---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Barleywines (Wayne Allen)
  Re: Rick Meyers, Homebrew Digest #324 (December 15, 1989) (Mark Freeman)
  S.G. and other novice questions (Tom Hotchkiss)
  Rodney Morris ("2645 RUTH, GUY R.")
  Re:  First Batch! (boubez)
  Re:  First Batch! (boubez)
  Pete's Wicked Ale (Ken Giles  at  Context x453)
  cider (cwilson)
  Homebrew store in P.A. (Kenneth Kron)
  here's a repost of all of #315 (rdg)
  Re: Too much priming sugar (kipps)
  Porter, Perhaps? (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Micro update ("2645 RUTH, GUY R.")
  Denver trip ("FEINSTEIN")
  Holiday blowup & North East Holiday Beer (Jim Conroy)
  Re:	brewpubs, yuppies, and the bottom of the premium market (florianb)
  Various replies (Bill Crick)
  Kettles (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Boston Beer Society Xmas Beer Ranking (Chuck Cox)
  New spring malting barley (Mike Northam ext 2651)


Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com


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

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 10:48:55 CST
From: wa%cadillac.cad.mcc.com at mcc.com (Wayne Allen)
Subject: Barleywines


Rick Ward writes: "BTW, I'm accepting all recipes for Barleywines."  Ok. 

Marigold Ale
============
9.9 lbs (3 cans) light Munton & Fisson un-hopped extract
2.5 lbs Marigold honey (very light)
3 oz Fuggles pellets (boil)
1 oz Bullion pellets (boil)
1 oz Fuggles pellets (finish)
1 pk Muntona ale yeast
1 pk champagne yeast

Add champagne yeast after initial fermentation. Wait > 1 year after
bottling (obviously the hard part, but I managed). It's even better
now at 2.5 years! This simple beer is the best I've ever made IMHO.

wayne allen

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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 08:59 PST
From: Mark Freeman <MFreeman at VERMITHRAX.SCH.Symbolics.COM>
Subject: Re: Rick Meyers, Homebrew Digest #324 (December 15, 1989)



    Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com
    Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com


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

    Date: Thu, 14 Dec 89 8:38:30 MST
    From: Rick Myers <hpctdpe!rcm>
    Subject: First Batch!
    Full-Name: Rick Myers

    Hello all - here's my first submission!
    Last week I brewed my first batch,
Congratulations!

	 an amber lager using hopped malt
    extract (John Bull).  I wanted to keep everything simple the first
    run so I could get familiar with the entire process.  Last night
    (Wednesday) I bottled.  I bought a 'starter kit' from the local homebrew
    shop here in Colorado Springs (Stoppel and Associates).  Their recipe
    used 1 1/4 cups of priming sugar.  I have a book by Byron Burch of
    Great Fermentations in Santa Rosa, CA and it states to never use more
    than 3/4 cup of priming sugar - comments?

It depends upon the volume of fluid in your batch.  For a five
gallon batch, I use about 1/2 cup malt sugar for priming.  (have
never tried corn sugar or other)  I find that for strong batches
(more than 6 lbs of sugar to begin with) there is usually enough
sugar left over after fermentation to make 1/2 cup sufficient.
In my most recent batch I used only 3 lbs of light malt extract
and no grain adjuncts to make a very light pale ale.  I bottled
it about a month ago and it is still only lightly carbonated, so
I wonder if I should have upped the amount of priming sugar to
3/4 cup.  Otherwise, 1/2 cup has always been plenty for me.  

	Also, I live east of town
    (out on the prairie) and I have very hard, alkaline, well water.  The
    water in Colorado Springs is quite soft, so my starter kit came with
    'water salts' which is mostly gypsum according to the label.  Is anyone
    in a similar situation?  Should I not use the gypsum if I use my well
    water?  I used well water this first batch, I think I will use city
    water for my planned second batch (a light pilsner).

I have always used bottled Arrowhead drinking water in 2 1/2
gallon bottles.  Arrowhead claims their water is spring water
from the Lake Arrowhead source in the local San Bernardino
mountains.  I use the 2 1/2 gallon bottles because the water in
one gallon bottles tends to have a plastic taste.  I used gypsum
on my first batch (an ale) to get an English "Bass" type beer.
I haven't used it since, and prefer not to.

