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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Going on vacation? Going to be out of the office? (Pat Babcock)
  Re: Oxygen ("J. KISH")
  Re: Growing hops / Japanese Beetles ("Stephen Alexander")
  All Grain ("Colby Fry")
  RE: World Homebrew Competition ("John")
  UPS shipping woes - followup (Dean Fikar)
  What do YOU have? Cheer 'em on! (Beaverplt)
  calories, methane, etc. ("Dr. Pivo")
  Home brew powered robots, no really ("bsmnt")


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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 10:46:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock at hbd.org>
Subject: Going on vacation? Going to be out of the office?

Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...


Going to be out of the office? Going on vacation? PLEASE,
PLEASE, PUHLEASE! Set your vacation program to *NOT* respond to
any hbd.org addresses. We recently had incidents on the HBD and
another of our lists where vacation autoresponders set up loops
with the software causing their ISP's mail server and ours to
enter into a war of mail bombing. Being very efficient, the
servers were capable of sending HUNDREDS of replies back and
forth in a matter of minutes, swamping the HBD server while, in
at least one case, destroying their mailbox on their ISP.

If you use a "vacation" program, please set it specifically not
to reply to the hbd.org domain, and we'll be all set.

Thanks.

- -- 
 -
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




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Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2001 22:55:18 +0000
From: "J. KISH" <jjkish at att.net>
Subject: Re: Oxygen

The question of hydrogen peroxide as a source of oxygen
keeps coming up, Marc Hawley asked June 9. My answer:

 H2O2 is a powerful sanitizer. Why?  When it breaks down,
it releases oxygen.  A single atom of oxygen.  That's
sometime
called 'nacent oxygen', or "newborn" oxygen, and it's
looking
to burn something or combine with something real fast!  It
will
kill your yeast or other living things immediately.
  Oxygen appears in the atmosphere as O2, two atoms of
oxygen combined as one molecule of oxygen.  That's the kind
of oxygen that yeast likes.
   Oxygen bottles are not very expensive. Get one and blow
a cubic foot into your fermenter.  Then, when you rack your
wort to the fermenter, put a clamp on the end of the tubing
so that the wort "squirts" a little stream, and "splashes"
on the
bottom of the fermenter.  This will oxygenate the wort very
nicely.  Only takes a little longer and works like a charm!

        Joe Kish



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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 02:45:54 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: Growing hops / Japanese Beetles

David Burki asks 

>Anyone ever try preying mantis as an insect control
>method? Do a web search to locate a mail order
>supplier.

The long-term solution is obvious - get rid of your lawn.
No lawn roots for the grubs to eat - so no beetles.
No lawn to mow - so more time to brew.
No brown burn spots in the non existent lawn.
No need for 'lawn-mower' beers - so you can
  enjoy more serious brews.

 -S







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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:04:55 -0400
From: "Colby Fry" <colbyfry at pa.net>
Subject: All Grain

Getting ready to brew my first all grain recipe and have to ask a few
questions. Should be a rather exciting time at the Fry household on
Saturday.
1. Should I strain the liquor from the mash/tun before I start the boil?
2. Whats up with the "Cold Break" and do I strain that?
3. Should I use more grain than necessary on my first couple runs until I
get my efficiency up to par?
4. last but not least- When I sparge, is it kosher to press the grain bed to
gain the excess juice in the boiler?

Thanks for any response; personal or public.
P.S. any good starter grain recopies?
_________________
    ***   Colby   ***
   colbyfry at pa.net


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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:12:55 -0400
From: "John" <John at Ruthsx.com>
Subject: RE: World Homebrew Competition


The contest only ran in 96' & 97'.

I'm glad you brought this up!  Longshot Hazelnut Brown Ale was one of the
first microbrews I tried when the "microbrew fad" hit.  I loved it.  It
inspired me to try other beers and eventually led to this hobby I love so
much.

Fortunately I printed the recipes off of the WHC website before it was shut
down.  I have three winning recipes from that year.  An American Pale Ale,
the Hazelnut Brown Ale, and a Black Lager (Schwarzbier).

Email me if you're interested in any of these recipes.


JohnB
 



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Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 10:41:50 -0700
From: Dean Fikar <dfikar at swbell.net>
Subject: UPS shipping woes - followup

Greetings all,

Awhile back I posted a scary tale of nearly being denied shipment of beer to
an important competition (MCAB finals) by the semiliterate beer nazis at my
local UPS substation.   With the first round entry deadline of the AHA NHC
also looming large I was nearly panicked since I'd apparently worn out my
welcome at UPS.   I received many great suggestions from fellow HBDers as to
how to finesse this problem.  The most workable solution for me was offered
by two local brewing mavens, Johnny Thomasson and Jim Layton.  They
suggested that I take my beer to the local homebrew shop for shipping.  I
took their advice and have since shipped beer to two competitions with zero
problems.  Not only does it cost the same but the shop is closer to me than
the UPS substation is.  I also get to deal with the owners who are my
friends instead of playing cat-and-mouse games with paranoid close-minded
clerks at UPS.

