---

	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:
  The Jethro Gump Report ("Rob Moline")
  Paulaner Oktoberfest Ale ? ("Charles E. Mryglot")
  More on mini-keg vs. soda keg (KMacneal)
  TRUB Competiton 10/30 in NC ("Gary Clayton")
  Prickly Pear Mead ("Thomas O'Connor")
  bucket o' holes (Marc Sedam)
  minis & soda kegs (Julio Canseco)
   ("Sieben, Richard")
  MInikegs (Dan Listermann)
  Zapap--Holes and Spigot ("Peter J. Calinski")
  Bending SS tubing / truth about the outage (Bill Graham)
  Mocha Storter???? ("Philip J Wilcox")
  More views (jliddil)
  bottling mead (Donald.L.Gillespie)
  HBD server fund is overdrawn (Jeff Renner)
  Elderberry beer (hal)
  The AHA ("Ken Schramm")
  Circa-GABF Rendezvous? (Donald Beistle)
  Bottling pLambic ("Steven Jones")
  RE: "iodophor" dilution (Steve Lacey)


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

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


Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 01:20:00 -0500
From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at isunet.net>
Subject: The Jethro Gump Report

The Jethro Gump Report

Music City Brewers 4th Annual BrewFest.......
Just a small report on the 4th Annual......Singularly one of the best run
Fest's I have ever participated in ...
Nashville was gorgeous, simply beautiful, with weather to match.... the crew
that picked me up at the airport was just the start of a whirlwind of newly
developing relationships, both with brewers and new beers and brewpubs.
First stop, Bosco's.......where I was introduced to Chuck Skypeck and his
distinctive brews....I was seriously impressed with both the cleanliness of
the brews, (something that was not evident in every Nashville BP) and the
character of the beers....like I said...distinctive....having his Stone Beer
 at  GABF is nothing like having it in his place. Similarly, the food was
outstanding.
Being introduced to the honor of tapping the pin, i.e., being Cellarman Of
The Day, was not the highest honor of the day....that came later, back at
the Plantation Mansion, where a party for the Club allowed me to meet the
local brewers. What a great group! And, in contrast to the most common
comment I hear at brewers parties, where the beer is supplied by
many....there was not a single bad beer to be avoided!
Saturday brought my main host, Jay, armed with coffee and food, transporting
me to the main event, the beer judging. Starting off with Barleywines  at  9:30
am is a treat....and one surely notices it by 11pm! After what I considered
a rather clean conclusion to the main judging, the BoS judges had quite a
dilemma apparently, as they took considerable time with their choice. But,
getting a chance to say hi to Dave Miller was a treat! The donors that
supplied gifts for the award winners would be proud; you were praised
grandly by both the organizer's and the crowd.
But during this time, the crowd was entertained by a raffle for some old
beer and other stuff, which raised over 150 bucks for the club! Nice going!
Then it got serious again...with announcements of the award winners, and the
real business...the PUB Crawl!
The staff of the Music City Brewers had organized a van to transport the
crowd from Bosco's to all the other beer related sites in Nashville, and
back. I've gotta say, seeing all the other brewpubs/beerbars in Nashville
was a treat! Some were seriously gorgeous, and some were seriously decadent,
with 60, 000 Harley riders outside, and the more decadent action
inside....but it was grand to return to Bosco's, later in the
evening.....where the only serious beer in Nashville lives.
Sunday, bloody, Sunday! Thankfully allowed to sleep late in the mansion,
that forms the centerpiece for this suburban community that I was in, I was
once again graciously greeted in the morning by Jay, who then proceeded to
work furiously to provide the equipment I needed to do my presentation.
After a great breakfast, anchored by spent grain pancakes, I was able to
discuss the current state of affairs of the AHA, and the plans of the BoA to
improve it, the production of dry yeast, the demise of BT, and other topics.
It was a small price to pay for a grand event.
The stars of this event to me were Steve Johnson, (Dr. Steve!), Chuck
Bernard, and Jay, (forgive me, Sir, for failing to recall your surname, but
I kept no notes)......not forgetting that I was the beneficiary of many
other acts of kindness...from many others ...like driving me home!
The other stars were the brewers that submitted their beers for judging,
making it all possible, and Chuck Skypeck, whose dedication to the craft,
and the development of other brewers was more than evident. Even from a
professional brewer, and a hopeful future operator, there was not a question
asked that was not answered bluntly and directly. That is something you
don't find everyday.
All in all, just one more proof that God gave us Beer (and Brewers) Because
He Loves Us!
To All of the Music City Brewers...Thank You for inviting me..........And
God Bless you for being the great group that you are! I owe you one!
Cheers!
Rob Moline
Jethro Gump
"The More I Know About Nashville Brewers, the More I Want to Be One!"