    - --
    ======================================>*<====================================
    Rick Myers
    Hewlett-Packard
    Colorado Telecommunications Division
    5070 Centennial Blvd.
    Colorado Springs, CO  80919
    (719) 531-4416
    rcm at hpctdpe.HP.COM
    ======================================>*<====================================

 

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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 10:11:04 MST
From: Tom Hotchkiss <trh at hpestrh>
Subject: S.G. and other novice questions


Bryan Hilterbrand writes: 

> Papazian showed the starting S.G. for this style to be 1.070 to 1090
> but the S.G. of my brew came out to about 1.043.

Well...  If I remember correctly the recipe you mentioned included 7# of
Pale Malt.  When you described your procedure, you said that you steeped
the grains in water while bringing it to a boil.  Steeping the grains
works just fine for specialty grains (i.e. Crystal Malt, Black Malt, etc...),
but doesn't work for Pale Malt.  Steeping simply extracts body, flavor,
and color, but really won't extract much sugar.  In order to achieve the
target SG, you need to *mash* the Pale Malt in order to convert the
starches to sugar.

If you mashed the Pale Malt properly then I misunderstood your description.
My limited experience tells me that the single most important factor in
extract efficieny is proper sparging (assuming you use a reasonable
mash procedure).  Building a proper lauter tun and having a tremendous
amount of patience when sparging will significantly increase your
extract efficiency.

Tom Hotchkiss
trh at hpestrh.hplabs.hp.com

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Date: 15 Dec 89 11:46:00 MDT
From: "2645 RUTH, GUY R." <grruth at sandia.gov>
Subject: Rodney Morris

Does anyone have Rodney Morris' address at College Station.  He appeared in
Zymurgy's 1988 special edition.  I'm interested in getting complete plans for
his RIMS.


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 13:26:08 EST
From: boubez at bass.rutgers.edu
Subject: Re:  First Batch!


> Their recipe
>used 1 1/4 cups of priming sugar.  I have a book by Byron Burch of
>Great Fermentations in Santa Rosa, CA and it states to never use more
>than 3/4 cup of priming sugar - comments? 

I remember I had EXACTLY the same thoughts for my first batch!
I had put 1 1/4 cups, as it said on the package, and later realised
(to my horror) that Papazian's book said to NEVER use more than
3/4 cups. However, I sould've realxed, not worried, and had a
homebrew (I didn't have any yet), since the first batch came out
beautifully without any problems. So, relax, don't worry... :-)

toufic


Toufic Boubez
boubez at caip.rutgers.edu			--There's NO OAT BRAN in Motor Oil!


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 13:26:36 EST
From: boubez at bass.rutgers.edu
Subject: Re:  First Batch!


Rick Myers writes:

> Their recipe
>used 1 1/4 cups of priming sugar.  I have a book by Byron Burch of
>Great Fermentations in Santa Rosa, CA and it states to never use more
>than 3/4 cup of priming sugar - comments? 

I remember I had EXACTLY the same thoughts for my first batch!
I had put 1 1/4 cups, as it said on the package, and later realised
(to my horror) that Papazian's book said to NEVER use more than
3/4 cups. However, I sould've realxed, not worried, and had a
homebrew (I didn't have any yet), since the first batch came out
beautifully without any problems. So, relax, don't worry... :-)

toufic


Toufic Boubez
boubez at caip.rutgers.edu			--There's NO OAT BRAN in Motor Oil!


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 09:05:21 PST
From: hplabs!rutgers!context.mentor.com!keng (Ken Giles  at  Context x453)
Subject: Pete's Wicked Ale

I don't find PWA to be "wicked" at all. What I do find it to be is too sweet. I
know at least one other person who agrees with me on this. Does anybody care to
comment? I'd especially like to hear from anyone who judges beer. Great barley
flavor, but I think it could be better balanced with some more hops.

