  I think that RIMS gives me the
ability to sparge very quickly like this without significantly impacting
my extraction rates.

5)  Start the Boil while collecting the sweet wort.  I start heating up
for the boil just as soon as the sparge starts collecting into the
boiler.  I use a 3500W element in my boiler which allows me to heat up
to boiling temps from sparge temps in 10'-15'.  I am starting to boil
just as the last runnings are draining out of the mash tun.  This has
cut 30'-45' out of the brew day.

6)  Use as short a boil as possible.  I now boil for 60' for all my
beers.  I make sure that I can hit my preboil volumes with good
consistent accuracy so that I do not have an excess of wort/water to
boil off in order to hit my post boil extract design volume.  This helps
to shave a possible 15'-30'.

Using these techniques I can brew a single step sacch rest beer in 4.5
hours, clean up is included in this time as well!  In 6 hours I can do a
single decoction brew.  I used to brew all day on saturdays, much to my
wife's displeasure.  Now I can brew on weeknights after work, and
usually be done my 10:00 pm to catch sports center and have a homebrew
before bed.

Anyone else please add your time saving ideas, maybe I can get it down
to less than 3 hours!


Kyle Druey
Bakersfield, CA


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 18:49:55 +0000
From: "Dr. Pivo" <irv at wireworks.se>
Subject: RE: mash/sparge one day, boil the next

Just thought I might put in another vote for, and help alleviate any
worries for anyone planning to do a "broken brewing day".  It has been
my favourite way to brew for about 15 years.  I previously mashed
overnight  (noticed no difference there) but more commonly mash and
sparge one day and boil the next.

I've noticed no inherent differences between doing it those ways, or
doing it all in one go.

The advantages for me are:

1.  It fits very nicely in with an end of a work period.  Mash and
sparge in the evening, boil on my following day off, and not have to use
the whole day for brewing.

2.  I'm not sure of the accepted term, but I do what I think is referred
here to as a "batch sparge".  I call it a "dilution sparge" or "infusion
sparge", where I just add boiling water to bring up to sparge temps and
then pull it through the false bottom.  This makes for pretty "sloppy
sparging" (but I do manage about 150 litres in 15 minutes).  When I
collect it, I take the nice clear portion on top into the boiler, the
rest sits until the next day, and I siphon off crystal clear wort into
the boiler, and leave the grey "spooey", that has settled out over night
( if you let some wort sit, you might be surprised to find how much of
that gunk there is in the clearest of worts)---- I really don't want to
add more worries to anyone else's brewing, but one of my personal
paranoias and prejudices (which I haven't stringently tested), is that
those "husk residues" can be responsable for a variety of ill flavours,
and are best removed.

3.  As regards hopping, I chuck some in to sit overnight.  I like this,
because it starts the break going, so the wort doesn't "kick" when it
boils, and I can have a fuller boiler.  I never have paid any close
attention to hop utilization, but this first addition ( about 30 - 40 %
of total alpha?) I regard as "characterless".   In the "good old days",
when I had unlimited access to whole Saaz aroma flowers, and would brew
the entire brew with them, I can't say I could tell the difference
between using them, or an "inferior" high alpha flower like Northern
Brewer on these "overnighters", as long as the Alpha ammount was
equivalent.  Subsequent additions after the boil starts, do ring through
to the finish with their particular character.


If doing an "overnighter" appeals to you, I certainly wouldn't hesitate
to try it.  I've done hundreds, and for a long time I used the EXACT
same recipe when brewing and tried to vary one thing at a time (eight
years?  GAWD what a pedantic bugger!) to see where the important
variables that effected taste were.... "breaking up the brew" never
seemed to make a whit of difference.

Dr. Pivo


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 12:45:07 +0000
From: "Tidmarsh Major" <tidmarsh at pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Suggestions for Schwartzbier grain bill

I'm planning on brewing a schwarzbier soon, and I'd like some 
suggestions for a grain bill.  The BJCP style guidelines suggest a 
"judicious" amount of roasted malt to provide dryness and  color yet 
avoid a burnt taste.  In "All about Grains 101" at the Brewery 
website, Jim Busch notes that black patent should be used only in 
trace amounts and that any color  contribution can be obtained from 
other malts with less harsh flavor contributions.  On that advice, 
I'm thinking chocolate malt, which Busch suggests for 3-12% of the 
grist, with larger amounts lending a black color and smooth roasted 
flavor.

