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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  More Bud, and Judging Quality ("Peter Garofalo")
  Not enough time to brew ("Linda Grant")
  Re: LOCAL POST: where's the good beer in NYC? (Matt Walker)
  Introduction ("Leppihalme, Miikkali")
  Healthy News ("Dave Burley")
  CAP and cream ale recipes (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Commercial beers and competitions (Mark Kempisty)
  Fix maibock ("Micah Millspaw")
  Heartland Brewery (NYC) (Spencer W Thomas)
  Two-Hearted Ale (Kevin Kutskill)
  American Beer Month Slogan Contest ("Paul Gatza")
  Philly competition -judges needed! ("birman")
  Triangle Testing ("Peter Garofalo")
  pH meter buffer solution (William Graham)
  rims questions ("Gary Smith")


*
* 10th annual Spirit of Free Beer entry deadline is 5/11/02
* Details at http://www.burp.org/events/sofb/2002/
*
* 2002 Bay Area Brew Off entry deadline is 5/20/2002
* Details: http://www.draughtboard.org/babopage.htm
*
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* http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping
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* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
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Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 21:35:19 -0400
From: "Peter Garofalo" <pgarofa1 at twcny.rr.com>
Subject: More Bud, and Judging Quality

Bill Frazier asks:

>Peter...Does A-B take steps to remove cold break after wort leaves the
>counterflow chiller and prior to pitching yeast?

Sorry, I don't know, though I suspect this is true. Maybe some of our
friends in St. Louis have some contacts and could find out.

Then, Don Lake hits a nerve, in commenting on judging:

>Overall I am satisfied.  I hate those judges who can't express
>themselves in the English language.  I once received an two-word
>response on a section of a score sheet that said, "needs malt."  This
>neanderthal was no help to me.  I'm not complaining about the score - it
>seemed to be accurate and consistent.   For Christ's sake, some of these
>judges should enroll in a composition class at his local community
>college.  In general beer judges should take a lesson from the wine
>people and work on being more expressive with the written word.

Easy, Don. Remember that beer judges are just average folks, not unlike
yourself. Well, like me, anyway...;-) Seriously, this is a pet peeve of
mine. It's the main reason that I jumped in and began judging, reaching the
dizzying height of Exam Director (Damn you, Sapsis!). I really feel the need
to work on improving the judging pool, and I think I can see some positive
results over the last few years. We (the BJCP) have a great group of exam
graders and Associate Directors who give excellent feedback to the
examinees, which is where it all starts.

This sort of situation (poor remarks on score sheets) has also been a hot
topic on Judgenet of late. It may make you feel somewhat better that most
judges (at least the ones who post!) agree about the poor comments.

I have written countless times on Report to Participant forms for examinees
to work on descriptive prose, a la Jackson. Hopefully, it hasn't all fallen
on deaf ears. I've personally been accused of writing essays on score
sheets, and I pride myself on thoroughness, if with poor penmanship.

The best way to improve the judging "gene pool" may be to jump in yourself,
Don. We'd welcome you, I can assure you.

Cheers,

Peter Garofalo
Syracuse, NY
BJCP Western Exam Director
(did I mention that Sapsis is a putz?)



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Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 22:06:36 -0400
From: "Linda Grant" <downthere at charter.net>
Subject: Not enough time to brew

I brew all grain and try to brew during the week as weekends are already busy.
I am thinking of trying to start brewing after work and after I finish the
sparge, just put the lid on the kettle and put it in the fridge for the night.
Then the next day after work, start the boil.  Does anybody use this
technique?  I know I will have to cool it all down, then just reheat again,
but I think it is better than staying up all night.

Steve in Greenville, SC
(City that needs a HB store & club)




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Date: Tue, 07 May 2002 23:51:47 -0700
From: Matt Walker <matt at suckerfish.net>
Subject: Re: LOCAL POST: where's the good beer in NYC?

> Where's the good beer in NYC?

Check out http://www.nycbeer.org/. I've heard many good things about d.b.a.
but have never been there.

Cheers!

  -- Matt



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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 09:56:47 +0300
From: "Leppihalme, Miikkali" <leppihalme at quartal.com>
Subject: Introduction

G'day, HBD subscribers. I subscribed yesterday and think it's
in order to introduce myself to the list.  So here goes.

