---

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


Contents:
  Homebrew Digest #325 (December 18, 1989) (Michael Bergman)
  Sarsaparilla (Mark Freeman)
  Taking homebrew into Canada, Slow starting yeast (boubez)
  Kettles and dangerous carboys ("Lance "I Don't Exist" Smith")
  predicting FG (Marty Albini)


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


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

Date: Mon, 18 Dec 89 10:12:17 EST
From: bergman at m2c.org (Michael Bergman)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #325 (December 18, 1989)



Chris Wilson (cwilson at cs.uoregon.edu) writes:

    ...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? 

Out here (massachusetts) there is quite a variety of
flavor in the available ciders.  Even within a particular
brand, there will be a difference through the season.  Out
of season, most of what's available settles down to one
brand, I presume that they are the only company that
bothers with the expense (whatever that expense may be).
I find their cider to be good in season, but the
out-of-season stuff is not so tasty. But I digress.  

What caught me attention recently was that at the very
beginning of the season, all the cider available was
extremely tart.  So next year, you might try with the
earliest cider you can get your hands on.  The other thing
to mention is that some orchards just use one variety of
apples for their cider, whereas properly to make good
cider you need a blend, to balance tannin, tartness,
sweetness.  Of the local orchards, only one (of at least a
half dozen) seems to really do this right.  Most of the
rest are on the "too sweet" side.  So sample a few more
before giving up.  

Some preservatives (sulphur based ones) can be gotten rid
of by allowing the cider to "breathe" for a few hours.  Of
course, that also risks some sort of infection...







Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 89 08:49 PST
From: Mark Freeman <MFreeman at VERMITHRAX.SCH.Symbolics.COM>
Subject: Sarsaparilla

I'm looking for a recipe for making root beer.  Does anyone have
one, and is it fermentable?  Also, any hints about where to get
ingredients for it?

- Mark

Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 89 14:25:34 EST
From: boubez at bass.rutgers.edu
Subject: Taking homebrew into Canada, Slow starting yeast


I remember seeing this question a little while ago, but I don't remember
what transpired, so here it is again. I'm going home to Montreal this
week for the holidays, and I'd like to take some of my hombrew with me
for my mom to sample. What are the rules and regulations in effect? Do
they differ from the regular beer rules (1 case)? Thanks.

On another topic, I started my latest batch this week-end, and instead
of "pitching" the yeast, this time I decided to "start" it first in a cup
of warm water. Well, it's been two days, and still no sign of life... What
could be the cause? And what are the usual causes of slow- or not- starting
yeast?

toufic



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


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 89 19:30:20 CDT
From: "Lance "I Don't Exist" Smith" <lsmith at umn-cs.cs.umn.edu>
Subject: Kettles and dangerous carboys

A few comments on two "recent" topics.

Brew Kettles: I presently use the standard enamel-steel canning kettle, but
have been looking to move up to stainless. A store in the local mall (one
of the dales for you Prairie Home Companion fans) has 5-gal stainless
kettles on sale for about $35. It's fairly lightweight stainless, but
it follows the standard cylinder with flat top design. I think the
store is called "Letchers" or some such thing in case they're a chain.
So is that a good deal?

Dangerous Carboys: Earlier this year I made an Imperial stout based on
Charlie P's Armenian Stout recipe (Spring 87 I think). The recipe is
based around 6.6 lbs M&F Old Ale and 3.3lb Pale Extract. So I pitched
the yeast before going to bed. Not much was happening when I left for
school the next day. Ah, but when I came home I was greeted by the snorts
of a bubble-lock spitting foam. I cleaned up another stopper and made
up a quick blow-off tube arrangement. Then not thinking I pulled out 
the previous stopper. Whoooooosh. Brown stuff every where. Good thing I was
wearing my safety glasses. Do you know what a fast moving hop could have done
to my eyesight? So be careful, when you're releasing any pressure in a carboy.

Cheers and all that,

Lance Smith (lsmith at umn-cs.cs.umn.edu)

Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 89 21:01:50 PST
From: Marty Albini <hplabs!hpsdl39!martya>
Subject: predicting FG

	A few issues back I commented on some beer of mine that was
taking too long to ferment out. The question was raised: how do you
know when it's finished? How low the gravity will get? My usual
method is to look there at the end of the recipe where it says "FG="
and use the author's experience.

	But what if it's a new recipe, or one without such a handy
guide?

	Burch (_Brewing_Qualty_Beers_) gives a formula for computing
FG from the OG, which works surprisingly well considering its 
simplicity. In short:
	Projected FG= 1+(OG-1)/4
Obviously the unfermentables should have some impact on this, and a
stout with several pounds of black grains should finish somewhat
higher than an all-malt beer with the same OG. I've tried correcting
for this with various tables, but the formula seems to work best
as-is, at least with the last couple entries in my brew log.

	This bothers me. I'm not worried, mind you, but it seems like
there ought to be a better prediction method; one that takes into
account things like the yeast's attenuativity (what a word! Did I make
that up or what?), unfermentables, and whatever else there is that
matters.

	Why not just RDWHAH? If you stop too early and prime while the
beer is still too sweet, you get little glass grenades. I've never
experienced this delightful occurance, and never want to.

	This seems to be a topic of broad interest; if somebody has a
reliable prediction method, please post!

	Merry Xmas!
- --
________________________________________________Marty Albini___________
"To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks."
phone    : (619) 592-4177
UUCP     : {hplabs|nosc|hpfcla|ucsd}!hp-sdd!martya
Internet : martya%hp-sdd at hp-sde.sde.hp.com (or  at nosc.mil,  at ucsd.edu)
CSNET    : martya%hp-sdd at hplabs.csnet
US mail  : Hewlett-Packard Co., 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 92127-1899 USA

Return to table of contents



End of HOMEBREW Digest #326, 12/19/89
*************************************
-------

---