---

	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:
  Update on stealth fermentation (Jeff Porterfield)
  RE: Heather ale ("Campbell, Paul SSI-TSEA-A")
  CP Fillers / Keeping Cool / Water Treatment (Ken Schwartz)
  jason's water ("Bayer, Mark A")
  Summer brewing (Nathan Kanous)
  Three Dogs Lemonade - 1999 Attempt (Al Czajkowski DBA)
  re: Beer Prices in Germany ("Alan McKay")
  Reminder: New lists, new function (Pat Babcock)
  Re: white sugar (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Heather ale (Jeff Renner)
  Rice and ale yeast in CAP (Jeff Renner)
  Membership Drive for IL HomeBrew Club (Scott Abene)
  Italian Birra (Mark Garthwaite)
  Walk in Fridge construction (Scott Abene)
  Wort pH (Dave Burley)
  Re: brewsacks ("Dana H. Edgell")
  kraeusening (Randy Ricchi)
  Re: Brew Sack (Steven_Johnson)
  moretti la rossa ("Hull, Ted")
  Re: 2nd All Grain, Comments please? (Spencer W Thomas)
  RE: good head on brew ("Nigel Porter")
  2nd All Grain, Comments please? (notes) (Badger Roullett)
  Alcohol Insurance (Laurence Hand)


* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!

* 2000 MCAB Qualifier: Buzz-Off! Competition 6/26/99 
* (http://www.voicenet.com/~rpmattie/buzzoff)

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


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 07:03:09 +0000
From: Jeff Porterfield <jporterf at erols.com>
Subject: Update on stealth fermentation

No questions this time, just an update.  First of all, many thanks to 
all who responded to my query about my wheat beer's apparent overnight 
fermentation.  We racked it to the secondary Sunday night and it tasted 
fine.  Gravity was 1.011.  Apparently the little yeasties ate up 
everything while I wasn't looking.  I should be used to it.  The kids do 
it to the fridge all the time <grin>.

The HBD is a tremendous resource and I'm glad all of you are here.  
Thanks again, everyone!

Jeff Porterfield
Lasting Light Brewery   Columbia, MD


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 13:42:45 +0200
From: "Campbell, Paul SSI-TSEA-A" <Paul.R.Campbell at IS.shell.com>
Subject: RE: Heather ale

In HBD#3057 Eric Fouch did quote....

"...The Picts, an early dwarvish people indigenous to the Britain and
the Scottish Highlands, the Pictish brewmasters would die rather than
devulge their recipes."

Hey, I'm not sure about the "dwarvish bit".... although my great
grandmother was rather short.... ;>

AFAIK the Picts were the Scottish indigenous population at the time
of the Roman invasion (Hadrian built his wall to keep them out of 
England). The name Britain seems to just cause confusion in my
opinion. Roman Britain consisted of England and Wales at the time,
with Scotland becoming part much later (and after much fighting
and treachery).

Back on topic.....

I noticed a pack of traditional old ales at my local beer shop (store).
I think one of the beers was a heather ale so I'll go back and take a
look - to make up for my selfish ancestors 8^> These packs usually
have at least a bit of history etc. on them somewhere - there may
be some useful info Hal can use. 

Regards,
Paul Campbell
"Still trying to perfect my Fuller's London Pride and ESB clones" 
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 06:12:16 -0600
From: Ken Schwartz <kenbob at elp.rr.com>
Subject: CP Fillers / Keeping Cool / Water Treatment

There were several requests for info in HBD 3054 that I might be able to
offer help with.  On the sig line of this post is my brewing web page
address, info on these topics can be found there.

1)  Counter-Pressure Bottling:  I have a sketch of a simple (and
inexpensive) home-made CP bottle filler.  This was featured in the
Spring 1997 issue of Zymurgy.  One suggestion/simplification:  eliminate
the copper fill tube and simply run a longer piece of vinyl tubing
through the stopper to double as the fill tube.

2)  If you need to keep your fermenting beer cool this summer, you might
want to take a look at the Fermentation Chiller on my web page.  It's an
improvement on the insulated box + ice approach, using a thermostat &
fan to control the temperature rather precisely.

3)  For info on water treatment, including a free program to help with
treatment formulations, check out BreWater 3.0 on my web page.  This
software was reviewed in Brewing Techniques July/August 1998.

