HOMEBREW Digest #3386 Tue 25 July 2000
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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:
removing labels (Scott Jose)
RE:Removing Labels (Aaron Perry)
Dry hopped lifetime, dishwashing detergent fear (Dave Burley)
Sooky sooky la la. (Cat. 5) ("Dave Edwards")
Re: Sooky sooky la la. (Cat. 5) -> Cat. 6 (Deadly Serious) (Some Guy)
re: 424 and gonzo hopping levels (Jeff McNally)
Re; Carmelization (William Frazier)
Mash parameters ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
re:no-sparge foam/haze ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
The Hop God (chuck)
mixing yeasts and new categories ("Dr. Pivo")
Johnson A419 controller ("Lynne O'Connor")
Ommegang / Cooperstown ("Lynne O'Connor")
hopped extract ("Dalibor Jurina")
Please critique the six-pack I designed for homebrewers! ("Chris Barrs")
gott cooler mash tun ("sdugre")
relief valves (Prestoniam)
Spence's GI tract (LyndonZimmermann)
Can You Over Hop A Beer. (Alemantoo)
* JULY IS AMERICAN BEER MONTH! Take the American Beer
* Pledge of Allegiance! Support your local brewery...
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 22:27:55 -0700
From: Scott Jose <sejose at pacbell.net>
Subject: removing labels
Another poster referred to this, and I will repeat the advice. Easily, and
I do stress easily remove labels by using a mixture of ammonia and warm
water. Beer labels are mostly adhered to the bottles by ammonia based
glues. After a few minutes (a homebrew or so) the labels easily slip off.
The only difficulties I have encountered is the foil type labels. I simply
avoided those. But all this is past history for I now keg my beer.
Best advice I can give? Keg.
Cheers to all
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 02:07:15 -0400
From: Aaron Perry <vspbcb at earthlink.net>
Subject: RE:Removing Labels
Well, I feel pretty lazy in the midst of all these "Hard scrubbing" label
removers. I just throw a bunch of bottles in a big 20 gal. trash barrel. The
barrel is filled with around 15 gal. cold water and a 1/3 of bleach. Not only
dose it clean my rinsed homebrew bottles, it takes labels off with ease.
Granted, the bottles usually sit for a few days or more(usually more-I said I
was lazy). but they just slide right off. As for my regular bottles, they
come out sparkling. A note of advice though.. If you use this method to
de-lable more than 6-12 bottles, you might want to keep your regular stock of
bottles out. The glue on certain labels can slime the batch. Not a big deal
but I hate rinsing extra for no reason.
AP
trying to keep the work at work.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 07:22:26 -0400
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: Dry hopped lifetime, dishwashing detergent fear
Brewsters:
Keith MacNeal has noted that dry hopped beers don't last as long as
non-hopped versions. Not surprising, as the hops can contain bacteria
which can cause problems, despite the anti-lactobacillus behavior hops
resins exhibit toward some strains. It is possible that that excess
fizziness you get is due to bacteria ( e.g. L. diastaticus) consuming the
dextrins.
Although some pooh-pooh the idea, I always give the dry hops a very brief
soak in boiling water and add the hops and hop tea, minimizing the loss of
vapor. This solves any problem in this area. Dry hopping works fine if a
keg gets consumed in a week or so of treatment by the landlord ( as it did
in Merry Old England when this method was used) , but long term storage
problems from infection can arise unless the bacterial population on the
hops are reduced sustantially .
- --------------------------------------
Edward why are you afraid to put beer in bottles you washed with
dishwashing detergent? Don't you eat off dishes washed with this same
stuff? If it is the foaming properties being affected by the detergent that
has you fearful, treat the bottles with bleach diluted by 1/3 followed by
rinsing with three rounds ( about 1/3 of a bottle each time) of water
above 170F. This is how I always treat my beer and wine bottles before
filling. Works great!