Also, Pete's lost some credibility with me when I saw that they have another
beer called "Pacific Dry". Anybody try this, yet? One of our local brewpubs,
Portland Brewing Co., has also jumped on this "dry" marketing-hype bandwagon.
Their Oregon Dry appeared at about the same time that their Honey Beer
dissappeared. It was a dry beer, so I wonder...

kg.

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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 11:08:37 PST
From: cwilson at cs.uoregon.edu
Subject: cider


In Homebrew Digest #322 Michael Berry <mcb at hpgrbd> writes

>I am seeing lots of apple cider on the store shelves and was wondering if
>it is possible to make some of the "hard" variety from what I see.  My
>thought would be to add some pre-started yeast to the gallon jug and
>"let her rip."  The brand I had my eyes on had "no sugar added" but seems
>to taste quite sweet.

I have tried this with a gallon jug from Safeway, and it fermented out
fine.  I used Red Star champagne yeast, after sanitizing the juice with
sulfer dioxide and adding yeast nutrient.  The thing is, well, it's
bland.  Not at all like the great stuff from Normandy one can buy in
France for $2 a liter.  I think the problem is that one needs a mix of 
tart and sweet apples.  Jug apple juice here is primarily from just
sweet apples.  I had found some juice with a great tart flavor , but
it would not take a fermentation.  There must have been some anti-
oxidant or preservative which supressed the yeast.

Since I can't get tart juice, I may experiment by making the same 
cider but adding some crushed raspberries or blackberries.  It will 
probably look like sin (purple beer?), but I think the berry/apple
combination would be nice.  Has anyone else tried this?

Chris Wilson
cwilson at cs.uoregon.edu



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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 11:30:10 PST
From: kron at Sun.COM (Kenneth Kron)
Subject: Homebrew store in P.A.

First thanks to everyone who responded.
Second there isn't a HB store in Palo Alto but there is one in Menlo Park
according to

         The ``Golden Beer'' State: Part 2: San Francisco Bay Area

                        The ``Golden Beer'' State
                 A Guide To California's Beer Hot Spots

which was published here some time ago (but I was dumb enough not to save)
anyway the store is

    Menlo Park
        S       Beltramos
                1540 El Camino Real
(the S means retail store) which I will be visiting soon (expect a trip report).

Also special thanks to Mark R. Leone who did save the index and sent it to me.


kk


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 14:09:00 MST
From: rdg at hpfcmi
Subject: here's a repost of all of #315
Full-Name: 	Rob Gardner	




HOMEBREW Digest #315		             Mon 04 December 1989


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Re: Too much priming sugar (kipps)
  Porter, Perhaps? (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Micro update ("2645 RUTH, GUY R.")
  Denver trip ("FEINSTEIN")


Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr at hplabs.hp.com

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

Date: Fri, 01 Dec 89 11:11:23 -0800
From: kipps at etoile.ICS.UCI.EDU
Subject: Re: Too much priming sugar



I've never put in that much priming sugar before, but it seems to me
you have three options:

1) pack up your bottles tight and cross your fingers.

2) put the bottles in the fridge; this will at least slow the yeast
   down a bit.

3) drink it quickly or have some friends over for a lot of homebrew

- -Jim Kipps

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

Date: Fri, 1 Dec 89 8:54:19 PST
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!mal at hplabs.HP.COM>
Subject: Porter, Perhaps?

In HOMEBREW Digest #314, Toufic Boubez observes:
"	... For my next batch, I'm looking for a certain
flavour, taste, texture, ... 
	Dark beer, not bitter, but kinda sweet (not too sweet), smooth,
creamy with a strong head. Sort-of between Tartan and Guinness
draft ..."

A porter, perhaps?  May I suggest:

			Martin's PORTER

Being a recipe for porter in the traditional English style, almost.

INGREDIENTS:

	3 lbs 2-row pale lager malt
	10 oz black patent malt
	8 oz wheat malt
	4 lbs Scottish light malt extract
	12 AAU Northern Brewer hops (bittering)
	1 oz Fuggles hops (finishing)
	3 tsp yeast energizer
	Edme ale yeast
	1 tsp gelatin (finings)
	0.5 cup corn sugar (priming)

PROCESS:

	Mash-In:  3 min in 6 qts water  at  122F (strike heat: 126F)
	Mash pH:  5.0-5.5
	Protein Rest:  30 min  at  131F
	Starch Conversion:  60 min  at  150-141F (longer is better)
	Mash-Out:  5 min  at  168F
	Sparge:  2 gal  at  168-160F
	Boil:  60 minutes.  Add extract, energizer,
		and bittering hops at start.  Add finishing
		hops 10 minutes before the end.  Force-cool
		and bring volume to 5 gallons.  Pitch.