- -- 
*****

Ken Schwartz
El Paso, TX
Brewing Web Page: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer
E-mail: kenbob at elp.rr.com


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 05:44:37 -0700
From: "Bayer, Mark A" <Mark.Bayer at JSF.Boeing.com>
Subject: jason's water

collective homebrew conscience_

jason wrote, regarding his water:

>You will all forgive me. The one part of homebrewing that totally confuses 
>and befuddles me is the science of water chemistry.<snip>, it now seems I
>have not enough of certain minerals.

>Here is the analysis:
>alkalinity 127 mg/L
>chloride 1.03 mg/L
>sulfate 10.09 mg/L
>hardness (as CaC03) 110 mg/L
>calcium 25.7 mg/L
>magnesium 11 mg/L
>potassium  0.58 mg/L
>sodium 1.55 mg/L
>pH  8.5
>total dissolved solids 150 mg/L

i don't see any numbers that are low/high enough to cause serious problems.
you've got reasonable calcium, low sodium and sulfate, medium alkalinity.
this looks like water with no intractable problems.  you should be able to
do just about anything with it, if you're willing to dilute it and add
minerals.

>I do realize that different styles need different water composition, but I 
>also know that the composition changes revolve mainly around a few main 
>elements.>My question is this: what should I do to bring levels UP to the
>appropriate place. Which additives do what? I realize this is a bit of a
broad >question,but as I said, water chemistry gets my head spinning.

there are two main ideas here.  one is, what are the minerals that are
associated with classic beer styles; and secondly, what sorts of grain bills
will work with your water, and what sorts of mineral additions might you
need.  incidentally, the first issue is a result of the second.   when i say
"what will work", i'm referring to optimal mash ph which supports starch
conversion.

this is very limited, because i am far from being an expert.  but i know
what has worked for me in the past.

some traditional mineral/style associations:

sulfate:  associated with burton style ales.  michael jackson has written
that sulfate plus hops yields a "dry edge" in the finished beer.  add gypsum
to boost.  do not add gypsum if you are considering a highly-hopped lager
(pilsner).  or, go ahead.  see what you think. it's just not usually
recommended.

bicarbonate:  associated with dark brews, like porter and stout.  reason?
bicarbonate raises mash ph while dark roasted malt lowers it.  when you have
the right balance, you get a workable mash ph.

chloride:  associated with various styles (london porter & brown ale, for
example); reputed to enhance sweetness; i've never sought to determine this.
the combination with sodium is a familiar compound (table salt).

soft water:  associated with the pilsner style.  plzen water is very soft.


that's all i'll write about tradition (there is much more), now for the mash
ph issue:

your water looks like it can be used for just about anything.  it looks very
much like my water with the sulfate and sodium reduced (which is a good
thing, btw).    some argue in favor of having at least 50 ppm calcium, but
my personal experience is that it's not necessary to brew good beer.  i am
sure dr. pivo could give you some references in bohemia to ask about that
topic as well. no matter what you believe now, keep good notes and see what
works for you.  to summarize the ph effects of "the big 3" mineral
additives:

gypsum (calcium sulfate):  lowers mash ph
calcium chloride:  lowers mash ph
calcium carbonate:  raises mash ph

dark roasted malts will lower your mash ph - use calcium carbonate if
necessary to raise it back up (if you can get an accurate ph reading - with
ph strips it is tough).  very pale grain bills might mash in a little on the
high side, so use dilution and/or gypsum or calcium chloride to lower ph.

as for when to add the minerals, add them after you've mashed in, stirred
very well, and checked the ph.  after you've added them, check it again.
also, it's good to check at the very end of your mash to see if it has
drifted lower during the mash.  i've noticed that this happens in my own
mashes, particularly with higher kilned/roasted malts.

what mash ph are you shooting for?  in general, a room temperature reading
of 5.4 to 5.8 will work great.  don't panic if you're not exactly in this
range, but try to get close.  it's a compromise value to optimize the
different enzymes working in the mash.

you should be able to find a plethora of further information by searching
the archives and using aj delange's name (or, "numquam") along with
keyword(s) of interest.

brew hard (or alkaline, whatever),

mark bayer
stlmo



Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 07:46:23 -0500
From: Nathan Kanous <nlkanous at pharmacy.wisc.edu>
Subject: Summer brewing

Lou Heavner makes some suggestions for "summertime" brewing.  I think that
one of the keys is sanitation as Lou mentions....be anal about this.  As I
understand, most folks that don't brew in the summer don't because of wild
yeasts and bacteria.  If you do want to try warm weather brewing, I can
think of one "special" circumstance (yeast) that may be well suited.