- ---------------------------------------
Keep on Brewin',
Dave Burley.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 10:37:00 +0930
From: "Dave Edwards" <eddiedb at senet.com.au>
Subject: Sooky sooky la la. (Cat. 5)
Pat Babcock wrote:
| Frankly, we home brewers take offense to lines like "a dedicated home
brewer
| and part-time drunk". The underlying attitude behind that statement is
| precisely the stigma that home brewers don't want or need. Unfortunately,
it
| is also precisely what goes through most people's minds when they find out
a
| person is a home brewer: "Oh! You must drink a lot." NO! NO! NO! Please -
if
| you want home brewers to support you, please have consideration for us and
| what we stand for! Even if you intended your comment as good-natured,
| tongue-in-cheek humor, please refrain from such references in the future.
Speak for youself Pat. Some of us couldn't give a rats arse what other
people think of our drinking habits, we just brew. Yes, some of us do drink
a lot, is there a problem with that? Yes, we brew beer for the flavours and
aromas that we can create, but would you honestly brew beer with no alcohol
in it.
What I am basically saying, is stop your winging, and deal with it.
Cheers,
Dave.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 10:16:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Some Guy <pbabcock at hbd.org>
Subject: Re: Sooky sooky la la. (Cat. 5) -> Cat. 6 (Deadly Serious)
Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...
Dave Edwards sallies forth with...
> Speak for youself Pat. Some of us couldn't give a rats arse what other
> people think of our drinking habits, we just brew. Yes, some of us do drink
> a lot, is there a problem with that? Yes, we brew beer for the flavours and
> aromas that we can create, but would you honestly brew beer with no alcohol
> in it.
>
> What I am basically saying, is stop your winging, and deal with it.
Wow! So you like being referred to as a drunk because of your hobby? Fine
- you're entitled. But I certainly hoper you're not in the majority. The
point is not that we/I would prefer to make beer with no alcohol - though
the pursuit of that very difficult task does capture the creativity of
many on this list - the point is that we'd prefer not to be classified as
drunks simply because we are home brewers.
So I'm not "winging" - I am dealing with it by publicly standing up for
what I believe. So what is it you're doing? Poking fun, I hope. Sorry, but
in this particular regard, I have no sense of humor. I'd rather have
my brewery festooned in plaid than be classed as a drunk simply because I
brew.
- --
-
See ya!
Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org
Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org
HBD Web Site http://hbd.org
The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock
"The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged
from my yeast lab Saturday
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 10:44:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: mcnallyg at gam83.npt.nuwc.navy.mil (Jeff McNally)
Subject: re: 424 and gonzo hopping levels
Hi All,
Lots of disscussion lately of massivley hopped beers. Makes me thirsty
just reading about them!
Reif Hammond wrote:
>There have been recent reports of beers with 424 IBUs. Were these
>bitterness levels measured in a lab, or estimated using an equation?
Most seem to be estimated using any one of the numerous methods
available.
I brewed a barleywine back in June of 1997 with the following hopping
schedule (5 gallon batch):
variety amount form boil time %AA IBUs (Tinseth)
- ------- ------ ---- --------- --- --------------
columbus 4 oz whole 60 min 15.4 136.3
galena 5/8 oz whole 45 min 12.6 16.0
cluster 1 oz plug 45 min 7.0 14.2
fuggle 1 oz plug 45 min 4.3 8.7
willamette 7/8 oz whole 30 min 3.9 5.8
EKG 2 oz pellet 30 min 5.3 18.0
EKG 2 oz pellet 15 min 5.3 11.6
cascade 2 oz whole 0 min 6.0 0.0
cascade 3 oz whole dry hop 6.0 0.0
totals: 16.5 oz 210.6 IBUs
In July of 1998 Louis Bonham measured the IBU level of this brew
at 115 IBU's.
Since that time the overall hop character has mellowed considerably.
Louis still has a bottle of this brew (now 3 years old) and has told
me that he still plans on running another IBU analysis on it. It should
be very interesting to see how the IBU level has changed since it was
first measured.
Hoppy brewing,
Jeff
==========================================================================
Geoffrey A. McNally Phone: (401) 832-1390
Mechanical Engineer Fax: (401) 832-7250
Naval Undersea Warfare Center email:
Systems Development Branch mcnallyg at gam83.npt.nuwc.navy.mil
Code 8321; Bldg. 1246/2 WWW:
Newport, RI 02841-1708 http://www.nuwc.navy.mil/
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 14:40:51 +0000
From: William Frazier <billfrazier at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re; Carmelization
This is in response to Patrick in Toronto who asked about carmelization of wort-
I have carmelized first runnings several times in search of the caramel
flavor that I perceive in Fuller's ESB. While it does not produce that
particular flavor it does result in pretty good tasting ales.