My name is Miikkali Leppihalme and I live in Finland, in the
small southern town of Lohja. I'm a newbie in brewing, about
to start my first batch today, just after I've finished reading
the first section of John Palmer's "How to Brew". Then I'll be
annoying you with all my questions that the book doesn't answer to.
   In the name of accuracy I must say that actually it's my second
batch. I tried brewing once before, when I was a teenager with no
appreciation towards beer, except for imbibing on light and
unbalanced mass lagers. Back then I made a batch from Cooper's
Draught extract. (My beer wasn't very good, just about drinkable
and it foamed like a dish detergent. Better hygiene would have
probably helped some...)
   Since my teenagehood I've developed a taste for top-fermented
beers, especially English bitters and porters, my favorites
being Fuller's ESB, Fuller's London Porter and Ruddles County.
Last summer I visited Duesseldorf, Germany, and fell in love with
Zum Uerige altbier.

My first batch of ale is going to be produced from a Muntons beer
kit named Old Conkerwood Black Ale to which I'm going to add 100
grams of Cascade pellets for aroma. I fancy a strong hop aroma and
a strong overall taste too. The kit says it's for 40 pints, roughly
23 litres, but I think I'm going to make it 34 pints (roughly 20
litres) for a bit stronger taste.

So cheers to everyone! I'll probably be pretty quiet on the list at
first, just read and get a feel of it.

Miikkali


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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 08:16:01 -0400
From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net>
Subject: Healthy News

Brewsters:

One of my correrspondents send me this heartening bit of news from a German
five year study ( how can I join?) of 200 men who took part in enjoying
longing looks at busty beauties a few minutes each day.

The results? A ten minute look at a well endowed female is equivalent to a
30 minute aerobic workout in a gym. How efficient can you get?

To quote: " There is no question that gazing at breasts makes men healthier"
The increased heartrate and blood circulation cuts the risk of a stroke and
heart attack in half and men should live four or five years longer. And they
thought we were crazy and debauched.

SO sit back, drink beer and look at pictures or the real thing.  In case
they're not hers and you get discovered by your SO just say. "But, Honey,
I'm doing this for my health."

Keep on Brewin'

Dave Burley







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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 14:00:52 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: CAP and cream ale recipes

Brewers

After my suggestion that you all brew a CAP (or Classic American 
Cream Ale if you lack lager ability), I've received several requests 
for recipes.  Rather than repeat these, I suggest that you go to the 
archives from last June and read the last article in
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/3669.html

and the first article in
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/3670.html

for parts 1 & 2 of "CAP and cream ale recipes".  This is pretty much 
my latest thoughts on the subject, even though it's been nearly a 
year.

Jeff
- -- 
***Please note my new address***

Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 14:04:52 -0400
From: Mark Kempisty <kempisty at pav.research.panasonic.com>
Subject: Re: Commercial beers and competitions

Dennis Collins wonders what commercial beers are accurate
representations of the various style categories.  I have wondered how
these beers would fair if slipped into the competition in their
appropriate category.  I have gotten such divergent opinions on some of
my entries, You have to wonder if the samples were mixed up.

- --
Take care,
Mark




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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 14:06:42 -0500
From: "Micah Millspaw" <MMillspa at silganmfg.com>
Subject: Fix maibock


>Phil Wilcox asks:

>"Did anyone else brewing Maibock this weekend get the funny feeling
>George Fix was laughing at them as they went through that torturous
six stem
>mash program??? ...just kidding George!!!"

I brewed the Maibock and faithfully stepped off the mash. Very time
consuming but it must work because I over shot the OG. The massive
amount of yeast pitched was impressive as well.

thanks George

Micah Millspaw - brewer at large



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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 16:14:56 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Heartland Brewery (NYC)

I found my brief tasting notes from my visit to Heartland Brewery on
Union Square in NYC on 4/29.  Tasting conditions were not ideal, in
particular, I got very little aroma from the 5oz tasting glasses.  The
notes are transcribed almost directly from the coaster on which I
wrote them (and are thus pretty short, much less than I would write on
a BJCP score sheet, that's for sure.)

Indian River Light: Light, crisp, and fruity with a hint of coriander
(orangey).  Like a clear Wit beer?

Cornhusker Lager: Light and grainy (maybe some diacetyl?) Crisp
bitterness, no hop character.

