FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org *************************************************************** THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Northern Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies http://www.northernbrewer.com 1-800-681-2739 Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site! ********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html ********* Contents: Classic Real American Pilsner (BShotola) Sparging ("Fred L. Johnson") CAP experiment (george fix) Re: Culturing yeast from Karmeliet Tripel bottle ("Peter Pellemans") local beer info ("Bridges, Scott") Re: recipe (Fat Tire Ale) ("Peter Pellemans") Chiller clogging woes ("Bridges, Scott") czechvar, short sparge with RIMs, big tasting rye ("Czerpak, Pete") Cap experiment (Bob) cranberries (Marc Sedam) re:Sanke Snap Rings (Brent Hornberger) CAP Spuriment ("Wayne D. Page") Experiment ("Alan Meeker") Water variations (AJ) Re: Wyeast Woes... (Earl Atwood) canadian border crossing (david.persenaire) Delirium Tremens Recipe ("Donnie Lee") yeast questions ("Alan Meeker") How much "salt" to add? ("Pete Calinski") starter beer (RiedelD) removing keg fittings (RiedelD) Want a copy of Guinard's "Lambic"? (RiedelD) Re: fermenting in cornies ("Kurt Schweter") pH meter recommendation (Ed Jones) God be praised (Liddil) a test (God) Montreal water ("elvira toews")
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 04:40:07 EDT From: BShotola at aol.com Subject: Classic Real American Pilsner Esteemed Clubsters, George Fix proposes a conical vs. corny brewoff at 10 virtual paces. This is obviously a thinly veiled attempt to further provoke Steve Alexander... The results should prove about as easy to interpret as the Florida election returns, but that is no reason why we shouldn't do it. If Steve wins and the conical geometry is thought to have no vital advantage over the corny, then George ought to give his BB&MB gift conical to Steve, as well as thank him profusely in the preface to his next book. Dr. Fix should also be made to brew 15 gallons of cheese lambic in scratched plastic diaper pails, siphoning by mouth after eating gorgonzola wearing a cowboy hat. If George wins and Steve is found to be all wet and slow on the O2 uptake, then Steve ought to be sent to brew with Graham for a month, providing of course Mr. Sanders has healed sufficiently from his stick wounds and chafed kit bag. Bob Shotola Yamhill Oregon Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 07:46:15 -0400 From: "Fred L. Johnson" <FLJohnson at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Sparging J.N. states the following regarding sparging: > I think the risk of letting in oxygen into the grainbed is greater > than with sparging with a layer of water above the top level of the grain. > But with the last mentioned method there exists the risk of sparging with a > diluted sugar solution (less yield). I don't understand what J.N's concern is regarding the "risk of sparging with a diluted sugar solution". I presume J.N. means that the trapped wort becomes more diluted when spargins with a layer of water on top. But I don't see how this can be any more true than with sprinkling. In fact, the whole intent of sparging is to allow the water to percolate through the grains to allow the solution trapped within the nooks and crannies of the grain fragments to MIX with the water and be carried downstream. The slower one sparges, the more time the trapped solution has to mix with the eluting medium (the sparge water). If you've ever watched gel filtration column chromatography using dyes in a transparent column, you will see the column of elution buffer moving through the bed matrix, "pushing" the solution trapped within the matrix downstream. The resolution and efficiency of such columns is inversely proportional to the flow rate, up to a limit. (Higher flow rates magnify differnces between flow in the center and flow next to the wall.} Stated differently, if one properly sparges with a layer of water, the layer of water moves through the grain bed as a FLAT LAYER, with mixing occur at the advancing front. - -- Fred L. Johnson Apex, North Carolina USA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 07:52:48 -0400 From: george fix <gjfix at CLEMSON.EDU> Subject: CAP experiment Hi! I just saw the details of Pat's proposal. I am in regardless of grain bill or hops, even clusters. My wife is going to think I am losing it, and the scary thing is that she could be right! The main justification one can give for something like what Pat proposed is that it is sure to be a lot of fun for everyone involved. George ******************************************************* George J. Fix Phone: 864-656-4562 Professor and Head Department of Mathematical Sciences Clemson University 29634 ******************************************************* Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:44:44 -0400 From: "Peter Pellemans" <peter at pellemans.net> Subject: Re: Culturing yeast from Karmeliet Tripel bottle I recently translated an article from Dutch to English on how to reculture yeast and published that in our club's newsletter. You can find it here: http://nfbl.org/newsletters/May2001/yeast.asp According to the article, Karmeliet is not suited for reculturing. Don't ask me why. Peter Pellemans Tallahassee, FL www.nfbl.