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


Contents:
  Old Ale (Seth Adam Eliot)
  Uses for spent grain (Michael Alan Gauland)
  Hops, honey, and septic tanks (doug)
  hops info (mage!lou)
  Other uses for yeast? (Enders)
  Trappist Ale Yeast (Enders)
  Brewpubs in New Orleans? ("Gary F. Mason - Image Systems - MKO2-2/K03 - 603884[DTN264]-1503  01-Apr-1990 0440")


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Date: Fri, 30 Mar 90 04:22:36 -0500 (EST)
From: Seth Adam Eliot <se08+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Old Ale


A reccomendation for anyone who wishes to try some STRONG stuff.

Theakston's Old Peculier is an Old Ale (also known as a Stong Ale) and
is the closest thing to Barley Wine you'll find in this country.  Quite
tasty too.

 -Seth

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Date: Fri, 30 Mar 90 08:53:50 PST
From: Michael Alan Gauland <gaulandm at tekigm2.men.tek.com>
Subject: Uses for spent grain


In Digest #388, Lynn Zentner asks about using spent grain.  The kit we 
bought included a suggestion about using hops in bread.  After boiling our
first (and, so far, only) batch, I simmered the spent hops for about 20
minutes, then used that water to make some Honey-Whole Wheat bread. Delicious!
I'll have to buy some hops especially for baking; we go through bread a
lot more quickly than beer!

- --Mike Gauland
gaulandm at tekigm2.men.tek.com

P.S. We'll have to dry  "Waylon's Crystal Malt Dog Cookies".  Our dogs
were pretty interested in the smell of our beer; I'll bet they love the
taste in their cookies!


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Date: Fri, 30 Mar 90 19:37:57 EST
From: hisata!doug at gatech.edu
Subject: Hops, honey, and septic tanks


Several postings of mine have been lost in the electronic netherworld.
So I'm reposting an abbreviated version.  Apologies if some of this has
been seen before and I missed it.

Regarding the recent debate as to whether honey is a preservative,
according to "The Hive and the Honeybee" (Dadant and Sons, 1975 edition),
it does indeed have antibacterial qualities.  "One property, a definite
anti-bacterial effect was reported in 1937...and called "inhibine."  It is 
measured by the effect of a sample of diluted honey on the growth of bacteria
inoculated on a plate, and was found to be heat sensitive."  In 1963,
it was found that "the inhibine effect was due to hydrogen peroxide produced
and accumulated in diluted honey by the enzyme glucose oxidase, during its   
action on honey glucose to form gluconolactone (which equilibrates with
gluconic acid).  It is heat sensitive; the amounts vary with floral type and 
previous processing history of the honey....Because of the high density 
and acidity of honey the non-sporeforming organisms that cause human 
diseases cannot live in it.  It was shown some years ago...that various
pathogenic bacteria were killed when introduced into honey."  (p. 503)

Note:  "non-sporeforming organisms."  The only spoilage I know of that can
occur with honey, other than granulation which isn't really spoilage,
is fermentation.  Most dark, thick honey doesn't contain enough moisture
to permit this to happen.  But honey is very hygroscopic, so unless it's
kept sealed, it will quickly gather enough water to permit fermentation.
However, I have honey, sealed in jars, that is several years old, and 
it tastes fine.  And, when I've been a bad apiarist, I've left honey stores 
on the hive over the winter, without enough ventilation in the hive.  Bees can
produce a prodigious amount of moisture, such that there are drops of water
on the inner cover of the hive.  In the Spring, when I finally remove the
honey to extract it, I found a thin layer of mold growing on the caps
of the comb, and a smell of fermentation in progress.  (The honey
still tastes good, though.)

So the answer is, yes, honey is a preservative.  However, since this
quality is heat-sensitive, it's probably lost in boiling honey in making
mead.  So in this application, honey probably isn't a preservative!