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 07:32:40 -0400
From: "Charles E. Mryglot" <cmryglot at progress.com>
Subject: Paulaner Oktoberfest Ale ?

Can someone help me out here.

I was just drinking a Paulaner Oktoberfest.  The upper right corner of the
label has 'ALE' printed on it.    Anyone know what's up with this?

chuckm



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 07:33:50 EDT
From: KMacneal at aol.com
Subject: More on mini-keg vs. soda keg

In a message dated 10/5/1999 1:14:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
MVachow at newman.k12.la.us writes:

<< > Keith inquires about the relative costs of min-kegs and soda kegs.
 > Although getting set up with mini-kegs may be cheaper, the long run costs
 > quickly make soda kegs cheaper.  >>

Most folks also need to get a second refrigerator or at least a cold tap to 
serve the soda kegs.  The mini kegs fit on a shelf in a refrigerator and 
easily fit inside a cooler for transport.

Keith MacNeal


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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 07:40:53 -0400
From: "Gary Clayton" <garyclayton at mindspring.com>
Subject: TRUB Competiton 10/30 in NC

The TRiangle's Unabashed homeBrewers (TRUB) of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC
proudly announce our eleventh annual competition, TRUB XI, to be held in
Raleigh NC on Saturday 10/30/99.

This is a BJCP-registered competition and will be using AHA style
guidelines.
NC resident ribbon winners at this competition earn points toward the North
Carolina Homebrewer Of The Year (NC-BOY) award.
Best of Show winner will recieve a $50 gift certificate to Homebrew
Adventures (http://www.homebrewadventures.com).

More info and entry forms at the official competition website -
http://trub11.home.mindspring.com.
TRUB club website is at http://www.hbd.org/trub.



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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 07:57:58 -0400
From: "Thomas O'Connor" <toconnor at nehealth.org>
Subject: Prickly Pear Mead


Hi, All

I just scored several pounds of prickly pear cactus fruit (an amazing 
feat, considering I live in Midcoast Maine) and plan to brew mead per 
Charlie P's recipe in his book.  Sounds like a lot of work, boiling for 
two hours...but apparently well worth the effort, as I fudged meads in the 
2nd round of the AHA nat'ls in Baltimore a few years back and all of the 
PPM's were wonderful.  Please, anyone out there, can you offer any advice 
regarding:

1. Dumb question-- How do you prepare the little darlin's?  Peel them or 
just mash 'em up whole?
2. Better to put fruit puree in primary or secondary? 
3. Best base honey to use? (I already have a lot of orange blossom honey).

My heartful thanks, Collective.

Tom O'Connor
Rockport, Maine
toconnor at nehealth.org


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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 08:26:34 -0400
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: bucket o' holes

Alternately, you could save yourself a lot of time and a few
drill bits by buying the Phil's Phalse Bottom.  Best $13 I ever
spent on my mashing equipment (no affiliation, blah, blah,
blah).  Serves the wonderful dual purpose of 1) saving time, and
2) saving a bucket.  By using the replaceable false bottom, your
lautering bucket can be used for myriad purposes.  Keep it
simple.

Cheers!
Marc
"Huisbrouwerij Zuytdam"



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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 08:32:55 -0400
From: Julio Canseco <jcanseco at arches.uga.edu>
Subject: minis & soda kegs

Greetings,

One more minor detail to add to the mini & soda keg comparison. You
better have an extra refrigerator available if you want to go the soda
keg route. Minis are much easier to negotiate with she who must be
obeyed if you are planning to use HER fridge. A mini can fit in without
too much hasle; a soda keg on the other hand.......and forget about the
idea of drilling a hole on the side for the CO2 line. Nothing says "I
love you" like the sight of a CO2 tank in the kitchen by the fridge.

It is great to have the hbd back. A couple of months ago I requested
info on Montreal watering holes to the hbd prior to my arrival there.
Not only did I get several excellent tips but one of the locals even
invited me to go have a pint with him (which I did). Great forum!