Brewery Ommegang reports to ferment their beers at around 78 degF.  If you
can keep things properly sanitary (as Lou mentions) you might be able to
produce some nice belgian brews if you can manage to get a hold of a sample
of their yeast and can't keep your fermentations "cool" enough.  Can't be
that hard for those of us looking in the bottom of our bottles.

nathan in madison, wi


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:02:52 -0700
From: Al Czajkowski DBA <aczajkow at ford.com>
Subject: Three Dogs Lemonade - 1999 Attempt

I'm getting ready for the 1999 batch of "Adults Only Lemonade".  The
1998 vintage was good, but I thought a bit astringent.  Changes this
year will be to not dump the entire rind into the cooking pot, but
rather just some of the zest and scoop out the pulp.  Last years batch
was also way to dry for my taste.  Hence my question to the collective. 
Any recommendations on what to use for a sweeter finish?  Last year I
resorted to adding a packet of saccharin to each pint at serving time. 
The problem with that was a marked reduction in carbonation.  I could
add the saccharin when I keg, but am looking for a more "natural"
method.  If anyone wants my version of the recipe, drop me a note.


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 08:49:20 -0400
From: "Alan McKay" <amckay at nortelnetworks.com>
Subject: re: Beer Prices in Germany

Can't speak for anywhere else, but I can tell you quite a
lot about Germany.  If you need some tips on where to go
drinking, just Email me.

Prices are very cheap.  In fact, when I left there in 94
the government was about to pass a law which would require
all restaurants and other similar establishments to offer
drinks that were cheaper than beer.  They were worried
about drunk driving because almost anywhere you went
beer was cheaper than soda pop or even water (they only
server mineral water, no tap water).

At the time you could buy 500ml bottles of beer at the local
corner store for about 1 DM (80 cents CDN at the time).
In the grocery store you could get cheaper beers for as
little as 50 Pfennig per can (330ml) or sometimes even
cheaper.  I remember one grocery store I used to pass by
in the mornings on the way to work which was right beside
a park where the winos used to hang out.  They'd all be
lined up at the store in the morning waiting for it to
open so they could go buy their "breakfast".   I seem to
recall beer at that store was a really dirt-cheap price
of about 30 Pfennig a can or something like that.

cheers,
 -Alan

- --
Alan McKay
OS Support			amckay at nortelnetworks.com
Small Site Integration		613-765-6843 (ESN 395)
Nortel Networks
Internal : http://zftzb00d/alanmckay/
External : http://www.bodensatz.com/
All opinions expressed are my own.


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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 10:20:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock at mail.oeonline.com>
Subject: Reminder: New lists, new function

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

At the behest of those salivating over enlightening conversations
surrounding their favorite subjects, I anm reminding all y'all of the two
new lists served by the HBD server:
  
   The Home Vintners' Digest: for discussions pertaining to home 
       wine-making, wine appreciation, and all things wine...
       Request address: hvd-request@hbd.org
       Posting address: hvd at hbd.org
 
   The Distilled Beverage Digest: for the discussion of distilled
       spirits, appreciation of same and (non-US) home production
       Request address: dbd-request@hbd.org
       Posting address: dbd at hbd.org

These are unmoderated lists; however, posting is limited only to those
subscribed to the list, and subscriptions are monitored. To subscribe,
send the word subscribe in the body of a note to the applicable request
address. For more available commands, send the word help in the body of an
e-mail list to either request address. 
   
***************************************

A new function has been added to the "moderation" routine on the Home Brew
Digest. This function generates a note to the poster asking them to
reconsider the tone or content of their posting should the Janitors find
it particularly uncivil or offensive in its content. The function does not
cancel the poster's submission. That is left to the poster to do if they
determine whether or not their post meets their intent and/or presents an
image of themselves they wish publicly displayed. No response to the
Janitors is required (again: it is up to you and your own sensibilities.
We are not interested in the reasoning behind the post, etc. - only to
point out that it may not read as the poster had intended). 