If the result doesn't have enough "body", you might try substituting
unmalted barley for the wheat malt, and extend the starch conversion
rest to 2 hours.  Since you specify "not bitter", you'll also want
to cut the bittering hops back to 8 AAU or so.  

= Martin A. Lodahl    Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff =
= pacbell!pbmoss!mal  -or-  mal at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM      916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me!  8-)   =


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

Date: 1 Dec 89 16:38:00 MDT
From: "2645 RUTH, GUY R." <grruth at sandia.gov>
Subject: Micro update

I was talking with a gentleman from Tijeras, NM (couple miles east of 
Albuquerque) who is in the process of obtaining equipment for what he plans
to call the Manzano Mountain Brewery.  The beers he will produce will have the
Class Axe label.  Not sure which styles he will produce, but probably at 
least one will be an ale.  Steve, the owner/brewmeister, likes to add a 
touch of wheat malt to his beers.  Usually, the quantity of wheat malt is not 
sufficient to classify his beers as weizen.  Steve is a member of a rock 
group with the same name as his label and uses his gigs as a vehicle for test 
marketing his product.  Right now he can only give his beer away, but later
when he's got his license and the remainder of his equipment that will be the 
end of the free ride.  Steve said he plans to let the local beer club sample 
his test batches.  I'm not sure I like being a guinea pig so I hope he at least 
tries some first.

=== Guy


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

Date: 1 Dec 89 17:45:00 EDT
From: "FEINSTEIN" <crf at pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: Denver trip

Hello, everyone!


I've returned from my Denver vacation, and should like to share some thoughts 
on some of the brews I got to drink there.

First, another round of thanks to those who sent me info on the Denver area; 
it certainly came in handy!  I got to the Old Chicago (Paulaner Salvator on 
tap!!  HEAVEN!!), the Boulder Brewing Company (see below), and to Liquormart
(overwhelming!), but not to the Wynkoop.  But then, that leaves something for 
next time!  :-)

It was my joy to finally get my hands on some Old Peculier, which I enjoyed 
enormously.  And also some Sierra Nevada brand brews, as well as Sam Adams
lagar (very good!). 

In Denver it was of course no problem to get my hands on a six-pack of Coor's 
Winterfest beer, their special holiday brew.  To my mind, it's far and away 
the best Coors product I've ever encountered.  A lager, Winterfest had 
considerably more body and taste than other Coors brews.  It also struck me as 
more highly hopped, especially as regards finishing hops.  Overall, it had a 
really crisp taste, and a nice finish that didn't linger overlong.  Winterfest 
went *very* well with meals.

My trip to the Boulder Brewing Co. was a bit of a mixed bag.  Unbeknownest to 
my friend and myself, during the winter there is only one tour a day, at 11 
AM.  So, touring the brewery was out.  But, the tasting room was both open, 
and deserted-- our good fortune, because it really gave us to chat with a few 
people who work there (and who were extremely nice, and helpful, even giving 
us directions to Liquormart).

Which led to our *real* stroke of luck:  we got our hands on a brand-new 
Boulder product, not yet really on the market; their new stout!  They opened
some for us to taste, commenting that they had recently changed to new
bottles, and their filling machines had been bottling the new stout during the 
adjustment period.  As a result, they had lots of over- and underfilled 
bottles.  Thus, we were able to buy a six-pack for $3.00!

The stout itself is totally unlike any other that I, personally, have ever 
encountered.  It seemed slightly lighter on the traditional "burnt" flavor 
from Black Patent; instead it was literally the "nuttiest" beer I've ever 
tasted.  And I don't just mean "nutty"-- I mean it was ***!!!NUTTY!!!***  
There is honestly no other word I can think of to use!  My companion had 
precisely the same reaction.  Also, the stout was very well hopped.  Overall, 
I found it very different, and thoroughly enjoyable.  However, I feel I should 
also say that I'm very certain that it will not be to everyone's taste.