After tasting a few  Le Fin Du Monde (the end of the world) I am hooked.
This puppy is 9% ABV, made by Unibroue in Chambly ( outskirts of
Montreal). The "net" says it has apples, tangerines and grapes. Fruity,
complex, well balanced and no alcohol taste. If anybody is familiar with
this beer and how to brew it please e-mail me. If I can come up with a
decent recipe I'll be glad to post it. All grain or extract.

            julio in athens, georgia



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 07:49:02 -0500 
From: "Sieben, Richard" <SIER1 at Aerial1.com>
Subject: 

Sebastian Antonio Padilla asked about how to keep any exposed steel away
from wort after he drills a hole in his enamel pot.  I used such a pot for
several years with a chip in the enamel (about 1 inch in diameter) and it
never gave any flavor to my beer, so I wouldn't worry about it.  I would
have more reservations about using a brass valve (lead leeching into the
wort) than about iron.  The small amount of iron exposure is not going to
give you any problem, I made some very light beers in that pot and surely
any iron would have made itself very evident in those brews.

Rich Sieben
Lat 42deg 16'
Long 88 deg 12'
(Island Lake, Illinois....northwest nowhere from Chicago)


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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 09:42:20 -0400
From: Dan Listermann <72723.1707 at compuserve.com>
Subject: MInikegs

Keith MacNeal writes:<I've been using the minikegs for a few years.  The
only drawback I've found 

is that I the CO2 cartridges do leak enough that I have to be diligent in

putting new ones in if the beer is in the fridge for more than a few 
days.>

I have found that CO2 leakage usually occurs at the tip of the CO2
cartridge and around the dip tube in German taps.  A great way of
preventing this leakage is to put a dab of Keg Lube on the end of the
cartridge and around the threads and gasket of the dip tube.  The Keg 
Lube
on the tip of the cartridge also helps reduce gas loss during puncturing.
 

A little lube on the threads of the cartridge holder makes puncturing
easier and faster.

Mike Vachow ( MVachow at newman.k12.la.us) writes:

< Likewise, it's my understanding that a mini-keg has a finite lifetime,
usually about 10 fillings.>

I don't know where this idea comes from.  I am in the fourth year of 
using
some of my minikegs fairly continously.  I have no idea of how many 
batches
have been passed through  them, but I am sure that it is more than ten 
and
they seem to be just fine.  Minikegs are like anything else in 
homebrewing,
they need to be taken care of.  


Dan Listermann   dan at listermann.com           72723.1707 at compuserve.com

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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 10:29:06 -0400
From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com>
Subject: Zapap--Holes and Spigot

Glad the HBD is back.  Thanks a bunch to Pat and Karl.

I agree with Dave Burley on the use of the soldering iron.  I used a scribe
to scratch horizontal and vertical lines 1/4 inch apart across the bottom
of the bucket.  The grid resulted in about 1000 holes (somewhat less than a
bazillion ;-).  I used a soldering tip that was about 1/10 to 1/8 inch
diameter.  That works out to about a 40% hole to plastic ratio which drains
well and leaves enough plastic for strength.  It took a little more than an
hour from first mark to last hole.

I found that, sometimes, suction during the lauter would cause air to leak
between the outer and inner bucket.  I cut the bottom off the inner bucket
(the one with the holes), about 1 inch above the bottom.  Now I have a
false bottom.  Just position it in the outer bucket and add water and
grain.  Since the grain and water are always above the edge of the false
bottom, no air gets through.

As for a spigot, I found the typical homebrew shop types leak sometimes at
higher temperatures.  Instead, I use replacement faucets for hot water
heaters.  Sears Hardware sells these for $1.68.  They have a male garden
hose fitting on the outlet and a 3/4" pipe thread on the input. 

For the outlet, I use a Home Depot brass high pressure garden hose fitting
($2.00 - $3.00).  It is tapered so various size plastic tubes can be jammed
on it to, as Dave says:

" add a  hose from the spigot to the collecting vessel to prevent mixing
air into the hot wort."  

To attach the spigot to the bucket, Sears has a PVC 1 1/4" to 3/4" pipe
thread adapter.  It is PVC (which may get a little soft at these
temperatures but has never been a problem for me) and consists of a 1 3/4"
hex head in front and a 1 1/4" collar behind.  Down the inside is a smaller
collar with the 3/4" pipe threads.  Use a hack saw to cut the hex head off
just behind the head and thread it on the spigot.  The inner collar (the
one with the threads) is connected to the outer collar by 4 thin webs.  Cut
those out and toss away the outer collar.  Put the spigot with the hex head
screwed on it through the hole in the bucket from the outside. (I go
through the side; Dave prefers the bottom.)  Thread the inner collar onto
the spigot from the inside.  By tightening the hex head and the inner
collar, you can get a real tight seal on the side of the bucket.  For me,
when I like the fit, I take it apart and coat everything with DAP 8641 food
grade silicone sealant then reassemble.