This function was precipitated by the particularly hostile tone of the
Digest in recent months and as a "happy medium" between total tolerance
and zero tolerance. Note that blatantly obscene, commercial or notes that
threaten physical violence against another will continue to be rejected by
the Janitors when/if caught in the queue.

 -
See ya!

Pat Babcock in SE Michigan         pbabcock at oeonline.com
Home Brew Digest Janitor           janitor@hbd.org
HBD Web Site                       http://hbd.org   
The Home Brew Page                 http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/brew.html
   "Just a cyber-shadow of his former brewing self..."



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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:40:36 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: white sugar

In HBD 3054, "Nigel Porter" <nigel at sparger.freeserve.co.uk> wrote
>on a recent
>visit to the King & Barnes brewery, the brewer said that they don't
>use sugar as it is too expensive - malt is a more cost effective
>option.

K&B is unusual among old British brewers in that, according to _The Real
Ale Almanac_, all but one of their beers do not use sugar.  However, they
do use invert sugar in their "Broadwood" (1.040) .  They use flaked maize
in their mild and ordinary bitter (both 1.034), as well as the 1.050
"Festive."  It sounds as if this is their "lightener" of choice.

Jeff

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




Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:48:20 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Heather ale

Eric.Fouch at steelcase.com (with Fred strangely absent, but then he's always
strange) answers hal's (hwarrick at springnet1.com) question

>Does any one have a recipe for a " Heather Ale "?
with:
>The following is a excerpt form Stephen Buhner's _Sacred and Healing Herbal
>Beers_, reproduced here without permission:
>Bruce Williams produces a commercial heather brew, and this is his recipe for
>a homebrewed heather ale:
>6# US 2 row barley
>10.5 oz amber malt (crystal?)
>12.75 cups lightly pressed heather tops (flowers?)
>3/10 oz Irish moss
>5 gallons water

Amber malt is not crystal, but a more highly kilned regular malt.  I think
Victory or biscuit might substitute, but British amber malt is available in
the US.

I note that this is an unhopped ale.  The only heather ale I have tried,
Fraoch Heather Ale from  Scotland and imported here, contains, according to
_The Real Ale Almanac_, "Scotch pale ale malt, wheat (5%), caramalt(3%),
flowering heather, root ginger, sweet gale.  19 units of color [note, EBC,
~9L].  Brewers Gold whole hops.  22-24 units of bitterness."

Jeff

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




Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 10:52:23 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Rice and ale yeast in CAP

Brewers

I am pleased to have become the Classic American Pilsner (CAP) guru on HBD.
It makes me feel useful, and besides, I get so many samples sent to me for
comment that I may soon be able to stop brewing!

The two most common CAP questions that I am unable to answer from personal
experience are qabout the use of rice instead of corn and if there is a way
to make a "pseudo-pilsner" with ale yeast.  I have in one brew atempted to
investigate both questions.  I suppose it will be a CACA (Classic American
Cream Ale).  OG 1.047, FWH and finished with Ultra and bittered with
Cluster to ~25 IBU, and fermented with Nottingham.

First, the rice question.  I used 22% short grain white rice with the
balance 6-row.  _The Practical Brewer_ (1977 edition) states on p. 48,
"Long grained rice is seldom used in brewing because of gelatinization and
viscosity problems in the cooker."  I ground it in a Corona mill on a tight
setting resulting in coarse grits with a small amount of flour.  I proceded
as I do with corn meal/grits - mashed 3 lbs. rice with 1 lb. crushed malt
and 4 qts. of treated water at 153F for 20-30 minutes, then boiled it 15
minutes, less time than corn.  Again, PB, "p. 50, "Rice, properly ground to
a uniform small granule size, need not be boiled too long, for it has been
established that if the starch of rice is overboiled, the lautering time
might be lengthened, whereas a firm 'center' of the granule affords less
doughy effects on the filtering media of the lauter.  Generally, fifteen
minutes boiling time should suffice, depending on the granule size."