Other highlights:  Lindeman's Lambic Kriek and Framboise.  While I enjoyed 
both, the Kriek had a really wierd finish to it.  I think that this was partly 
due to the "sour" side of the sour cherries used, but mostly due to the wild 
yeast; it was that kind of taste.  The Framboise was sheer heaven!

I had one other stroke of good fortune:  I was able to get some Chimay Grande 
Reserve (i.e., "White Label") Trappist ale!  I have wanted to taste this stuff 
for *years!*  And it didn't disappoint me in the least!  Absolutely the 
richest ale I've ever tasted, and one of the most complex in character.  It's 
strong finish makes it an excellent dessert beer-- in that I concur with 
Michael Jackson.

As can no doubt be discerned, I tippled my way through an excellent vacation!  
And, in case anyone is wondering:  the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and
*warm*!  It didn't turn cold until last Saturday, and there was no snow (even 
in the high country) until Sunday.

My thanks again to those who advised me!


                                Yours in Carbonation,

                                      Cher Feinstein
                                      Univ. of Fla.
                                      Gainesville, FL

                                      INTERNET:  CRF at GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
                                      BITNET:  CRF at IFASGNV


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


End of HOMEBREW Digest #315, 12/04/89
*************************************
- -------




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Date:         Fri, 15 Dec 89 16:27:17 ECT
From: Jim Conroy <AS2JXC%BINGVMA.BITNET at CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject:      Holiday blowup & North East Holiday Beer

Why doesn't anyone warn us about these dangerous things!  I have just started
my attempt for a spiced holidy brew, and as others have noted BOOM instant
mess.

It goes something like this
   2 lbs Crystal Malt (steep)
   6 lbs Amber dried malt extract
   Fuggles & Bullion (sp?) hops apx 2 oz 60 min
   Saaz hops apx 1.5 last 15 min
   Fresh Grated ginger Root apx 3 oz last 15 min
   stick cinaman last 15 min
   1 pkg Edme Ale yeast

After a day trip at work small children reportly "spilled" the beer (a 3 year
tip a 5 gal glass coboy, right) further investigations found a nice mark
and fibrous material on the celing.  With only 1.5 quarts lost and a wife
good enough to replace the blow tube I'm back in business.

There sure have been a rash of these lately, I don't think there was a full
moon on Wed.

Next for all the people who can't get things like SN and have been fooled
into Coors Yuk...er WinterFest I have found a good one.  I don't want the
NY'ers to laugh but try F.X. Matt Seasons Best.  It is a very good flavorful
Amber beer available at Christmas time (no spices in this one) I can get it
for $8 +tax+dep, and no it doesn't taste like Matts.

Happy Holidays and cheers.

Jim Conroy SUNY Binghamton AS2JXC at BINGVMA.BITNET

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Date: 15 Dec 89 11:02:24 PST (Fri)
From: florianb at tekred.cna.tek.com
Subject: Re:	brewpubs, yuppies, and the bottom of the premium market

In #324, Rick Ward commented:

>the amber with some toasted barley added.  There really wasn't much
>variation.  Another factor that contributed to my distress was that the
>place was literally overflowing with lawyers and other yuppie scum.

about a brewpub in Philadelphia.  The same holds true for a brewpub here
in Bend, Oregon.  Not only are the brews boring and irritating to the
stomach, they are heralded as "true ales," with names beckoning one to
fixate on the recreational entrancements of the area.  For example,
"Bachelor Bitter," after Mt. Bachelor; "Black Butte Porter;" "Cascade
Golden Ale," etc, etc (I'm soooo embarased!).  Lots of snob appeal and 
little to back it up.  The place catches a crowd from the slopes on
weekend afternoons and generally gives me the feeling I should vote
Republican and buy a new foreign two-seater and invest in a retirement
account and drink something which doesn't leave an aftertaste in my
mouth.  I think it's the same all over.  The real good stuff in life
generally passes the public right by.  There exist those who capitalize
on good ideas, distort them, and influence a number of people to buy
into them.  And it really, really works!  Thank goodness for the 
brewpubs that serve a superior product!