By positioning the spigot near the bottom and tilting the lauter tun near
the end of the sparge, I doubt I leave behind more than 2-3 oz of wort.

Works for me.

Pete Calinski
East Amherst NY
Near Buffalo NY
0 Degrees 30.21 Min North, 4 Degrees 05.11 Min. East of Jeff Renner 


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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 10:50:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bill Graham <weg at micro-net.net>
Subject: Bending SS tubing / truth about the outage

Greets! -
	I've almost finished rev 3 of my brewing equipment loosely based
on Alk's setup as he's shown on his website. Just a few comments - if you
want to save money and time, use brass fittings and copper tubing. I've
got an inoperable ss fetish, so I used (obviously) ss everywhere. Much $$$
for no obvious benefit, but I've got to feed that fetish. Anyway, bending
3/8"  ss tubing with a hand-held tubing bender designed for copper is
unbelievably difficult - especially if you have to bend it in 2
"dimensions" (i.e. bend for the curvature of the pot and then bend to get
the tubing down to the bottom of the pot 'cuz the valve can't go right on
the bottom of the pot.) Thank god for rubber mallets and blisters (ouch!)
	The question is- how can I bend 1/2" ss, .035 wall thickness to
approx. 90 deg. with a 4 - 6" radius? It can be done: my keg conversion
kit from SS in Seattle has a tube bent that way. I cant't do it by hand
because it crimps. Can anyone reccommend a tool or somebody in the Denver
metro area who can do this?

	Why the HBD server went down - the guilt is racking my sleepless
soul, I've deprived you all < sob, sniff >. I started a new job on the
13th, and just couldn't have the new boss seeing me peruse info about
alcoholic beverages, and I couldn't have them see me in a reverie about
magnetically-coupled pumps and DO meters throughout the day, so I <gulp>
sent the Janitors some "encouragement" and explained my predicament. 
Voila! no HBD for 3 weeks!  Thanks guys, I've passed my probationary
period, but the overwhelming guilt.. < sob, sob, sniffle >. I'm sorry for
my selfish behaviour, please everybody, can you forgive me? < kowtow,
kowtow >

PS.	Note to Janitors -  Since the cat's out of the bag can I have my,
umm, "encouragement" back?

Bill

 ...the only way to deal with
bureaucrats is with stealth and sudden violence."  -  Butros Butros-Ghali



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 11:34:08 -0400
From: "Philip J Wilcox" <pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com>
Subject: Mocha Storter????

Brewers,

I got a real headscratcher here.  While, stopping in at the brewpub for a finely
Aled Martzen, The brewer took me aside and filled me a pint from one of his
fermentors. It was jet black and without any lasting head, but like I said it
came out of the sample port of a 15bbl fermentor in a big hurry. The aroma was
absolutely intoxicating! It was Mocha heaven. Clean freshly brewed coffee and
sweet chocolate came flowing out of the glass like it was Starbucks Chocolate
Ice Cream. With amazement in my eyes I took my first sip, and poof! It was gone!
Not sweet, not chocolate, not coffee!! Instead there was the familiar dry taste
of roasted barley, and a lot of it. I scratched my head in puzzlement and took
another swig, the body was absent what I would want for a stout, a lot of yeast
in the glass somehow more porterish except for the huge roasted flavor. But what
happened to that aroma? It was still there, but it was all aroma, nothing in the
flavor or finish. In addition I got the impression it was high Alc beer. Any
perceived bitterness was from the roast, nary a hop could be found. A tad
astringent. But It was wonderful. How in the heck do you make a Mocha/Java
Porter aroma, in a Foreign Export Stout?

The brewers answer was 3 bags of roast barley, a bag of dark caramel and special
roast, bag and a half of flaked barley, most of a bag of flaked rye, and the
rest pale ale malt. Roughly translated I get
63% pale
15% roasted
5% Dk Caramel (90L), Rye and Spc Roast
7 % flaked barley
There is no chocolate or black malt, and no coffee in the recipe at all. None,
nada, nil, zip, zero, zilch
hoped to 33 ibu so he says, but I wouldn't put it that high. OG. 14.5P FG 4.3P

What makes the mocha flavor here? And don't tell me the yeast--Nottingham is as
neutral as the come.
I understand that the special roast can attribute a Coffee aroma, maybe the
roasted barley is accentuating it? But where is the chocolate coming from? I
wasn't the only one sampling and finding chocolate either. Another homebrewer
was standing on the bar trying to incite the crowd to chant MOCHA! at  Mocha! in an
effort for him to put it on-line immediately.