With that in mind, I'm thinking of using 7.5 lbs of Schreier 2-row 
pale malt, .5 lb of 10L caramel,  and 1 lb of chocolate malt (11%).  
I'll do a single-temp infusion mash at 152F.  Judging by back of the 
envelope calculations, that gives me about a 1.050 OG and a color of 
around 73L, which is about twice what the style guidelines suggest, 
but can a black beer really be too dark?  Of more concern, though, 
will it be too roasty?  Should I use less chocolate malt?

Thanks again,
Tidmarsh Major, Birmingham, Alabama
tidmarsh at mindspring.com
"Bot we must drynk as we brew,
   And that is bot reson."
    -The Wakefield Master, Second Shepherds' Play


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 11:52:15 -0600
From: Kevin TenBrink <tenbrink at jps.net>
Subject: Re; Bitter sweet

Matt wrote in HBD 2727:
>>It was heavily dosed
with Centennial and another hop that is escaping me for the moment (I
want to
say Perle). At any rate, it was quite bitter with a lot of hop flavor so
it
gave me this odd rush of bitterness followed by another rush of
sweetness.

Am I the only one who thinks this? I find it to be particularly
noticeable with
Cascade and Centennial for some reason.<<

Another data point along this vein--
I brewed a pale ale not too long ago with the following hop schedule:
2oz Nugget 14.8%  60 mins
2oz Cascade 6.5% 20 mins
1 oz Centennial 10.7% 20 mins
1 oz Cascade and 1 oz Centennial dry hop for 2 weeks.

all hops were whole flower and the boil volume was 5 gallons.
I don't know if you would classify this as "copious amount of flavor
hops" but it has a very pronounced hop flavor and bitterness immediatly
followed by a pleasantly sweet twang.  I thouroughly enjoy it, but I may
try to add some more flavor hops or try a FWH method next time I brew
this one.

Cheers
Kevin
Salt Lake City
Nine Inch Ales Homebrew club




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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 19:34:11 EDT
From: Breadnale at aol.com
Subject: open fermentation

I thought I'd give it a try. i racked my special bitter to day into closed
carboy. So far so good. I used a good eng. ale yeast I use for all my beers.
Maybe it's me, but it seemed to have a much fruitier nose at this point, maybe
I'm expecting more out of open fermentaation. I'm not necessarily sold on the
idea, just curious. The room I used sure smelled nice, the first coupla days. 

Let's here some experiences? Pros and Cons? I'm sure there are going to be
more cons than pros on this one, but lets remember that the big guys do it and
continue to. I'd really like to hear comments from, "I've done it before" to
"you're a  at #$%^& idiot for trying that."

Thanks for the input,Jim


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 22:42:00 -0400
From: "Ludwig's" <dludwig at us.hsanet.net>
Subject: Re: Flat False Bottoms

John Thomas brought up some thought provoking stuff:
> I have a thought or two and hope it starts a discussion for you.
> 
> A flat false bottom is superior to a dome shaped false bottom in a mash tun
> and
> the flat false bottom is superior to copper tubes with slits.
> 
> The reasons are:
> Flat false bottoms
> 1. Higher extraction rates because the pressure is even.

If you mean delta P across the false bottom holes, not true. When you
drop the pressure under the false bottom, all of the volume experiences
the same drop in pressure and will result in the same delta P over the
entire surface no matter whether it's flat or any other shape assuming
even distribution of filtration husks (big assumption).

> Screens Vs tubs with slits
> 1. screens pull the wort evenly, the pressure is even across the top

Hopefully

> 2. tubes must draw toward the tube requiring more movement and more chance
> for channeling or missing the good stuff lautering is trying to recover.

An more chance for filtration. 
How can an easy masher type system work so well? 
All of the action doesn't happen at the false bottom but throughout the
grain bed especially in the layers near the FB. If you can build a good
homogeneous filter bed, doesn't matter what kind of system you're using.
FWIW, I use a coiled copper, slotted manifold. If I remember correctly,
there's about 6 feet of 1/2 " copper tube in the coil which gives good
suction distribution across the bottom of the 5 gal Gott I'm using. But
I don't think I need all that. Out of 15 batches, only one anomolous
sparge where I could see definite channeling. That one was one of my
mash mixer experimental mashes and I think the problem was caused by not
evening out the top surface of the mash before sparging. 