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:33:40 -0400 From: "Bridges, Scott" <ScottBridges at sc.slr.com> Subject: local beer info Mark Snyder writes: >Considering the recent number of requests for suggestions for brewpubs, etc., >in various areas, I'll again mention www.pubcrawler.com as an option for all >to consider. Along with it's listing of various watering holes across the >nation, it also has a number of links that can provide more information, if >desired. > >Another option, and one that I prefer since I travel a bit as part of my job > - just check out the yellow pages when you hit your hotel room and call a >couple of homebrewing supply stores. You'll be surprised at how receptive >they are to your request for recommendations, even though you're not a paying >customer. And they'll be much more inclined to direct you to someplace worth >trying instead of just a bar that brews beer on the premises. I also let >them know I'm willing to drive for a good brew and ask for their >recommendations for "stellar" pubs instead of just those close to my hotel. Good suggestions, Mark. You know, this line of thinking gave me an idea. Another organization I belong to (the United States Power Squadrons, an international boating education/safety/social group) has a concept called "port captain." Each local chapter has a person in this capacity. The intent is for this person to be a local resource for any visiting boaters. You can get local info on availability of marinas, good cruising areas, places to avoid, etc. General stuff that you'd like to know about an area, and can find out if you don't know anyone in the area to ask. You see where I'm going with this, don't you? We could implement this concept. Each city could have its own HBD port captain, for lack of a better term. You get a name, email address, phone number (if the volunteers care to make this available). We could maybe put the list of port captains on the HBD server (if the janitors ok, of course). Big cities could have more than one, so a particular individual wouldn't get bombarded. If someone is going to St. Louis, or where ever, you call up the local port captain and find out where the good brewpubs and beer bars are. Heck, maybe you could even find someone who would meet you for a pint. Since we tend to view this as a "community", this would also help to put a face to those we know only through their emails. I would volunteer to be the port captain for Columbia, SC. I'm also familiar with most of the SC beer scene, such as it is, but some may be more familiar with other cities than me. Any thoughts? Good or bad idea? Scott Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:50:39 -0400 From: "Peter Pellemans" <peter at pellemans.net> Subject: Re: recipe (Fat Tire Ale) You can find a recipe in the book "Beer Captured" by Tess and Mark Szamatulski. Together with many other great recipes. Peter Pellemans Tallahassee, FL Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 10:53:07 -0400 From: "David Craft" <David-Craft at craftinsurance.com> Subject: recipe Hello, Does anyone have an all grain recipe for New Belgium's Fat Tire Ale? I = live in the east and have tried this beer while traveling out west. It = is one of my favorites. David B. Craft Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:11:58 -0400 From: "Bridges, Scott" <ScottBridges at sc.slr.com> Subject: Chiller clogging woes Dave and Steve write: >>I've got the fearless chiller and quite like it, works great with my >>apartment-brewery but this clogging is quite frustrating. > >I found that adding screens just causes them to clog with hop fines when I >use pellets. Two solutions I've tried worked fine. The first was DO >NOTHING. Well, it's not quite nothing. What I did was place an unfiltered >pickup for wort at the outer edge of my kettle and whirlpooled. Most >everything in the wort settled over a 15min wait and piled up in the middle. I agree with Dave. I think whirlpooling is the key. I have never had a problem with the chiller clogging. I use a combination of whole hops and pellets. It's just random, depending on what brew I'm making and what hops I have around the house. After flame-out, get a good whirlpool going and the hops and hot break settle into a cone-shaped pile in the middle of the kettle. I don't use a filter, but I do have a slotted 3/8" copper pipe pick-up circling around the outside perimeter of the kettle. As long as the hops/break settle in the middle, no filter is really needed. Scott Brewing in Columbia, SC Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:10:41 -0400 From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com> Subject: czechvar, short sparge with RIMs, big tasting rye All those of you blaspheming the Czechvar, need to try it in the amber bottles. I haven't had it in the green bottles yet but I do know that I carried a few bottles back from the UK that were amber bottles and they were fantastic. They were probably stored in my beer cupboard for 3 months before I tossed em in the fridge to sample also. NIce clean and unbelievably malty pils. Hops were pretty fantastic. MOre next time I am over the ocean for sure. About RIMS sparging, the idea of a long slow sparge is to easily extract out the last bits of sugary liquors. If you sparge too fast you obviously have less of a chance to get these. NOw when you are mashing or RIMsing, you are extracting out sugars to essentially a liquor with the same concentration of sugars all around where the concentration in the grains is starting to approach that of the mash liquors and the mass transfer between the two starts to slow. This is the reason that batch sparging isn't as nice as fly sparging since with fly, the grains are continually bombarded with new water with a low sugar concentration which seeks to keep mass transfer rates higher due to concentration driving force and thus further extraction of sugars. That said, do the experiemnt and find out. Alot depends on the efficiency differences due to massive mixing in the RIMS vs. low mixing in a normal HB mash tun. Is your extra 60 minutes of sparge worth buying 1 lb extra of grain per batch? Consider that. I have to admit that I'm a batch sparger and I run the liquors out pretty quick. Darrell asks about his big tasting rye. I would have to agree with Jeff on his assessment that its more due to the rye and flaked barley than anything else. however, you also have a pretty significant amount of vienna further contributing to a big bodied beer(atleast in taste even though the FG is normal level). I wonder how that pils that Doc Pivo and Graham or Phil brewed in the Outback with the flaked barley tastes relative to mouthfeel? Big or not? Pete Czerpak albany, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 06:08:42 -0700 From: Bob <2bobw at home.com> Subject: Cap experiment Being an alumni of THE GREAT HBD PALEXPERIMENT I would like to take part in, "THE GREAT HBD CAP EXPERIMENT" If accepted into the ranks let me know what I can do to help set it up. Bob Wilcox - -- ===================================================== Bob Wilcox Alameda & Long Barn Ca. 2bobw at home.com (use this address to reply) Draught Board Home Brew Club http://www.dnai.com/~thor/dboard/index.htm Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:26:49 -0400 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: cranberries Yes, pounds of fresh cranberries will do little harm in a beer. But nearly a litre of concentrated cranberry juice is a different story. An old colleague of mine used to work in the Ocean Spray processing facility and loved to tell the story of how the cement floor had to be replaced every other year because the cranberry juice would eat holes and rivulets in the floor very quickly. I imagine it would take 15-20lbs (WAG) of cranberries to get that amount of concentrated juice. I think, given enough time, the yeast would adjust and start fermenting. But it would have been more advantageous to let the fermentation get mostly through (and have the pH drop naturally over the course of the ferment) and *then* add the juice. I've made a few cranberry-wheats and this was a good way to make it work. Or, I could just be wrong. ;-) Cheers! Marc - -- Marc Sedam Chapel Hill, NC Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:37:54 -0500 From: Brent Hornberger <bhornberger at networkusa.net> Subject: re:Sanke Snap Rings Scott, You can get these from http://kegman.net/keg_kit.htm It provides all nessadary parts to convert over so you can take the ring off easy and they even provide the rubber gasket. They are pretty cheap. 4.19 for gaskek or retaining ring. Or 8.95 for the whole shabang. I also noticed that they have a Soda Keg to Sankey Converter for 37.00. That's kind of cool if you dont want to take your co2 tank with you and have a sanke hand pump. later Brent www.bcbrewery.com www.mullet-times.com >Anyone know of a source for replacement snap rings for >Sanke kegs? I'd like to replace the spiral ones (pain in the butt) >with normal 'snap ring pliers' type. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:16:46 -0400 (EDT) From: "Wayne D. Page" <wdpage at pinn.net> Subject: CAP Spuriment Pat and George, Count me in too! One question, can I use my normal 10 gallon corny fermenter or do I have to use a 5 gallon? - -- Wayne D. Page Brewing Deep in the Great Dismal Swamp Chesapeake, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:06:51 -0400 From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu> Subject: Experiment Pat, I think this is a great idea and am willing to help out in any way I can. I hereby offer my services as a yeast supplier and scientific consultant if either or both of these are in need. Let me know... -Alan Meeker Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:41:20 -0400 From: AJ <ajdel at mindspring.com> Subject: Water variations Denis asked WRT water treatment "How far off do I really need to be until I can taste the difference?" It's certainly a fair question but one that has no simple answer. An approach to getting one (an answer, that is) without leaving the armchair is to consider that the diversity of the worlds traditional beer styles was for the most part driven by the diversity of the worlds water profiles. This assumes local brewers made the most saleable beers from the water they had to hand hence the difference between the intense dry hoppiness of English ales and the smooth, but still intense, hoppiness of Bohemenian Pilsner can be attributed to the relative carbonate contents of Burtonian and Bohemian water supplies. And so on. To obtain a practical answer, by which I mean one that has application to one's own brewing, the brewer must do what few amateurs are willing to undertake. He must focus on one beer, formulate grist and hops bills and then brew that beer over and over again until he can produce the same beer from brewing session to brewing session consistently. At this point he has mastered control of process and can start experimenting with the isolated variable of interest: different water treatments. Everything else stays the same. The beers brewed with different water treatements must then be compared, preferrably,by others using triangle testing techniques. The problems in trying to do this on the hobby scale are evident thus most of what we, as homebrewers know, is based upon anecdote and what we glean from the literature. As an example of the latter, everyone knows that supplementing chloride will make the beer taste fuller and sweeter and that an excess of sulfate will profoundly influence the perception of hops. As an example of the former I offer the following anecdote which I've posted this here many times before but it is worth repeating because the lesson learned was so dramatic. When requested to give a water class for the local homebrew club (hello BURP people) I sought to illustrate that water does have a marked influence by brewing the same IPA twice on the same day (a long one) using my nominal well water for one batch and synthesized Burton water for the other. Both were good beers. The Burtonized one was pronounced the more authentic - the soft water one the better beer. Unexpected in this case was the way in which the yeast responded to the difference in water chemistry. The ester profiles were markedly different. If brewing water chemistry can be mastered to the point wher control of mash pH is understood then you can think of the flavor influencing ions in the same way as the other ingredients in beer and experiment with adjusting, for example, chloride ion content in the same way that you would adjust hopping level i.e. tweak it until you get a result you like. A.J. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:13:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Earl Atwood <earl_atwood at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Wyeast Woes... Todd Bissell writes of receiving a quality beer kit via UPS with the Wyeast pack already fully swollen, and wonders whether to attempt to use it. Todd, I would contact the supplier and request they ship an immediate replacement, or credit your account for the yeast so you can buy some fresh at a local supplier. I wouldn't recommend using the pouch because you can't be 100% sure the yeast is what made the pack swell up. Although highly unlikely, there is a remote possibility the wort inside the foil package has been attacked by some contamination. More likely, the small plastic packet inside the foil had some defect and allowed premature mixing of the components. In either case, why chance degrading the quality of your beer with a questionable yeast? Good luck. Earl Atwood ( earl_atwood at yahoo.com ) Cheyenne Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:48:51 -0500 From: david.persenaire at abnamro.com Subject: canadian border crossing Remember all the posts regarding packing homebrew for airline travel? I have a question to the knowledgeable Canadian brewing brethren. I am heading on a fishing trip into n.w. Ontario and we plan to drink nothing but homebrew on the trip. We have to fly-in a float plane to get to our fishin outpost. Due to weight considerations we plan on using those plastic bottles that have been recently introduced by American swill producers. I have to find someone who will empty those bottles before I can use them for higher purposes. That is one of my problems. I have discovered that less discriminating beer swillers have been actually drinking this stuff and then leaving the plastic bottles in garbage cans on golf courses with the lid screwed back on. I fill up my golf bag with empty light-weight brown bottles leaving someone else to consume it. My