Harvest Wheat: clean and cloudy.

Red Rooster Ale: Nice malty balance, with some complexity in the malt
flavor.

Indiana Pale: Hops! 

Farmer Jon Oatmeal Stout: Chewy and roasty. Yum.

Grateful Red Lager: Malty with a touch of green apple.

Old Faithful Steam: Fruity and hoppy with balancing malt. Good steam
style beer.

I liked the Oatmeal Stout and the Steam the best. The Light was also
very good.  I thought that Pale was a big "coarse" in its hop
character.

=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI        (spencer at umich.edu)


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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 16:53:27 -0400
From: Kevin Kutskill <beer-geek at comcast.net>
Subject: Two-Hearted Ale

Phil Wilcox was wanting to know the progress in cloning Bell's
Two-Hearted Ale.

For those who don't remember, a couple of years ago, our club,
C.R.A.F.T. (Clinton River Association of Fermenting Trendsetters)
research, and discussion with one of the former brewers from Bell's, we
had a ballpark recipe to work with, and just needed to tweak the hop
schedule.  We had members from our club brew the same recipe, but every
member varying the hop schedule, according to a spreadsheet that we
worked out.  Below is the recipe that tasted the closest--you would need
to taste it side by side with the real thing to tell the slight
difference between the two.  BTW, any of you homebrewers in S.E.
Michigan, our club will be meeting at Dragonmead Brewpub in Warren next
week, May 15th, at 7 p.m.  Guests (and their samples of homebrew)
welcome!

INGREDIENTS (5 gallon batch)

7 LB. LIGHT EXTRACT
1.5 LB. AMBER DME
1/2 LB. CRYSTAL 40 L. (STEEP  at 150F. 30 MIN.)

(for those all-grainers, about 13 pounds Klages, 1/4 pounds Crystal 40,
mash temp mid 140's)
			
2 1/2 OZ. CENTENNIAL 9%  BOIL 60 MIN.
1 1/2 OZ. CENTENNIAL 9% 30 MIN.
1 OZ. CENTENNIAL      DRY HOP
			
WYEAST XL 1056, or Kalamazoo Brewing Company yeast from YCKC, or
captured from fresh bottle of Bell's	

STARTING HYDROM.	1.058   
FINISH HYDROM.	1.012	

Let me know if there are any questions.

Kevin
beer-geek at comcast.net




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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 16:50:16 -0600
From: "Paul Gatza" <paul at aob.org>
Subject: American Beer Month Slogan Contest

Hi everyone. Want to win a cool G for being creative about beer verbage?

The American Beer Month campaign is looking for the perfect short phrase to
sum up American beer for the long-term campaign to raise the image of beer.
John Hickenlooper of Wynkoop Brewing has put up 1000 dollars to the person
who comes up with the slogan selected by the American Beer Month core
committee. To check out the background info and enter the contest, visit
http://www.beertown.org/IBS/ABM/index.htm. Thanks.

Paul Gatza
Director--American Homebrewers Association
Director--Institute for Brewing Studies
Association of Brewers
736 Pearl St., Boulder, CO, USA 80302
+1.303.447.0816 ext. 122
mailto:paul at aob.org
www.beertown.org



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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 19:43:03 -0400
From: "birman" <birman at netaxs.com>
Subject: Philly competition -judges needed!


HOPS-BOPS XIX is still in need of a few good judges.

If you can judge send me an email and check out the details at:

http://www.netaxs.com/~shady/hops/archives/hops-bops_2002/index.html

  thanks

   Joe
  birman at netaxs.com


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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 21:47:21 -0400
From: "Peter Garofalo" <pgarofa1 at twcny.rr.com>
Subject: Triangle Testing

Jeff Renner writes (from the center of the brewing and sourdough universe):

>At MCAB-1 in Houston, I participated in a triangle taste test with
>home brewed beers that were first wort hopped or not (I think, we
>weren't told what was being tested at the time).  I never did hear
>the results (anyone know?).  Interestingly, one large table did
>better than the other at picking out the different one.  I think the
>testers may have thrown out all results thinking that something went
>wrong.  I think that the first table was filled quickly with
>interested and experienced beer tasters, but the second table had to
>be shanghaied.  Perhaps they weren't as perceptive or discriminating.