I am stumped, he was aiming for a dry export stout, but only sort of hit it.
What effects would you expect if you went from CO2 to Nitrogen draft?

Phil Wilcox




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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 11:07:02 -0700 (MST)
From: jliddil at VMS.ARIZONA.EDU
Subject: More views


Rick Wood wrote:

> 
> An example of the Jim Liddil approach can be found in his statement:
> 
> >Previously Jim Parker was working on getting student rates for the ASBC
> >for AHA members.
> >The yeast culturing workshops are also a big hit and go along way towards
> >putting Wyeast out of business.
> 
> In his crusade against AHA he just couldn't miss an "opportunity" to comment
> on his crusade against Wyeast.  Certainly a difficult one for me to
> understand as I think the loss of Wyeast would be worse than the loss of
> Brewing Techniques.  Perhaps if I were as great as Jim Liddil I would also
> crusade against something I no longer need.  However,  I like to think I
> would be a little more reasoned than that.

My "crusade" (spanish inquisition?) has nothing to do with the fact that I
no longer need Wyeast.  As a scientist technogeek I never needed them in
the fisrt place.  My issue with them has to do with their truth in
labeling practices in the past and the fact that I was threaten with a
lawsuit.  I kind of see it as the microsoft/linux view. :-).  Oh and
thanks for boosting my ego with the "great" comment. :-)  And for those
who think you can't learn culturing etc. I suggest you get a copy of
Pasteur's "Studeis of the diseases of beer" and see waht sceince he
accomplsihed in his day with simple tools.  

Jim Liddil
liddil.com
North Haven, CT



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 14:52:00 -0400
From: Donald.L.Gillespie at am.pnu.com
Subject: bottling mead

  I have my first batch of mead, in a tertiary, and ready to bottle. It 
  has spent several months there. Since I transfered to the last carboy, 
  I haven't seen it bubble the airlock once. My question is, how do I 
  get it to carbonate in the bottles? If I just add corn sugar or honey, 
  and bottle like a beer, I'm concerned it won't ferment because the 
  yeast is all done. Should I also charge it with a new slurry of the 
  same yeast (Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast)? Or would that risk over 
  conditioning in the bottles? Please respond to me personally, because 
  I temporarily can't get HBD's discussion group at home. 
  
  thanks a lot, Don Gillespie, Mead virgin
  


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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 16:21:03 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: HBD server fund is overdrawn

Pat Babcock in SE Michigan <pbabcock at oeonline.com> wrote:

>Well, folks: We're back live and nationwide :-) The Digest itself is back
>in mail form. As usual, posts can be sent to post@hbd.org; admin things
>like subscribe, unsubscribe, status or queue can be sent to req at hbd.org.

Brewers

I understand that this adventure put the fund in the hole to the tune of
~$2500, but we now have a new, improved and hopefully secure server.  This
is probably on Pat's Visa, although I don't know.   If anyone wants to send
a contribution (and now that you've had three weeks without HBD, you have a
pretty good idea of what it means to you), checks should be made out to Pat
Babcock since the HBD has no bank account and sent to HBD Server Fund, PO
Box 871309, Canton, MI 48187-6309.  My check's in the mail.

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, 05 Oct 1999 16:07:48 -0600
From: hal <hwarrick at springnet1.com>
Subject: Elderberry beer

Yes Elderberries are good in beer. We brewed
a wheat beer last year and it was good. I've
already harvested berries for this year and
have them in the freezer awaiting for a 10 gal.
day.
And in response to the recipes everyone sent
on Heather ale. Thanks. We brewed up a 10 gal.
batch just after HBD went under. We kegged
5 gal. and bottled 5 gal. for tastings and competitions.
We love the taste so much that come March we're
doing another 10 gal. batch of winter flowering
Heather. I'm sending some to the "Spooky Brew"
tasting and some to the tasting in Chatham,IL this
week-end. For those interested all I'm looking
for are comments, not the over all rating that
some people seem to worry about.
HEY !     BREWING BEER IS FUN !


Hal



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Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999 17:01:42 -0400
From: "Ken Schramm" <schramk at resa.net>
Subject: The AHA

I just got back on line (new EMail address and all), and had a chance to 
read Jim's post.  Not to make too much of a mutual admiration society of 
this, I think Jim is one of the most knowledgeable and technically adept 
brewers I have met.  His comments are very astute. 