My feeling on this is that with a large sparge area ( big screen for
example), it's harder to maintain equal/distributed flow so portions of
the screen area stagnate and flow increases in the other areas. A more
concentrated (in terms of suction area) manifold, helps build a deeper
husk filtration layer and results in less channeling and fewer stuck
sparges. 

Great topic John!
cheers,
Dave Ludwig
Flat Iron Brewery
SO MD


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Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 22:28:59 -0500
From: lorencrow at earthling.net (Loren Crow)
Subject: HopsDirect Packaging

Hi all,

I recently purchased a few pounds of various kinds of hops from HopsDirect
(http://www.hopsdirect.com). I'm generally quite pleased with the product.
However, I was dismayed to find that they don't packing in nitrogen-barrier
packaging. I had understood that this was virtually the only acceptable
standard in the industry. Instead, the hops came packaged in cardboard
tubes.

I've stored them in in the freezer, but am wondering if I should do more to
maintain freshness. Should I remove them from the tubes and put them in
ziplock baggies, or something?

Thanks for your help!
Loren


==============================================================
# Loren D. Crow, Ph.D.     ++ Office Phone:  (903) 927-3219  #
# Department of Religion   ++          Fax:  (903) 938-8100  #
# Wiley College            ++                                #
# 711 Wiley Avenue         ++ Email: lorencrow at earthling.net #
# Marshall, TX  75670      ++                                #
==============================================================

The unexamined life is not worth living.
                           - Socrates




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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 08:11:48 -0400
From: "Frederick L. Pauly" <flp2m at avery.med.virginia.edu>
Subject: accurate pH, finally ?

As an all grain brewer I have struggled with the problem of
getting accurate pH readings of the mash. I have tried the cheap
($100) meters and been dissapointed when I could no longer
calibrate them. I then went to the expensive plastic strips and
felt better but the color of the strip never really matched the
color guide on the box.
So then I had the great idea of getting a bottle of pH 5.0 buffer
from Fischer Scientific so I could see what the strip looked like
in a calibrated buffer. The results were suprising.
Whatman type CF pH 4.5-10 read 4.5 in the 5.0 buffer
colorPHast pH 4.0-7.0 read 4.7 in the 5.0 buffer
Paul Frank pH 3.8 - 5.5 read 4.9 in the 5.0 buffer
Please note I am not a scientist and this was a one shot test but
I think the idea of testing the strips in a 5.0 buffer was a good
one and I feel much more confident of my pH readings now.
Rick Pauly
Charlottesville,VA


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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 07:54:46 -0500
From: "David Johnson" <dmjalj at inwave.com>
Subject: Oak chips

Brewers,
	I would like to use American white oak chips in a batch that I have in
primary right now. I am looking for suggestions on how best to use them. I
have admired the flavor in several beers that I have tasted (like
Rodenbach) and would like some advice on amounts to use, contact time,etc.
I am planning a rather long secondary (months). Should I add and remove
them before the dry hops? For those wanting to know the style, let's call
it an experimental brown porter. We do not need to discuss whether it could
be a historically accurate 18th century porter.
	Dave


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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 09:04:08 -0500
From: "Charles L. Ehlers" <clehlers at flinthills.com>
Subject: Re: Butt Lube

Pure silicon jelly works as well or better than Vaseline as a lubricant, is
far superior as an aid to a watertight seal, is more stable, will not cause
rubber o-rings to deteriorate, and will not dissolve in beer or water.

I've heard you can get "food grade" silicon jell, but don't know where.  I
suspect all "food grade" means is that it's pure.  I'd go to a hardware
store or scuba shop (divers use it on their equipment, to include the
o-rings on their tanks and regulators), buy a tube/jar of pure silicon and
use that.



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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 10:11:37 -0400
From: "Frederick L. Pauly" <flp2m at avery.med.virginia.edu>
Subject: LaChouffe Yeast Clone ?

Does anyone know of a commercial yeast available to homebrewers
that is simialar to that used by the Belgium Brewery LaChouffe to
brew their Golden Ale? I'm trying to grow the yeast from the
bottle but am skeptical of the outcome.
thanks,
Rick Pauly


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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 07:08:47 -0700
From: Jack Schmidling <arf at mc.net>
Subject: mash/sparge one day, boil the next, (AND pitch the next)

Randy Ricchi says:

"I posted this technique to the Homebrew Digest once or twice in the 
past, and saw a few responses, always critical....