The cereal mash before boiling was settled under the excess water, but on
boiling it "fluffed" (the rem used in PB).  That is, it rose up in the
cooker, resulting in wuite a nice fluffy mass.  I got some caramelization
on the bottom of the pan which I did not transfer to the main mash.

All in all, I encountered no problems whatsoever with the rice.  Lautering
was uneventful.  It was perhaps a little easier than corn, but that is
perhaps because I don't have access to brewers grits, only a fairly coarse
corn meal.  I used powdered Irish moss (2 tsp/8 gal) and got fairly good
break, but then wasn't paying attention to the pumping from the boiler to
the fermenter and a fair amount of settled break made it into the
fermenter.  This morning, there were great big clots of break material
hovering near the surface on the slight CO2 bubbling.  I tried to strain
them out, but found that they were not solid enough.  I'm sure they will
settle.

Yeast - I've been wanting to try Nottingham, and it's reputation for
neutrality seemed to make it a good candidate for a "pseudo-lager," even
though I had a pale ale at last week's AABG meeting with a fair amount of
berry like fruitiness.  I hydrated 4 packets (exp. 11/01, from MCAB
conference in Houston)(20 grams) in 8 oz. water at 109F for 15 minutes per
instructions, at which point there was some foaminess, then added 8 oz. 70F
wort for 15 minutes, then put in the fermenter and began pumping in the
wort at 62F.  Pitched at 5PM, ambient temp 64F, stings of very fine bubbles
at qo PM, some foam along with buoyant "tofu" clumps of break material at
8AM today, thin layer of foam and bread material at 10 AM.  Not a slow
start as far as I am concerned.

While I expect the final flavor with the rice to be more light than with my
usual corn, whose subtle sweetness and flavor I greatly like, and as an
ale, to be more fruity than my beloved CAP, I hope this will be a good
summer beer.  I may use Polyclar to avoid chill haze since I won't be
lagering.  I'll report on the results.

Jeff

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




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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 07:53:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Abene <skotrat at yahoo.com>
Subject: Membership Drive for IL HomeBrew Club


Attention

Club Wort of Palatine, IL is currently soliciting new members and
beer lovers.

Wanted!

Novice Beer & Mead brewers
Intermediate Beer & Mead brewers
Advanced Beer & Mead brewers
Beer lovers of all levels
Brewers of all levels
All grainers
Extracters
Partial brewers
1st  time brewers


Club Wort has been a driving force in the Chicago/Western Suburbs
home brewing scene for the last 7 years. 

If you have ever thought of participating in a fantastic club this
could be your chance to enjoy the company of some of the finest
brewers in the Chicago area. 

If you are interested, contact the Club Wort president (Jon Culli)
via email at jonlinda at interaccess.com

Thanks For your time.


C'ya!

 -Scott
===
ThE-HoMe-BrEw-RaT
Scott Abene <skotrat at mediaone.net>
http://skotrat.dynip.com/skotrat (the Homebrew "Beer Slut" page)

"This Space Currently for Rent... Inquire within"
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free  at yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com



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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:55:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: Mark Garthwaite <mgarth at primate.wisc.edu>
Subject: Italian Birra


	There are several beers brewed in Italy aside from Morretti and
Peroni.  A good place to check out what's brewing in Italy is:

	http://www.split.it/users/rosamax/ita/guide.htm

	On a recent trip to Italy I'd hoped to seek out some of the
smaller operations but they're hard to get to.  Another day perhaps.


Mark Garthwaite
Madison, WI

*If you haven't got your ticket to The Great Taste of the Midwest, what
are you waiting for???





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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 08:02:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Abene <skotrat at yahoo.com>
Subject: Walk in Fridge construction


Hey all, 

I am about to start construction on my walk in cooler in my basement
and would like to feel the waters for design tips and ideas from
those of you that have tried to and have succeeded at this endeavor. 

I am planning on doing at least a 6' x 9' x 7' cooler with the
compressor living outside my house. 

Has anyone done something similar? 

Do's? 

Don'ts?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

C'ya!

Scott "hmmm I wonder if they make Plaid drywall?" Abene

===
ThE-HoMe-BrEw-RaT
Scott Abene <skotrat at mediaone.net>
http://skotrat.dynip.com/skotrat (the Homebrew "Beer Slut" page)

"The More I know about beer politics, The more I wish I made 120k"
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free  at yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com



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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 11:13:15 -0400
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: Wort pH

Brewsters:

Rick Pauly asks if the pH of cooled wort
should be 4.2 or 5.2 and if this will affect his hop
efficiency.