He also adds:

>brewery in the US to malt their own barley.  One item of note was that
>Coors just dropped their Herman Josef "premium beer" line because they
>claim that the bottom has fallen out of the premium beer market!  If  this
>is true, a lot of microbreweries could be in trouble.

I don't consider anything brewed by Coors as premium.  What they are 
likely referring to is that those who would drink sorry beer won't buy
their "premium" beer and those who would drink really good beer won't
buy their "premium" beer either.  It's not surprising.

Florian "the opinionated and happy to have the opportunity to escape
from the lures of those who try to influence me" Bell.



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Date: 	Fri, 15 Dec 89 13:08:35 EST
From: hplabs!rutgers!dgbt.crc.dnd.ca!bnr-rsc!crick (Bill Crick)
Subject: Various replies

Just my 3 cents on some recent subjects:

Priming Sugar: I used to always use 2 cups per 5 Cdn gallons.
              This creates a lot of carbonation. I've cut this
             back to 1 1/2 cups for lagers, 3/4 cup for ales.

Low SG readings. If you didn't boil the whole batch, then it probalbly
                didn't get well mixed in the primary. I've seen inversions
               with bottom half hot, (boiled wort) and top half cold (water 
              added) last for over 24hrs with no mixing. This yields 
             very low SG readings.

Stainless steel: EXPENSIVE! Try a 3 Gallon enamelled "canning" pot.
                They are quite cheap and  work fine.

Burned beer: A hint -> turn off the heat before you add extract. Stir well 
            until you are sure it is dissolved. Turn heat back on.
           Voila! No scorching!  

Beer from Germany: In Canada you are allowed 7litres of beer.
                  Two friends brought back 28 different 0.5 litre
                 cans and bottles. No explosions in cargo bay.
                NO difference to taste in Germany. NB: many 
               of these beers (especially Wiezens) had yeast sediment,
              and were out of the same bottles the beer gardens were 
             serving.

Cider: A lot of grocery store ciders contain a preservative (potassium 
      Sorbate?) and won't ferment.
     I tried fermenting one without a preservative. It was very dry, and 
    acidic. It was awful! The wife who is a food scientist looked at me
   like an idiot and said "of course it tastes acidic. You removed all 
  the sugar that was masking the acid, and left the acid. Silly!"
 Does anyone out there know how to make cider?

Coors: Don't knock the quality. For the style, it is an excellent example.
      Its just that the style sucks! Beer like that is hard to make!
     Try to make a light color,taste 3% lager. there is nothing to hide behind.
    If you make a mistake it flashes on and off in big bright red letters.

Bill Crick   -> Brewius, ergo sum!


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 11:41:43 PST
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!mal at hplabs.HP.COM>
Subject: Kettles

In HOMEBREW Digest #324, Chris Shenton asks:
"	... Are the electric mash tun's all their cracked up to
be? will someone explain why they justify spending $100 plus expenses to
install a 240V circuit?"

I've wondered this myself.  I just don't find stove-top temperature
control to be that difficult.  For the rests, I place my kettle in
an insulated box (made of environmentally-insensitive CFC-based
foam) I got from a friend in the restaurant supply business -- these
boxes are large, light, and well-insulated, and are customarily used
to ship frozen specialty poultry products. Every 30 minutes during
the rests I put the kettle back on the stove and boost it back to
optimum temperature, stirring constantly.  Temperature drop is
usually about 2 to 3 degrees, which is not significant.  I don't
plan to buy an electric kettle.

"Yeah, and I hear that you need at least an 8 gallon pot for
all-graining. Any suggestions? Are the enameled canning pots tolerable?
or highly inferior?"