Now, on to hops and their medicinal qualities.  In "A Modern Herbal"
by Mrs. M. Grieve (1931), we find that hops "have tonic, nervine, diuretic
and anodyne properties.  Their volatile oil produces sedative and
[Pete] Soporific effects, and the Lupamaric acid or bitter principle
is stomachic and tonic.  For this reason Hops improve the appetite and 
promote sleep."  John Lust, in his "The Herb Book" (1971), says hops are 
"anodyne, diuretic, febrifuge, hypnotic, sedative, tonic.  Hops are most 
commonly used for their calming effect on the nervous system.  Hop tea is 
recommended for nervous diarrhea, insomnia, and restlessness.  It will also 
help to stimulate appetite, dispel flatulence (!), and relieve intestinal 
cramps."

And lastly, the septic tank.  I've been having problems with mine, the 
details of which I will spare you.  However, in researching causes and
cures, I found, among the recommended items NOT to add to the tank, is bleach.
Of course, bleach is a powerful disinfectant.  Let's see, how much bleach
has gone down the drain since I started brewing...?  Needless to say, 
all my sanitizing solution will henceforward be dumped onto the driveway!
Those of you with "country plumbing" heed this warning.  Also, another
no-no into the septic tank is colored toilet paper.  Fortunately, I
don't use any of that in my brewing!

Gardyloo!
Doug 
 



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Date: Sat, 31 Mar 90 13:43:08 MST
From: hplabs!mage!lou
Subject: hops info

In digest #388 Dan Krus writes:

>  Does anybody know if there has been any comprehensive information
>on hops published (e.g., Alpha content, flavor characteristics,
>bouquet, etc...).  If so, where?

The AHA will provide, at low cost or free (I don't remember) a one-page sheet
called "The Zymurgist's Guide to Hops".  This gives a range of average % Alpha
content, storage stability, and subjective bittering characteristics for 27
varieties of hops.  Unfortunately, it says nothing about flavor or aroma.

Louis Clark

reply to: mage!lou at ncar.ucar.com


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Date: Sun, 1 Apr 90 12:00:27 -0500
From: Enders <enders at plains.NoDak.edu>
Subject: Other uses for yeast?

     After following the discussion on using spent grain, I got to wondering
about usse for the other brewing by-product, namely yeast.

     Could you use the yeast left over after fermentation for something else
such as baking?  Anyone try this?  How did it work?  Seems like something
worth trying!

     I'm waiting for a shipment of goodies to arrive, and hope to have a nice
batch of IPA going next weekend.  I also want to try brewing a Vienna lager.
Anyone have a good recipe (preferably all grain)?  I see GFSR has Vienna malt,
but $1.95/lb seems a bit steep.  Anyone have a less expensive source?

     The IPA will be my first experiment in all grain brewing, and will also
be the first test of small scale mashing as my production facilities will only
allow me to make a 2 gal. batch.  Should be FUN!

Todd Enders                 ARPA: enders at plains.nodak.edu
Computer Center             UUCP: ...!uunet!plains.nodak.edu!enders
Minot State University      Bitnet: enders at plains
Minot, ND 58701


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Date: Sun, 1 Apr 90 12:29:56 -0500
From: Enders <enders at plains.NoDak.edu>
Subject: Trappist Ale Yeast

     Is there a source for Trappist ale yeast other than culturing the dregs
from a bottle?  You'd think Wyeast or MeV would have one, but if they do, 
they aren't bragging about it.  This probably wouldn't be a problem if Chimay
were available everywhere (which it isn't :^).

     Also, is there a definative list of yeast strains available?  I've heard
that Wyeast, for example, has 16 or so strains available, but each supplier
stocks the strains it wants, and not necessarily the full line.  Any ideas?

Todd Enders                         ARPA: enders at plains.nodak.edu
Computer Center                     UUCP: ...!uunet!plains.nodak.edu!enders
Minot State University              Bitnet: enders at plains
Minot, ND 58701


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Date: Sun, 1 Apr 90 15:12:33 PDT
From: "Gary F. Mason - Image Systems - MKO2-2/K03 - 603884[DTN264]-1503 01-Apr-1990 0440" <mason at habs11.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Brewpubs in New Orleans?

I will be in New Orleans May 7-11.  Are there any brewpubs there?  Good
homebrew suppliers?  I asked the same question about Houston, and had a
good time at GingerMan's and DeFalco's as a result...thanks. Fuller's ESB,
yum, yum.

Gary

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #389, 04/02/90
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