What I have noticed is that the final SG is a lot higher than you might
expect from your recipe while the body or mouthfeel is normal for a full
bodied beer.
Redhawk Ale
- -----------------------
Pale malt 5.5 lbs
Munich Malt 5.5 lbs
Cara Vienne 0.5 lbs
Cara Munich 0.5 lbs
Roasted barley 1 ounce
Usual mash at 152F for 90 minutes followed by a 75 minute boil.
One gallon first runnings separated and boiled down to between
one to two pints. This was added to the rest of the wort before
fermentation.
OG was 1063 and FG was 1027 using Wyeast 1968 London Ale Yeast.
The beer was one of the best ales
I've brewed and everyone liked it when served from the keg or
bottle.
Experimental Bitter #8
- ----------------------
Pale malt 7.9 lbs
Cara pils 1.1 lbs
Cara Vienne 1.1 lbs
Victory Malt 0.5 lbs
Special B 0.4 lbs
Usual mash at 154F for 90 minutes. Special B added during last
15 minutes of mash. Two quarts first runnings spearated and
boiled down to 3/4 quart. Added back as above.
OG was 1067 and FG was 1026 using Wyeast 1338 Euro Ale Yeast
and Wyeast 2006 Bavarian Lager Yeast. Both FGs were the same.
Too soon to comment on the results as I've only recently
bottled the ale and the lager is still resting at 35F.
However both tasted good when racked.
Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 11:47:36 -0400
From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com>
Subject: Mash parameters
There are a few things I feel are truly important in mashing. Whether
or not the recipe truly hits the style is something that can be tweaked.
But all mashes have a few items that are things that can't be ignored for
predictability. Someone many digests ago mentioned that they (and many
brewers they know) have trouble making the same beer twice. That really
is a common thing I hear, but also I hear that people go to all grain for
the
added control it gives them. HUH? These can't go hand in hand! If you
have more control then why the lack of repeatability?
Things that should be controlled:
1)pH - The effects of pH on the viability and activity of the mash enzymes
are of prime important. Hitting between 5.2 and 5.6 is easily
accomplished unless you are blessed (?) with truly soft water.
But a bit of gypsum or calcium chloride will fix that right up.
You have carbonate water and the pH is too low? preboiling with
aeration will help that, so you aren't stuck with making dark
beers
only. I generally shoot for 5.4 pH since it is midrange and
gives
a "slop factor" either side so you can error a bit and still be
"normal." Too low a pH and you lose hot break, too high you
can get tannin extraction.
2)Temperature- The real nuts and bolts of the mash program. This
maybe should be first but without the right pH, temperature
control is for nothing. Temperature regulation controls all the
things important to beer style. Protein degradation, maltose
production, foam stability, dextrin levels all depend on
repeatable
temperature profiles. This pretty much determines how your beer
will taste and feel. No matter if you use a single combined
maltose/dextrin rest of 15x F, or use a multi step 140-158 rest;
the temperature makes the wort what it should be.
3)Time- The mash has to be 'finished', and only time will tell. A
multi-rest
mash certainly needs specific time intervals to end up with
predictable degrees of fermentation. When is "times up it's
done"?
hard to say, that is why we generally rely on the iodine test.
People
ask me, " I rested at 154 for 90 minutes, it should be done,
right?"
I must say, "_Maybe_, what's the iodine say?" If you don't use
the
Iodine test as your stopwatch then you can have problems.
Once the iodine says "no starch" in the free run liquor, it
is_very_
beneficial to squeeze some of the grist and test the liquor
released
from the sample again. If it shows black then you need more
time,
and maybe some more step 2 -temperature.