question is, does the Canadian government customs officials have any problems with Americans bringing in unlabeled brown bottles of beer? I know you are allowed to bring in one case per person before having to pay a duty. Do they frown on unlabeled bottles or does it pass just like any other beer? Any web-sites out there that have any official interpretations? I plan on crossing on the Fort Frances/International Falls border crossing in late July. Dave Persenaire Tinley Park, Illinois Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 12:03:08 -0400 From: "Donnie Lee" <dlee at accurateonline.com> Subject: Delirium Tremens Recipe I have recently discovered Belgian Strong Ales - the golden variety. While, I have long been a fan of Belgian Beer (Hoogarden, Celis, and Grimbergen being among my favorites), it is a task to get high ABV beer in Georgia. I discovered that there are a few liquor stores just across the border in TN that carry some high ABV beer. I, also, recently was able to try Delirium Tremens on tap at the Taco Mac in Chattanooga. I have decided that this beer is incredible and that I must be able to brew my own. I have been looking around for recipes and clones with my trusty friend, Google, but I haven't been able to come up with a good recipe. I have found a kit offered by brew supply in Texas, but I'd rather do it myself as their take on a Delirium Tremens may be different than mine. I think I have the basics of this recipe -- a pilsner with some candi sugar and good yeast -- but I'm not really sure about the yeast and other adjuncts, if any. If anyone has a good recipe or something pretty close, I'd love to take a look at it. Going into DTs over here. : ) Thanks, Donnie Lee Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:50:25 -0400 From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu> Subject: yeast questions 1) Todd received an already swollen yeast smack-pack in a beer kit. Todd, the most that the swelling tells you is that these yeast /were/ alive and growing at some point. When that was is unknown. If it has only been a few days and the storage temperature hasn't been too high then all may be well. On the other hand 99.9% of the yeasts in that pack could be dead as doornails. The safest course is, as you suggest, to buy a new pack and use that. The riskiest course is to simply pitch the one you have and keep your fingers crossed! In between these two extremes you could pour the contents of the already swollen smack pack to something like a pint or two of sanitary wort (you can make this by boiling some dry or liquid malt extract in water for about 20 minutes and allow to cool covered). If you see good evidence of yeast activity in a few hours then all is well and you can pitch the yeast. Good Luck! 2) Colin Marshall asked about adding yeast nutrient to starters: "I always culture my yeast (liquid or dry) in a wort consisting of 100 gms of dried malt extract per litre of cooled, boiled, oxygenated water. I have been contemplating adding a nutrient such as Lalvin Fermaid K or diammonium phosphate, particularly with lager yeast. Can anybody tell me whether this would be wise or foolish, and why?" You want your pitching yeast to be in the best possible condition they can be in. It's analogous to an athlete looking forward to a competition, he'll perform best when he is in tip top shape. Supplying your yeast starter with added nutrient (as long as it's not overdone) can only help bolster the health of your starter, just make sure you follow the manufacturer's directions for proper dilution. -Alan Meeker Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 12:16:38 -0400 From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net> Subject: How much "salt" to add? Since the subject of water conditioning is floating around, I thought this might be a good time to bring up something that I haven't seen mentioned here. First I guess I should say that the closest I got to chemistry was 30 years ago in college and last year helping my children with high school chemistry but here goes. When I estimate the weight of a salt to add, I try to take into account other elements that are in the substance I use. For instance, the container of Epsom Salts that I have is labeled: MgSO4*7H2O To me that means that every sample of Epsom Salts (by weight) that I use includes a significant amount of water. If I did the molecular weight business right, I get: MgSO4=(24+32+4*16)=120 7H2O=7*(2*1+16)=126. Thus, a sample of Epsom Salts is nearly 1/2 water [120/(120+126)]. SO if I want 1 gram of MgSO4 I need 2 grams of the Epsom Salts I am using. Am I right or am I all wet (or 120/246 wet)? What about the other common salts we use? Do they also contain other elements? Do they pick water during storage? Inquiring minds need a clue. Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY 0^45'49.1" North, 5^7'9.5" East of Ground Zero. ******************************************************************** *My goal: * Go through life and never drink the same beer twice. * (As long as it doesn't mean I have to skip a beer.) ******************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 15:20:53 -0400 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: starter beer Just as a note of support.... I can't remember who recommended making a small batch as the last yeast step-up (Marc Sedam?) but, I endorse it: I tried making an all-grain mini-batch to step my yeast up to pitching volume. That is, I didn't oxygenate continuously and I bottled up the 'starter beer' rather than decanting. I made a Kolsch as a starter for an Alt and the results were great. By having two batches side by side I got the opportunity to learn something about the character of the yeast and, I have a Kolsch recipe to tweak for a future full batch. Admittedly, brewing a 5L batch back in the kitchen like the old days was an awkward mess but, I think the results were worth it. Dave Riedel Victoria, Can. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 15:22:22 -0400 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: removing keg fittings How do you get the in/out fittings out of a corny keg? Are star-shaped wrenches available? I need to get in the poppets to clean and/or replace the springs.... Dave Riedel Victoria, Can. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 15:30:40 -0400 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: Want a copy of Guinard's "Lambic"? In an odd twist of fate, I accidentally ended up with two copies of "Lambic", by Guinard. This is one of the Brewers Publications style series books (first edition, I guess). It's a good book for anyone interested in Lambic-style brewing. Does anyone want to swap something for it? Easiest answer is a book for a book but, I'll consider any ideas you've got. Maybe even a few yeast cultures ? (I can only get Wyeast here) Dave Riedel Victoria, Can. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 16:47:30 -0400 From: "Kurt Schweter" <KSchweter at smgfoodlb.com> Subject: Re: fermenting in cornies I went from 6 gallon plastic conicals to fermenting in ten gallon cornies as I remember the conicals where 1:1 height to diameter and the cornies are in the range of 3:2 height to diameter after brewing the same ale recipe, batch size, yeast etc. I feel that my results can shed a little light on this subject finished beer from both are so similar that I feel that it's not worth worrying about the biggest difference it that the FG. is a little ( .003 ) higher on average, with the cornie the advantage I've found is the cornie is easily purged after aerating and pitching, with CO2 and then air is no longer an issue Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 18:01:54 -0400 (EDT) From: Ed Jones <ejones at sdl.psych.wright.edu> Subject: pH meter recommendation Greetings! I am in the market for a temperature-correcting pH meter that is reasonably accurate, easy to clean, with easily-replaceable contacts for about $100. Any recommendations? Thanks! - -- Ed Jones "When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness...I am confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery." - written by a wounded officer after Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 21:16:55 -0400 From: Liddil <jliddil at liddil.com> Subject: God be praised > Remember too that I studied HBD argumentation under the tutelage of > master Dave Burley. Tho' rain may roll off a duck's back it is > said that Dave owns no umbrella as rain will change course to avoid > his rejoinder ! > > -S God be praised Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 21:23:20 -0400 From: God <god at liddil.com> Subject: a test So how many dead lines can i get away with let's see Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 21:26:17 -0500 From: "elvira toews" <etoews1 at home.com> Subject: Montreal water Ca^lice, Denis! Montreal tap water decent?! As long as you are filtering out the Javex with carbon and an 0.5 micron membrane I guess! Being downstream from Thunder Bay harbour, Love Canal, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto and Cornwall is hardly decent, but sooner or later one does get thirsty. Seriously, though, my father brews with water from just across the river and from showering in the same water I would say it's only slightly hard and even less alkaline. So I would think that you would have to be duplicating the practices of the Pilsn brewers in every other detail before the water made the difference. As far as classic British ales go, there are many, many wonderful beers made in places other than Burton on Trent. They have every different kind of water imaginable and formulate their recipes accordingly. So unless you are set on duplicating bottled Bass, you can skip the gypsum and Epsom salts. So when you ask "am I just lucky to have decent tap water to start with?" I would answer, "no, you're just a decent brewer". Salut! Sean Richens srichens at sprint.ca Return to table of contents
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