The wort pH should be in the range of 5.2. During
fermentation the pH drops to the region of 4.2,
which may be the source of confusion.  


pH does affect hop extraction efficiency as
the active hop bittering agents are acids
and the higher pH increases the solubility of
the hop acids, bringing them into solution
where they are isomerized.  Getting a wort
pH too high is dangerous as the higher the
pH the more likely you will suffer from
oxidation of the barley and hop tannins
which will produce an undesirable taste
and darken the wort.  


The best pH before the boil should be on
the order of 5.4 to 5.5 at room temperature
which will become 5.2 at the boiling point.


Keep on Brewin'


Dave Burley

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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 09:54:57 -0700
From: "Dana H. Edgell" <edgell at cari.net>
Subject: Re: brewsacks


Kurt Kiewel asks about brewsacks,

I have had some experience with these. I once mailed two to a friend who
was stuck in a small research camp in Antartica for 4 months, and my wife
recently found one for $2 in a grocery store discount bin.

For all of them I beefed up the recipe with additional dry malt extract,
crystal malt and extra hops. I was told the Antacrtic beer tasted good (and
made my friend the hero of the camp) but given the situation (stuck in the
middle of freezing nowhere with no beer whatsoever) that has to be taken
with a grain of salt. The batch my wife brewed come out as a mediocre pale
ale at best. In the future if she finds any more on sale I would beef them
up even more and add some roasted grains to make a porter, which should be
more forgiving.

As a side note, my Antarctic friend brought the empty bags back and I tried
using them to brew two small batches for a party, They worked fairly well
for that but you have to drink all of the beer at once or the carbonation
suffers greatly. I also wouldn't re-use them for anything other than a
batch that was intended to be consumed within a few weeks of brewing as it
is impossible to be completely certain that the entire inner surface has
been properly cleaned.

Dana

- --------------------------------------------------------------
Dana Edgell              edgell at cari.net
2939 Cowley Way #G       http://www.quantum-net.com/edge_ale
San Diego, CA 92117      (619) 276-7644




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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 13:03:49 -0400
From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at ccisd.k12.mi.us>
Subject: kraeusening

Alan Mckay spoke of the correct spelling for kraeusening. Our homebrew club
is located in the Keweenaw peninsula area of the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan, and our club is called the "Kraeuseners", which is an acronym for
"Keweenaw Real Ale Enthusiasts United for Serious Experimentation in
Naturally Effervescent Refreshment Science". All you need do is remember
this and you can easily remember how to spell kraeusening, although you
will notice your typing speed slow down as you work your way through it
;^)



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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 13:13:18 -0400
From: Steven_Johnson at ccnotes.ccity.com
Subject: Re: Brew Sack



 I tried one of those things once, it was a nut brown ale, my dad gave it to me
for a present. That was actually the first time 'brewing', luckily the results
did not crush my curiosity/interest in brewing. The beer turned out extremely
yeasty, big floating wads of yeast, mainly because the tap is directly above the
yeast cake, and the slightest 'bump' of the sack stirs up the bottom. However,
being as hardheaded/stubborn as I am, I was determined to drink the beer. That
is until the 'brew sack beer' was coined a new name, 'nut sack beer'. After that
the beer was deemed undrinkable.
I hope your 'sack' beer turns out better than mine.




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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 10:38:15 -0700
From: "Hull, Ted" <THull at Brwncald.com>
Subject: moretti la rossa

ThomasM923 at aol.com wrote:

>Last year I came across something called Birra Moretti La Rossa, which is 
apparently an Italian version of a Vienna Marzen. I remember enjoying it. 
I've also had something called Birra Peroni, although that was sometime in 
the very distant past. I do see both around from time to time.<

I think it's probably more accurate to label La Rossa as a doppelbock. In
fact, it's been pulled from the shelves here in GA b/c it exceeds the 6% ABV
limit. We here are still crying about that.

Ted Hull
Atlanta, GA


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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 13:50:22 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: 2nd All Grain, Comments please? 