I would think that this would be a good solution for anyone who has problems
like I did, assuming you live near a homebrew store.  If you do use them for
shipping I'd also suggest that you support them for purchases of homebrewing
supplies as much as possible since they make no profit on shipping beer, at
least at my store.

Dean Fikar
Fort Worth, TX



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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 12:02:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Beaverplt <beaverplt at yahoo.com>
Subject: What do YOU have? Cheer 'em on!

I have a local liquor store that has a vast selection
so my fridge usually has 5-20 different single bottles
of different micros. Rather than bore everyone with
those I thought I'd speak up for two local breweries
that have excellent beer. New Glarus Brewery in it's
namesake town and Capitol brewery in Madison WI. The
New Glarus Uf Da Bock and Capitol's Amber are tops on
my hit parade.

I just returned from a trip to Table Rock Lake in
Missouri and had my first Fat Tire at a pub on the
lake. Whoever listed that as part of their fridge made
a great choice. Now if I can find it here....

I also want to second the comment about buying micros
along with making your own. A lot of my homebrews have
been made because I liked a specific micro and looked
for a recipe to copy it.  

=====
Jerry "Beaver" Pelt

That's my story and I'm sticking to it



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Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 21:43:05 +0200
From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se>
Subject: calories, methane, etc.

Marc Sedam writes regarding evaluating the caloric content of the "left
over" FG:


>   It's just that the degree of breakdown in
> the various parts of the gut is too unpredictable to serve a
> useful purpose.
>

Which is exactly what I believe, and why you can't just give a number of
"carbohydrates", and know how much is going to get used.

He continues to expound, regarding our gut flora:


>  They can take care
> of the dextrins and produce methane along with a bit of
> sulfur
>
Now personally, I've never considered "methane" as having much "food
value" or "nutritional status".

I regard methane as falling under the category of "entertainment".

Any real "flame off", is entirely dependent upon it's production, to
produce any interesting results at all.

In fact. the production of the "blue flame", has such local historical
significance, that I firmly believe it has exhibited a genetic influence
on the local inhabitants, with some individuals having been the product
of an evolutionary process, that allows them to do performances that
would do honour to a Chinese New Year.

Indeed, this gaseous production, has been so closely tied to local
culture, that it has influenced the behaviour, habits, and customs.

People no longer greet each other by "shaking hands"....... for fear of
falling prey to the ol' "pull my finger" trick.

Now, if the residual dextrins in beer can contribute to this
fascinating, and wonderful hobby, then I think it is all the more reason
to imbibe it.

Frankly, I think it will have a hard time competing with the "deadly
trio" of Sauer Kraut, hard boiled eggs, and onion rings..... but I am
willing to accept the possibility, and the "triangle test" is already
forming in my mind on how to access this.


As to "calories" and the numbers I presented, many have pointed out that
the numbers I presented were probably closer to the KJoule value.

Not surprising, considering the metric part of the world I live in.....
but still a bit surprising..... since I LOVE metric measurements
(because I can do them in my simple mind), with the exception of the
replacement of the "calorie" with the "Joule".

It seemed such a wonderful thing, to make so many things based on water
(which is the basis of both life and beer).

1/100th of the basic unit of length (a centimeter)... make a lilttle box
that size and you get one "cc". That is the same as 1/100th of the basic
unit for volume (a millilitre)... which if it's water, is the basic unit
of "weight" (a gram)....... How nice it is to take the difference
between freezing and boiling of water and divide it into a hundred parts
and call that the temperature scale (Centigrade)........

Indeed, how nice it is to say: "Let's make one cc (or ml., or gm.) of
water, get heated one degree, and we will define that as out basic unit
of energy (a calorie)".

I suppose if you are measuring motors in "dynes" then a "joule" is a
handy unit to have.... but in "life processes" I'd sure hate to loose
the "calorie".


But let's face it.  When the original question was raised, and what
people are really interested in, is not the "delta-G-prime" kind of
calories..... but EXCESS calories in thier diets.

As we all participate in the modern practice of: "Let's continually, and
gradually, engorge ourselves to death.", it is nice to know where the
excess is coming from, and where we can cut back.

In my case it is quite obvious, that each and every day, the major
caloric contribution to my diet is "beer".

In that sense, my "rule of thunb" that a protein is equal to a
carbohydrate, and a fat is worth twice as much, while alcohol is about
half way in between, can be quite handy.

When I feel the bulge beginning, that doesn't let me into my pants, or
inhibits me from swinging a leg up on a bicycle...... I can easily
calculate just how much meat, vegetables, grains, and fruits I'll have
to cut back....  in order to maintain my present rate of beer
consumption.

Dr. Pivo




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Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 22:00:42 -0400
From: "bsmnt" <bsmntbrewr at home.com>
Subject: Home brew powered robots, no really

Brewers,

Home brew is responsible for the next generation of
robots...sorta.  Check out the article at the following
link. I cringed a bit while reading since it...well you'll
understand I think.

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues01/jul01/
phenom_jul01.html


Bob Bratcher
Roanoke, VA
Star City Brewers Guild
http://hbd.org/starcity






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