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


Contents:
  BOOTS and help with finding bottles (Richard Stern)
  Re: bottles, extracts (rdg)
  Boots (Nick Pine)
  Thanks for Kegging Info (Bo Viger)


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Date: Fri, 30 Dec 88 08:43:27 mst
From: Richard Stern <hpcslb!rstern>
Subject: BOOTS and help with finding bottles
Full-Name: Richard Stern


Hello!
Jay Hersh mentioned a friend who had brewed BOOTS ale, and I'll admit to
being that person (hi Jay). The kit was given to me by the owner of the
neighborhood beverage mart. I did NOT use the liqued yeast that came with
the kit; it looked very milky and I used my old standby, Muntana (or something
like that) ale yeast. If I remember correctly, the brew was not very memorable
(maybe that's why I'm having trouble remembering :-) ). Anyway, the can

had the graphics on the metal, as opposed to a paper wrapper, so we kept the
can and used it to hold caps.  All of this is no help to someone trying to
find BOOTS extract, except to maybe say that it's not worth the bother.

I'm having trouble finding bottles. When I was living in Troy, NY (hello to
all the Troy Homebrew Club members), I used the 16 oz. returnablebottles that
came in a hard cardboard case. In Colorado there seems to be no such thing.
I've been to a few bars already, asking for cases of empty Bud long necks and
am not having much luck. I'd prefer to bottle in 16 oz (less washing) but

I'd settle for 12 oz if I can find them in the hard storage cases. 
Can folks out there (especially those in Colorado) tell me where they get
bottles??  Are the non-returnable (and non twist-off) bottles thick enough
glass??  Am I really going to have to drink commercial beer until I have 
enough bottles?? Thanks for any help you can give!!

Later,
Richard Stern
rstern at hp-col.hp.com


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Date: Fri, 30 Dec 88 10:50:29 MST
From: rdg
Subject: Re: bottles, extracts
Full-Name: 	Rob Gardner	


>  						 My 2 favorite brands are the
> Ireks and Alexanders Pale. I used to use Munton and Fison almost exclusively
> though I wasn't ever convinced there was a great difference between that 
> and John Bull or Edme. 

This is highly consistent with my experiences. Too bad I can't find the
Ireks locally anymore.

>  or extra dark DME. The one brand which I have little respect for is the
>  Superbrau products from N.C. I find their only virtue is that they're 
>  inexpensive, but I think the quality is inferior.  Alexanders on the other
>  hand is an excellent quality malt, 

Ditto! The difference here is obvious if you read labels- the Superbrau
lists corn syrup (!!) as an ingredient, while Alexander goes to great
lengths to advertise that they use no adjuncts, etc.

>  	I also have never used sterilizing agents (like campden tablets)
>  in them. I don't use those for meads either and don't see any need to. For
>  mead there will typically be little or no wild yeasts, especially if you 
>  boil it down or hold at a sterilizing temperature (+180F) so
campden tablets
>  are unnecessary. For ciders I have found that the added champagne yeast 
>  will quickly displace any wild ones, as its growth is more vigourous.

But, if using campden tablets reduces one's anxiety, and helps one to
relax and not worry, then they are certainly worth using. I have used
them in all my meads and wine.

>   On another subject could someone with a microscope and stains
> tell me if Saran Wrap fresh off the roll is relatively bacteria free?

Fascinating question! What do you plan to do with the saran wrap, if
I might ask?

>   When I prepare to bottle, I put my cleaned bottles in my oven and
> bake them at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, then let them cool overnight.

Don't bake bottles in your oven- it might make you give up brewing.
Here's what happened to a former friend of mine: He was baking his
bottles in the oven to sterilize them, and the labels caught on firU,\031

Unprintable characters found, message truncated


From: somewhere!hp-pcd!hpfcmr!rdg
Subject: Homebrew Digest for December 31, 1988
Date: Sunday, 01 January, 1989 1:00AM

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