I had better 'fess up as the guilty party here. I lugged several 2-liter
Carbonator bottles from Syracuse, through Detroit, to Houston with my two
CAPs. I had hoped to have the best tasters in the land lend their tongues to
put to rest forever whether FWH was real or hokum. Well, as it turned out,
the only opportunity we had to try the test was after a long day of judging.
With help from Louis Bonham and a few others, we assembled a couple of taste
panels and poured dozens of samples. Things were getting hazy, and the test
was inconclusive. In other words, not significantly better than random
chance. Perhaps we didn't wave our hands sufficiently...

I do recall that Jeff swore he could tell the difference (and he was
correct), and I suspect this is due to his fresher palate at the time.
Anyway, it was a nice idea that didn't work out because of less than optimal
conditions. It's really difficult to properly pull this off unless it's all
you're doing.

BTW, the ales vs. lagers taste-off between Paul Farnsworth and George Fix
remains one of the highlights of the MCAB, and I've been to all of 'em. My
thanks to Louis for his continued efforts in pulling these off year after
year.

Oh, I guess I'm ahead of the Renner curve this year. My CAP is done
lagering, and tastes great. Listen to Jeff, and make one!

Cheers,

Peter Garofalo
Syrauce, NY





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Date: Wed, 08 May 2002 21:06:58 -0600
From: William Graham <goldencity1 at attbi.com>
Subject: pH meter buffer solution

Great gods of blue-collar chemistry-
    I have a new, super-whamodyne pH meter, but it needs to be 
calibrated with a 7.01 and either a 4.01 or a 10.01 solution. Any nice 
way to make these solutions? I imagine it will be a small amount of 
something and a large amount of water to minimize weighing error. 
Anyway, I have a scale that measures to the tenth of an ounce.

Thanks muchly
    Bill
        In malty-smelling Golden, Colorado

PS. Dave - welcome back!! Don't go ... I need someone below SA's ivory 
tower view ( not that it's bad ), and above the yahoo's that keep asking 
for an extract version of Fosters. ( FlameSuit.enabled(true) )



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Date: Wed, 8 May 2002 22:47:49 -0500
From: "Gary Smith" <mandolinist at interlync.com>
Subject: rims questions

Hello all,

I just sent this question to a RIMS player but if anyone 
has experience with these questions, I'd appreciate 
ideas & suggestions.

paraphrased... here goes:

Since Bill quit selling at movingbrews, I'm kinda in 
limbo. I need to have some answers re: rims but Bill 
was the 'continuity' to my project & now he's out of the 
picture. I've got a few questions but not sure who would 
know about the answers. If anything sounds familiar, 
any ideas on your end would be appreciated.


1. Position of mag pump: as long as the pump is below 
the kegs, does it matter what position it's in? I'm 
concerned about the impeller spinning & causing 
cavitation/bubbling in the liquid.

2. I have a custom rims chamber from Movingbrews. 
My central tube is 24" long to accommodate an extra 
long Ultra low watt density element. Should the fluid be 
flowing from the distal end of the element to the 
threaded end or is the fluid (& temp. probe) at the other 

Do you have a reason you feel one way is better than 
another?

3. I am planning on placing my element horizontal as 
that would give me more room to play with. I can 
arrange the rims chamber to be vertical but horizontal 
would be easier. I'm wondering how much loss of sweet 
liquor I'll loose in the rims & I'm wondering about 
bubbles being trapped in the chamber if it's horizontal.

Any thoughts on this or any bubble problems you can 
see ( HSA concerns ).

4. Cleaning the setup. My setup uses liberal use of 
Movingbrews polysulfone quick disconnects & Norprene 
tubing which will handle the temperatures even from the 
boilkettle.

Do you RIMS users dis-assemble the rims chamber 
after use or do you clean whatcha got with chemicals & 
leave the rims chamber intact?

What chemicals do you use to clean if that's your route?

I need to get a false bottom for a sabco keg. The outlet 
will be on the bottom, not the side. I've got one from 
Sabco but it's pricey. Any inexpensive source for a 
decent clone?

Any inexpensive source for 1/2" ID Norprene tubing?

Thanks & Cheers,

Gary

Gary Smith

http://musician.dyndns.org

"Man is a social creature who does not like his fellow 
beings"
     - Mark Twain -




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