It wouldn't be homebrewing if someone did not criticize non-orthodox
methods that can't possibly produce drinkable beer.

My wort chiller has been collecting dust for the second season now.
I simply turn off the boiler when done, put on the lid and let it sit 
to cool over night.  I transfer it to the fermenter and pitch the next
morning and it is still the World's Greatest Beer.

js

- -- 
Visit our WEB pages: 
                        Beer Stuff.........  http://ays.net/jsp
                        Astronomy.......  http://user.mc.net/arf
             ASTROPHOTO OF THE WEEK..... New Every Monday




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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 11:41:28 -0400
From: Randy Shreve <rashreve at interpath.com>
Subject: Follow-up on Pin-lock Keg Poppets

Dear HBD:

My profuse thanks to the MANY who responded to my recent plea for help
in being unable to find the right poppets for my kegs.

Extra special thanks to Jethro Gump (Rob), who took the time to research
what I needed.  Unfortunately, it turned out that the particular poppets
I needed were obsolete!

Having heard the final word, I made one last glorious attempt on the
workbench......and IT ACTUALLY WORKED!!!! 
Frugal brewing does pay off!  

I had two of the generic poppets laying around that were a good match
except for the feet.  I cut off the feet, beveled the cut ends, bent
them in the vise, fiddled and farted ....and voila.....poppets that
actually work.   

I don't know why I didn't try this much earlier.  I guess I just needed
to hear that I didn't have any other options (except to spend more
money).  A brewer's frustration, like necessity, must indeed be the
mother of invention/modification.

Thanks again folks!  This is a FANTASTIC forum.
Yay Janitors!!!! (Tim Allen noises.....)



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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 17:00:36 -0700
From: Jon Sandlin <sandlinj at ucs.orst.edu>
Subject: emu export lager recipe?

Does anybody have a recipe that comes close to emu export lager?  I am
trying to brew a batch of beer that my father will like.  While he was
in Australia fell in love with this beer.  Any help would be greatly
appreciated.

Jon Sandlin
Corvallis, OR


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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 21:55:44 -0500
From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at ames.net>
Subject: The Jethro Report

		The Jethro Gump Report

"The Practical Brewer"
	"TPB," as has been noted, is not the "Handbook of Brewing,"
	The 'current'edition of "TPB" was published in 1977...the 10th printing,
which I have, was published in 1993.
	The MBAA requested input some time ago from the pro-brewing  community,
keeping in mind that these days there are a LOT more brewers of a commercial
nature, size notwithstanding....regarding the concerns that we would like to
see addressed in the next edition of TPB...concerns that were really quite
different from those that face a 'mega'.....
	The next edition of "TPB" is expected to be available by the beginning of
1999....Keep in mind that this book is written by volunteer authors...all of
whom have day jobs, that include working for the largest, and the smallest
of commercial breweries in the country......
	MSRP for the current edition is 35 USD, recently discounted to 20 bucks  at 
the recent convention.......
	As this situation resembles other 'new edition' scenarios, I recommend that
you acquire both the old and the new, and compare...not only for content,
but also for collectibility....
	And I always learn from what has been deleted from the last edition....
	See <www.mbaa.com>
Cheers!
Jethro Gump

"The More I Know About Beer, The More I Realize I Need To Know More About
Beer!"



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Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 23:57:43 -0400
From: "Timothy A. Stelljes" <73061.2066 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Natural Gas Fired Outdoor Cookers

This last winter I moved into a new house with a natural gas stub on the
back patio for BBQ, etc.
I would like to use this to fuel an outdoor cooker for homebrewing instead
of the usual propane.
I have not yet purchased the cooker or any conversion hardware, and would
appreciate
any comments, suggestions, or ideas anyone might have.  I checked the HBD
archives
and found nothing.  I did find conversion kits for cookers in some
catalogs; they appear to be
extension hose with a quick disconnect.  I understand it may be necessary
to use
different size orifices for burners and possibly different control valves
as well.  Does anyone
have any experience with this type of setup?

TIA,
Tim Stelljes
73061.2066 at compuserve.com


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