4)Mash thickness- Grist to water ratio, this is last because except in
extreme cases of very dry or very sweet/dextrinous beers this
will
not determine the outcome of your beer. Some malts with low
diastatic power (in the 60s) could give you trouble if you used
too
thin of mash and diluted the beta-amylase but this would be
extremely thin and you were trying to make an extremely dry
beer,
the BA may not survive until the mash was truly finished. A good
"average" mash/grist ratio to hit would be 3:1, not too thick,
not too
thin. If you use a multi-step mash profile with boiling water
infusions
then start a bit thicker than 3:1 so you don't thin it out too
much as you
make your infusions.
Everyone's mash tun has it's own characteristics so I've tried to keep
things general so you can find the right balance of these 4 things that
will work to give you contol over the mash reactions. The rules of
the enzymes are such that if you let pH, temperature, and time wander
all over the place the results will wander also.
Remember, this stuff wants to make itself, we just manipulate it to our
desires, and these 4 items are the things we can manipulate to end up
with the beer we desire. Ignore one of the parameters and the mash will
do what it wants to rather than what you want it to do.
Someone can come out and say that "yeah, but if you let X increase you
can compensate by changing Y." Yes you can, but you will just demonstrate
my view that until you control these parameters, you will be chasing your
tail.
Del Lansing
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 11:47:31 -0400
From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com>
Subject: re:no-sparge foam/haze
Pete and Steve reply with some added data in regards to the haze
and lessened foam they get with no/low sparge beers.
>From Pete's description of his mash program I would expect his
2 gallons of batch sparge liquor would bring the mash temperature
close to my favorite mash out temp of 164F, depending on how much
liquor is left from the initial mash. Hard to say without a thermometer
reading though. If 164 is being reached I'd expect that there shouldn't
be any unconverted starch carryover, but an iodine test would say for sure.
If that temp is reached I also would expect a good quality foam retention
from increased glyco-protein production. The evidence of haze and
lessened foam would _maybe_indicate that mash out temperature is
not being reached, an easy thing to verify and resolve.
Steve said his haze was permanent. There are only a few things to cause
this, the most frequent being starch carry-over and biological haze. I
would
expect Steve to maintain clean pitching cultures and use reasonable
sanitation methods so this makes me lean toward the starch carryover.
An iodine test here also would give some important data.
Lower sweet wort levels of tannins would affect hot-break, but how much it
affects haze reduction would depend on the S/T protein levels in the malt.
The S/T figures I've seen for some German malts or pretty low, 36 or 37.
These may need a bit more tannins for full coagulation. But this would
mostly affect chill haze, unless the bitter wort was really loaded with raw
protein; most likely not the situation. Kinda still pointing at starch as
the
haze factor. As I typed up my other post I realized another possibility,
that is pH. If wort pH hits 5 or below then hot break is affected
negatively.
Is this a possibility? I assume ( sometimes wrongly) that pH is tested
on every batch, but sometimes people rely on the "it was always OK
before" reason for skipping a step so I have to ask.
Still pondering in Pittsburgh,
Del Lansing
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 10:32:07 -0800
From: chuck <chuck at boscosbeer.com>
Subject: The Hop God
O Ye of Little Faith. Those of you who would suggest that the Hop God is a
false prophet and that you should wear His crown of Cascades hops simply
because you brewed a beer with more ibu's should consider this: Not only
does the Hop God have a horde of minions (I am one), He also has Hop
Goddesses. (I have pictures.) Don't believe the nay sayers. We really
didn't have to pay the ladies that much to pose as Hop Goddesses.
Chuck Skypeck
Boscos Brewing Company
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 18:42:11 +0200
From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se>
Subject: mixing yeasts and new categories
It was asked about the virtues of blending yeast varieties during
primary fermentation.
I would start by saying that this is an area in which I have not one
iota of experience with. I would report, however, that this is a
situation that brewmasters that I know of in the commercial world, fear.
I think this is sort of based on the thought that blending two yeast
strains gives you the flocculating characteristics of neither (or... to
"number two"
it, flocculation depends on a surface electrostatic charge of the yeast
cell, and having two different charge sets makes things difficult).
Worst case is supposed to be the mixing of top and bottom fermenting strains,
the results of which, I have heard from a German braumeister describe as
"soup", and is a reason most brewmasters don't want two working strains
under the same roof.