You'll never hear me knocking enameled steel kettles.  I use a 21-qt
for mashing and a 33-qt for boiling.  We've had the mash kettle for
many years and it's had the enamel knocked off of a few spots, but
that's never caused me a problem.  The boiler is rather new.  They
heat well, are easy to clean, and are MUCH cheaper than stainless
kettles of equivalent size.
					- Martin

= Martin A. Lodahl    Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff =
= pacbell!pbmoss!mal  -or-  mal at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM      916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me!  8-)   =


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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 89 16:33:49 EST
From: chuck%bose at uunet.UU.NET (Chuck Cox)
Subject: Boston Beer Society Xmas Beer Ranking


Results of the 3rd annual Boston Beer Society Xmas Beer Tasting...

For the last three years we have held a blind xmas beer tasting
to determine what the best vintages are currently, and what will be
good in the future.

We actually performed three separate tastings; old Anchor Xmas ales,
new (spiced) Anchor Xmas ales, and Sierra Nevada Celebration ales.

The beers in order of preference (from best to worst):

Old Anchor Xmas Ales:
(we added a ringer - a bottle of '81 Ballantine IPA, because we felt
that the old IPA was similar to the old Anchor Xmas Ale and wanted
to see how it would fare in a blind comparison)

81 IPA
81 Anchor
82 & 84 Anchor (tie)
85 & 86 Anchor (tie)
83 Anchor

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales:

89
88
87
86

New Anchor Xmas Ales:
(None of us like the wassail ales as much as the older xmas ales,
so we separated them)

89
88
87

Conclusions:

The Anchor wassail & Sierra Nevada Celebration Ales are best
consumed fresh, and do not improve with age.

Generally speaking, the older Anchor Xmas Ales continue to improve
with age.  The '83 sample came from a suspect source, so that may account
for it's ranking.  The old Ballantine IPA is definitely comparable
to the old Anchor ales.

The Boston Beer Society is a small group of beer judges who travel
extensively and share their beer cellars on an infrequent and informal
basis.  If you would like to be a guest at one of our meetings
and have some interesting or unusual beer to share, let me know.

- Chuck Cox - america's fastest beer judge -

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Date: Sat, 16 Dec 89 08:25:05 PST
From: Mike Northam ext 2651 <tektronix.TEK.COM!fpssun.UUCP!sns4!mbn at RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: New spring malting barley

Hope this isn't totally inappropriate for this list.  From the Capital Press,
December 15, 1989, without permission (an agricultural newspaper for the
northwest):

New spring malting barley just released
ABERDEEN, Idaha--A new, two-rowed spring malting barley with higher yields,
plumper kernels and better lodging resistance than the popular variety
Klages has been released by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and
the Idaho and Oregon Agricultural Experiment Stations.

Approved for malting and brewing by the American Malting Barley Association,
the variety Crystal was developed by the ARS in cooperation with the
University of Idaho College of Agriculture at Aberdeen.

ARS research agronomist Darrell Wesenberg said Crystal is a "potential
replacement or complementary variety to Klages."

Tim McGreevy, administrator of the Idaho Barley Commission, said Klages is
grown on about 14 percent of Idaho's 850,000 barley acres, and predicted that
Crystal "will be right up there with it."
[stuff omitted]
McGreevey said 30 to 40 percent of Idaho barley is used by the malting
industry.

Randy Nieworth, barley field representative for Great Western Malting Co.
in Blackfoot said that "at this point, we're still waiting to see how the
brewers react to the variety.

"We're very happy with it in the malthouse and it did get approved, but we
haven't gotten a really clear reading from the brewers as to what kind of
percentage they want us to include in the blend."
[stuff omitted]
At the American Malting Barley Association in Milwaukee, executive vice
president Michael Davis said Crystal is "very promising agronomically" and
"makes good malt and good beer."
[stuff omitted]
In six years of testing under irrigation in Idaho, Crystal's yields averaged
5 percent greater than Klages.  While the two varieties were similar in 
height and heading date, Crystal was superior to Klages in test weight and
lodging resistance and 6 percentage points higher in kernel plumpness.

Mike Northam             mbn at fpssun.fps.com          Home:123 13'W   45 37.5'N
(503) 641-3151 x2651     {tektronix}!nosun!fpssun!mbn
*FPS Computing has a company spokesperson, and it's certainly not me*
A hen is merely an egg's way of making another egg. (Butler)

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #325, 12/18/89
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