Dropping the hot wort freely into the bucket below is probably not
good.  It will oxidize the wort somewhat.  The question is how much.
I would try to find a different solution next time, but don't worry
this time.

1.031 in 4 gallons is 124 "pt-gal" (31*4).  Divided by 7lb of malt
gives you under 20 pt-gal/lb.  This is not too good.  Probably due to
your crush.  Try for a finer crush next time.  One thing you can test
is the gravity of the "final runnings".  If this is over 1.010, you're
definitely leaving sugar behind.  Also, you can taste the spent grain.
It should not taste at all sweet.

On the SG: You started with 124 "pt-gal" of sugar, and added 2lbs of
honey, which would contribute another 34 "pt-gal" for a total of 158
"pt-gal".  In 2 gallons, this would give you a gravity of 1.080 (158/2
= 79).  So your measurement is not out of line.  If you topped this up
to 4.5 gallons, you should then have 158/4.5 = 35 points or a gravity
of 1.035.  This suggests that when you siphoned your hydrometer
sample, you had not thoroughly mixed in your "topping up" water, and
took the sample from the heavier fluid at the bottom of the fermenter.

=Spencer


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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 19:04:14 +0100
From: "Nigel Porter" <nigel at sparger.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: RE: good head on brew

>Foam/head helps retain hop flavor and aroma.
>
>Jim Kingsberg
>Fugowee (home) Brewery, Evanston, IL

The opinion in UK seems to be completely opposite to this. The 
use of a swan neck & sparkler (producing tight creamy head on 
cask conditioned ale) is thought to strip out some of the hop aroma.

>>Over here in the UK it seems a very regional thing, and is 
>>constantly a source of argument between northern and southern 
>>drinkers.
>
>OK, but who's right!?!?

It doesn't bother me, as long as the ale is good, I'm not overly 
bothered by the method of serving. One thing I don't like though is 
chilled and carbonated beer - reinforcing stereotype of warm flat 
English beer:-)

Nigel


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Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 13:17:24 -0700
From: Badger Roullett <branderr at microsoft.com>
Subject: 2nd All Grain, Comments please? (notes)

From: Badger Roullett <branderr at microsoft.com>

> Fermentor:  yield: about 2 - 2 1/2 gallons.  gravity was about 1.080
????!?!
> **Q** can that be right?  I topped up with water to about the 4.5 gallon
> mark.  siphoned into a hydrojar, and got 1.068 OG.  seems really high to
> me...  tested with two separate hydros to make sure...

as a couple of neato keen people commented in private mail, I probably
didn't stir enough to get an accurate reading for the second time around.
Thanks to Lou Hevner and  Spencer Thomas for answering so quickly, and which
such great information.  Thanks guys!

And Lou's solution to my drill problem is innovative, and simple, the best
kind of solution.  Quoted here with out permission, but I hope he doesn't
mind.

 LH>> Try making a loop with string or soft wire that is large enough to
     go around the drill handle and trigger with a little to spare.  Take a
     pencil or screw driver and slip it in the loop.  Then twist the pencil
     to wind up the loop.  The more you wind the pencil, the tighter the
     loop will be, so it may be possible to actually "control" the speed of
     a variable speed drill with this mechanism.  Mr. Safety says "Keep some
     snips or scissors handy in case you really need to stop the drill in a
     hurry."  But I can't envision the situation where you couldn't just
     release the pencil and shut off the drill in an emergency, if you
     needed to do so. <<

Thanks again HBD folks..

Now to make that 15 gallon batch of sweet stout for the summer nights, since
I just got my 26 gallon white plastic barrel from RCB Equip.   

badger


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Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 08:01:59 -0700
From: Laurence Hand <lhand at netcom.com>
Subject: Alcohol Insurance

The SCA is no longer allowing the manufacture, distribution, serving, etc.
of alcoholic beverages at any of it's official activities. Nor can any of
its funds be used to purchase anything used for the above. Funds saved by
the brewing guilds now must be used for something other than to purchase
supplies or equipment.

This is due to new insurance requirements.

Any ideas on how to find a better insurance company? How do (non-SCA)
brewing clubs handle this? Do you really have to buy expensive alcohol
insurance to have an event?

Laurence Hand - lhand at netcom.com
Missile address: 34.05936N, 118.13472W


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