Where brewers do change strains in the same brew, I expect that they
either filter out the first one before adding, or wait until there is
sufficient clarity that the first one is at comparatively insignificant levels.
I would like to stress that this is something I have zero practical
experience with, and as such, am simply "rumour mongering"....maybe it's
not a problem at all.
Since Graham has already reserved "category six" postings to mean:
"Don't give my Cane Toad any stick!", then I suppose propagating rumours
would be a "category seven". This is one of those.
Whilst on the subjects of "new categories" and "mixing yeasts", a
curious thing happened to me:
Some months back, I received a call from a stranger. He said that he
wanted to create a beer of a particular region and time period. I told
him what I knew about those beers, the barley they were growing then,
and that I have found extant hop bines from that period, and have brewed
with them, and which modern varietals they most likened... in short, the
first steps I would take. I then asked "Where did you get my name
from?", to which he replied: "He said not to tell you." I then asked
about what the brewing setup he was proposing to use looked like, he
described it, and I said: "Oh, "him"".
I then gave "him" a call, and talked about what they were planning. We
chatted about feasible approaches, and as expected, he did not want to
bring a new yeast strain into his microbrewery. I suggested that he
instead do it with his present strain, but a rather funny fermentation schedule.
I have now heard that this beer has become a "big seller", and gotten
good critique from some independent beer reviewer, so I went down last
weekend to have a taste of just what sort of mess I'd caused.
I now understand the Rennerians and there quest for CAPs, ZAPs, KEBABs,
DOO-DADs, and all the other abbreviations I don't understand!
Imagine the number of trips I've made down to Czecho, each time
realigning my taste reference, and learning some new arcane tips, and
then returning home to brew, only to find that after a half year or so,
I needed a return trip.
It took me about 8 years doing this before I think I started to get a
handle on a Czech pilsner (though admittedly I may be a bit slow). With
this beer, I was 100 percent correct the very first time! I mean, who's
gon'na argue with me? What are they going to compare it with?
I have decided that this is a new category called Swedish Traditional
Draught (STD)..... I figure that no matter what anyone thinks about it,
everyone who has ever had an STD, generally goes back to the same habits
that caused them to acquire it in the first place.
I suppose my assurance that I have defined a category can only be
compared with comments like: "The American IPA is really more authentic
than the British"..... right...... the arrogance of which sends me
spinning into the "bus driver" routine (for those not acquainted, doing
the "bus driver", is when you run into the toilet, grab hold of the
black ring, and begin twisting it violently back and forth as you lean
forward and say: "HUH-LAAARGGGH!". This coupled with the sound of your
ribs rattling as you empty your insides does sound a "bit" like a diesel
engine starting).
Quite frankly, I am the only one who REALLY knows the answer to
the IPA quandary.
That's because I keep a stuffed mummified Gurkha in my closet. I have
coat hangers jammed into his arms, so that if I've no one else to drink
with late at night I drag him out and prop him against the kitchen table.
After about 6 beers, he begins mumbling through his beard, and after 8,
I suddenly get a clear and exact understanding of Punjabi, and Mr. Singh
gives me the "low down" on what the IPA's were really like.
I would offer him a drink, but he dribbles so much, it is embarrassing
to try and explain away the stains the following morning.
Anyhow this STD was quite ok, and probably only needed a bit more
acetone (or was it ethyl acetate?.... sorry I haven't done "The
Course".... And you all are worried about a wee bit of aluminum and
dementia risks? You should try a weekend at Steve's, doing the
"let's-all-inhale-industrial-solvents-together" course.... you'll leave
there without a care in the world.... because "caring" requires a few
more intact neurons than you'll still have in your possession).
Well, I'm off. Full of enthusiasm for my next non-contestable project.
I'm going to recreate something from the Bismarckian era. These were
traditionally tasted by dipping the index finger in the brew, and then
"wiping" or "smearing" it across the tongue and lips...
yep, I'm gon'na make a "Prussian Ancient Pilsner", or, "PAP smear", and
want to make sure I'm the first one off the mark so I can define the style.