I do feel, however, that the main point here is that we are in charge of 
the destiny of the AHA.  There are many options available to us, but we 
have to assert our power to control the actions and direction of the 
organization.  I genuinely believe that if the membership says that this 
organization must change (and not one-at-a-time on an on-line forum, but 
collectively, at the convention) then the organization will have no 
choice.  

Jim, I will make efforts to meet as many of the requests as possible, and 
even to keep you abreast of the developments, if you are willing to come 
to Detroit and see how we did (and I'll try really hard to work out the 
keg of Hansens).  No guarantees on Howard Stern, but I liked his movie, 
much to my surprise.  Fine on the yeast culturing, but I am not too keen 
on trying to put anybody out of business.  I just stopped by my local wine 
store/brewing shop last night and found them blowing out all of their 
supplies (getting out of the business).  No hydrometers, no yeast 
nutrient, no DME for starters.  Three batches of mead to start, and I 
can't find any yeast nutrient.  I am tired of seeing people go out of 
business.

Some of the stuff listed is not conference related, but I will bring the 
points up in AHABoA discussions. 

For those who want to play a role, please EMail me at THIS address (sorry 
about the confusion).  If you sent mail to me at the address on the 
original post, I didn't get it (bad timing on a job change and the HBD 
server going down). 


Yours brewly, 
Ken Schramm
AHA BoA
Troy, MI
Close enough to Jeff to maybe drink one with him Friday night at an AABG 
meeting.

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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 18:31:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: Donald Beistle <dbeistle at arches.uga.edu>
Subject: Circa-GABF Rendezvous?

Greetings all,

I'm going to be in Colorado Springs and Denver later this week. Are there
any plans for HBD-ers to get together for a beer somewhere outside the
GABF? If not, let's make some!

Thirsty in Athens,

Don Beistle  



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Date: Tue, 5 Oct 1999 21:19:51 -0400
From: "Steven Jones" <stjones1 at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Bottling pLambic

Hi all, and let me say its been a tough 3 weeks without
my daily fix of the HBD. Thanx to Karl & Pat for their
efforts getting it up and running.

I've got a pLambic that's about 16 months old now, and
I'm ready to bottle it. The gravity is around .998, and
it has a pellicle about 3/4 inch thick. Do I need to add
yeast with my priming sugar to get the carbonation, or
will there be enough residual yeast to do the trick?
Also, I'm wondering if the pellicle will re-form in the
bottle, or if I need to take any special measures to
prevent it from happening.

I had though about pasteurizing it by heating to about
150F for a half hour, then priming, adding yeast and
bottling, but I'd rather not if it can be avoided. Does
anyone have any advice for me?

Thanx in advance - I know I'll be covered up with
answers.

Steve
State of Franklin Homebrewers
http://home.att.net/~stjones1/index.htm



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Date: Wed, 6 Oct 1999 11:39:46 +1000 
From: Steve Lacey <stevel at sf.nsw.gov.au>
Subject: RE: "iodophor" dilution

David Lamotte wanted to know about diluting "iodophor" he got from the local
vet which contained 10 mg/ml active iodine.
I calculated that you would need 25 mL per 10L of water to get the 25 ppm.
Checked with the lab manager who agreed (1 mg/L = 1 ppm). Better still, I'm
pretty sure this is the same as the recommended dilution on the iodophor you
buy (well, I buy) from the homebrew shop. Said lab manager made an
interesting point. Often I only want a litre or two of sanitising solution
and measuring out 2.5 mls is a bit tricky. More likely than not it will be
too strong. This is fine for killing bugs but I get mildly concerned,
probably unnecessarily, about possible toxicity. Lab manager suggested a
2-stage dilution. eg, you can make up a 250 ppm solution (i.e 25 mL to 1 L)
and keep that in a glass, preferably brown, bottle. To get the 25 ppm, you
then dilute this solution 1:10. eg 100 mL per L= 25 ppm.

On another matter, people like to have pithy little smarty pants quotes for
their signoff tag. Never  wanting to be left out in the smarty pants stakes,
I've been on the lookout for an appropriate one. Last Sunday night between 7
and 7.30 (Sydney time) I finally found it! The kids got a bit suspicious
about their father furiously taking notes during the Simpsons!

Steve Lacey
"Homer no well function beer without"
                     Homer J. Simpson



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