Dr. Pivo
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 14:53:28 -0500
From: "Lynne O'Connor" <stpats at bga.com>
Subject: Johnson A419 controller
The Johnson A419 controller that Wil Kolb has is effectively the same
controller that I and many other shops sell (or very similar), without
the cord. I have the cords to convert these. I have several hundred
cords left from years ago when I used to buy the A419 from Johnson and
the cords from someplace else and assemble them. It's literally a two
minute job to wire up the cord. I also have the plastic cord collar
that snaps into the metal housing. My cost was 3 or 4 bucks and I'd be
happy to sell them at that since they've been in the attic for several a
few years now.
Lynne O'Connor
St. Patrick's of Texas Brewers Supply
512-989-9727
www.stpats.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 14:55:59 -0500
From: "Lynne O'Connor" <stpats at bga.com>
Subject: Ommegang / Cooperstown
Last week I posted some details about Ommegang that I should have kept
to myself. It has been my policy in the past to always get the okay
before making detailed information public about beers or breweries (such
as Celis, Budvar, fullers, PU, and others) and I regret that I did not
do that in this case. The spices that I mentioned are used at the
brewery and there is no secret about that. However, which ones are used
in which beers is something Ommegang understandably would like to keep a
lid on. If there is some good news it is that I made 1 mistake for each
of the beers.
It's not that far from NYC to Ommegang (3 hours) and I strongly
recommend the trip. You can also visit the very impressive Farmers
Museum which is a kind of living museum of 1850's New York rural life.
The largest section is devoted to the hop industry of New York. Before
Washington, New York was the center of the industry. Lots of
information, old hop growing and processing equipment, and they even
grow hops. Cluster was the chief variety grown there in the 19th century
by the way.
There is also the Baseball Hall of Fame but it didn't look like they had
any beer in there so we didn't bother.
Lynne O'Connor
St. Patrick's of Texas Brewers Supply
512-989-9727
www.stpats.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 16:55:04 +0200
From: "Dalibor Jurina" <dalibor.jurina at inet.hr>
Subject: hopped extract
I have made a batch of beer from hooped extract. There is written only to
mix it with hot water, not to boil it. Is this OK, or I have to boil next
time and throw away this one?
Dalibor
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 13:40:30 PDT
From: "Chris Barrs" <chris_barrs at hotmail.com>
Subject: Please critique the six-pack I designed for homebrewers!
Hello fellow homebrewers,
I am an avid homebrewer and recent graduate of the Industrial Design
Department of Auburn University. As a student, I designed a six-pack holder
specifically for the homebrewer. I was frustrated with giving my brews to
friends in an A&B six-pack which covered up my label and distracted from the
beer I worked so hard to make. A radically new and unique cardboard carton
which showcases the beer is my solution to this problem.
I call it the SLICK-PAK, and I want to hear from the brewing community
about what you think of it so as to help me decide whether or not to persue
my idea and have it produced. Comments good and bad are greatly
appreciated, and questions will be answered.
The target price for this product is $27 per dozen, or $95.00 per 4
dozen. The SLICK-PAK is a innovative corrugated carton that will give your
12 oz. beer the great presentation it deserves. This is not a box or a
regular six-pack. The unique design allows 95% of the bottle to be seen
including the label. The area around the handle is ideal for applying an
advertisement or homemade graphics. A bottle is removed by ripping an
individual "exit" through the packaging around the neck along a line of
perforation. Please send me an e-mail if you would like to see a picture of
my creation. Thanks in advance for any comments.
Here are some questions to ponder as you critique:
1. Would you be more interested if it held 22oz. bottles?
2. Do you like it but think the target price is too high?
3. Could you use them to organize unmarked bottles in your cellar?
4. Would you like to receive these as a gift?
5. Could it be good advertising for a homebrew
supply store or a brewpub?
6. Doesn't your homebrew deserve a great presentation?
Request a picture! Tell me what you think.
PLEASE Reply to: chris_barrs at hotmail.com
Thanks,
Chris Barrs
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 18:06:47 -0400
From: "sdugre" <sdugre at hge.net>
Subject: gott cooler mash tun
Hello everyone.
I am looking into picking up a gott cooler for my mash tun. Does anybody
know where I can order one online? I can't seem to find one in any of the
retail stores in my area (Western Mass.). Also, what are people using for
taps? It seems that the tap that comes with the cooler won't allow me to
adjust the flow rate as much as I'd like to.
Thanks,
Sean Dugre
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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 18:11:07 EDT
From: Prestoniam at aol.com
Subject: relief valves
I have just received a gift of 10 "dirty" coke kegs ( 5 gal size), which have
a relief valve on the lid, but no ring to pull up, like on my pepsi kegs. Can
some one email me and let me know if these are an automatic only type valve,
or is there some way I can manually releave the pressure using this valve?
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Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 08:52:32 +0930
From: LyndonZimmermann <lyndonz at senet.com.au>
Subject: Spence's GI tract
Spence asks:
>I am wondering if others in our fraternity have experienced
>"gastrointestinal distress" from drinking
>their homemade beers and wines
Only from trying to ferment concentrate weizen (wheat) beer with an ale
yeast. Shall we say the "fermentation seemed to recommence" when consumed.
Didn't do it to me when fermentated with weizen yeast. I will say natural
yoghurt makes it possible for me to eat muesli or pressure cooked beans,
maybe it will help Spence with his beer, and you can brew it at home!
Lyndon Z
Adelaide, Australia
Lyndon Zimmermann
24 Waverley St, Mitcham, South Australia, 5062
tel +61-8-8272 9262 mobile 0414 91 4577 fax +61-8-8172 1494
email lyndonz at senet.com.au URL http://users.senet.com.au/~lyndonz
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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 20:33:22 EDT
From: Alemantoo at aol.com
Subject: Can You Over Hop A Beer.
The question was raised, can a beer be over hopped? Most wrote in responses
that indicated that they cannot imagine a beer being over hopped (or at least
not saying so) and started a chain of posts about beers with super high
hopping rates. This subject has been a pet peeve of mine for many years, but
especially in the last few when the attitude of "more hops" seems to have
become an epidemic. I got into brewing many years ago because I was actually
looking for a less bitter beer. What I found was a more bitter beer, but beer
with more flavor. The light flavored American Pilsner style beers to me just
tasted bitter. Bitterness was the only flavor I could detect. So when I read
an article on home brewing in Easy Riders (in 1973) I started brewing. My
flavor experience did not come from my own beers at first, but I started
finding and trying beers like Bass, Guinness, Whitbread and Whatneys. Beers
with flavor that balanced the bitterness. As I became a better brewer and was
able to find better ingredients (especially hops) I was able to make my own
flavorful beers. What I am finding now is that many of my beer recipes that I
have been making for years and have always been appreciated are getting
comments like "it could use more finishing hops". I have always worked at
balancing the flavors of my beers and keeping the flavors appropriate to the
style and now to get a comment like "needs more hops" especially in styles
that should be lightly hopped or that shouldn't have any finishing hops at
all, strikes a nerve with me. To go to a micro or a brew pub and pay for a
bock that is over the hill bitter or a Scottish Ale loaded with finishing
hops ticks me off. It's one thing if you're a hop head and just want to brew
a hoppy beer, I'm not trying to tell a home brewer how to brew his home brew,
but a I hate to see the results of a competition and see a winner in the ale
category using a lager yeast or a traditionally unhoppy beer category
dominated by overly hoppy beers that don't belong in that category. In
closing I want to say that if you like it, it is not too hoppy for you. If
you're entering it into a competition or trying to brew to a certain style,
it may be too hoppy. But can a beer be too hoppy - yes. I have read on more
than one occasions about hops having an adverse effect on sexual desire.
Jethro Kloss wrote a book, considered by many to be the bible of the health
food set, called Back To Eden. He claims hops produce sleep when nothing else
will and says they are an excellent treatment for excessive sexual desires.
So if things are pointing south when they should be pointing north, you may
be a hop head and that beer just may be too hoppy. Imagine how much beer
Miller would sell with a commercial filled with big macho athletes saying
"more hops, less sex". By the way, you fans of aluminum in brewing ware
should read the part of his book dedicated to aluminum cook ware.
Tom (not a hop head) Logan
alemantoo at aol.com
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