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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  220 Volt ("Aldrich, Wayne  SCPO  USN")
  many things (steve-alexander)
  More on SG and alcohol ("Louis Bonham")
  RE: Boil Time ("Steven Parfitt")
  Re: Cornmeal (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Gypsum & Bottle Chilling (Jeff Renner)
  Dave Millers Books (Michael Fross)
  Son of a Chiller (Alan McKay)
  Stainless Bud Kegs? ("Rogers, Mike")
  cornmeal (Alan McKay)
  Outdoor cooker bargain alert (Cameron LiDestri)
  Re: SG & Alcohol  As of 7/1/02 (Demonick)
  Re: SG & Alcohol  As of 7/1/02 (Demonick)
  new guy wants to keg ("dan kehoe")
  "Boycott the AHA" -- Five years later (Part 1) ("Louis Bonham")
  "Boycott the AHA" -- Five years later (Part 2) ("Louis Bonham")
  The simple truth. ("Paul McFarland")
  Re: Homebrew Digest Request (July 02, 2002) (Kent Fletcher)
  Re: Wiring HELP !!! (Kent Fletcher)


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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 08:57:02 +0200 
From: "Aldrich, Wayne SCPO USN" <wayne.aldrich at eur.DTRA.mil>
Subject: 220 Volt

I live here in Germany where 220 Volt SINGLE Phase is the norm.  
I plan to bring several electrical appliances with me back to the States
(also Chicago).
I know the American standard for 220 Volts is provided by combining (2) 120
volt legs 180 degrees out of phase.
This trick requires a 3 prong plug (2) hot wires and (1) common.  
My European appliances are wired for single phase 220 Volts (1) Hot and (1)
common.  
How can I connect them to a 3 prong outlet for service in America?

Wayne C. Aldrich
The best audience is intelligent, well-educated, and a little drunk.
 - Alben W. Barkely
(1877-1956)






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Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 09:09:27 +0000
From: steve-alexander at att.net
Subject: many things

Pete Calinski speculates on a refractometer reading 
given alcohol in the solution, but his definition of 
Plato ...

'Plato' *ONLY* represents a relationship between the 
amount of *cane*sugar* extract as a %weight (mostly 
sucrose) in solution vs the specific gravity(SG).  When 
we apply the term Plato to wort or beer we are in a 
state of sin.  Only cane sugar solutions accurately 
follow Plato scales.  Wort extract is 80% carbs, 65% 
fermentable and only a few percent of that is sucrose,  
much of the rest is protein & amino acids etc, but the 
Plato extract is probably close enough to wort extract 
(w/in a few %) for a given SG to permit the use of Plato 
as an approximation.  When we write that a certain wort 
is P% Plato what we really mean is that it has the same 
SG as a P% Plato cane_sugar solution.  We don't know the 
relationship between P% and the true wort extract% - but 
it is not exactly 1-to-1 and it varies from wort to wort.

Measuring instruments that float to a level in wort/beer 
are using Archimedes principle to measure *density*.  
Density & temperature will allow us to *approximate* SG. 
With SG and a Plato scale we can  *approximate* wort 
extract % from SG.  The error is modest for wort, but is 
very inaccurate (unusable) for beer.  The "Pros" use the 
Plato scale and so do pro journals, but the reality is 
that density is all we really know from any floating 
instrument.

Given SG and FG we can approximate %alcohol or the %
remaining_extract, but this requires assumptions about 
the wort extract type, fermentability and the efficiency 
of the yeast conversion and use of carbon for yeast 
biomass.  They are good approximations and nothing more.

Refractometers measure light refraction and nothing 
more.  Most refractometers come with a scale that 
relates refractive index to Brix, Balling or other scale 
similar to Plato.   The Brix scale only applies to the 
Brix standard solution (sucrose ?) and not to wort or to 
beer.  It may give a reasonable approximation of wort 
extract (cruder than a Plato hydrometer I think) but a 
terrible one for beer. 

- --
The shift in index of refraction is about 2.5% greater 
for maltose than sucrose, and greater yet for higher 
higher dextrins.  Proteins&amino acids cause a much 
greater IofR shift (~1.5 times greater than sucrose) and 
alcohol a more modest shift (less than half the sucrose 
value).

A 5% ethanol solution gives a similar IoR reading as a 
2.1% maltose solution, so beer IoRs will read a few Brix 
high, while Beer SGs will read several Plato low 
compared to the amount of carbs left in the beer.

The ethanol in beer can be accounted by either method, 
(hydrometry or refractometry)but it's complex and 
approximate.

>they have
>refractometers at a good price.

A refractometer with crummy optics is never a bargain so 
check out the return policy or find a review of the 
refractometer.

=============================

Paul Kensler writes ...
boil time and wort composition

>Someone recently told me that boiling for 90 minutes
>vs. boiling for 60 minutes would make for a less
>fermentable, fuller-bodied beer.

There will be a microscopic reduction in fementability 
and a corresponding difference in body under normal 
circumstances.  A *tiny* additional amount of wort 
sugars form caramel and maillard products during the 
additional boil.  It will probably not be noticable by 
anything other than a chromatograph.

>Will the 90 minute boil wort be
><significantly differant than the 60 minute boil wort,
>as far as fermentability, body, mouthfeel, flavor

NO!  Except the longer boil may reduce DMS levels 
noticably in certain lager malts.

==========

David Mackaway writes ...
re: US Electrical System - 240V

>Can anyone explain to me the electricity setup in the 
>US.

Homes in the US get 240vac, but the 240vac transformer 
(at the street or nearby) has a center-tap.  The center 
tap line is called 'common' and either of the ends are 
referred to as 'hot' wires.  The voltage between the two 
hot wires is 240vac at 60hz.  Between either hot wire and 
the comoon it's 120vac at 60hz.    Most of the circuits 
from the breaker box carry 120vac (one hot wire and the 
common) to standard outlets, plugs, lighting etc.  High 
power devices (electric clothes dryers, electric ovens, 
air conditioners ... ) have the full 240vac circuit 
routed (two hot wires).  240 circuits require a 240vac 
breaker be placed in the breaker-box which connects to 
both of the 120vac hot lines.

A third wire representing an earth ground is also routed 
to all modern sockets & 240vac circuits, but not to 
lights or older style (pre 1960s) outlets.   The earth 
ground design permits the use of ground-fault-circuit-
interrupter(GFCI) sockets which are often required in 
kitchens, baths, basements. You can also obtain GFCI-
breakers for some makes of breaker-box.  GFCIs break the 
circuit if there is any current mismatch in the two 
current carrying wires (for example if you are being 
shocked). GFCIs add considerable to the price (maybe $15 
extra for a 120vac socket pair and $40 extra for a 
breaker) but are a good idea in a brewing situation.

If you are handy with electricity you can get all the 
required parts for adding a 240vac brewery circuit at 
most hardware stores.

There is sadly no  US standard 240 plug&socket 
receptical design. There are 3&4 prong connector pairs 
comonly used for ovens & dryers, but these are awkward  
to connect/disconnect.  I prefer the round 3 wire twist-
lock type for my 240 power tools. 

 -S


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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 04:14:56 -0500
From: "Louis Bonham" <lkbonham at houston.rr.com>
Subject: More on SG and alcohol

Pete raises a couple of other points:

>I tried to use the posting from 7 Jan, 1999 before I posted the
original on the subject but I couldn't get it to match ProMash.  

Assuming you meant the formula I posted on Jan 9, 1999, there was a typo
in it (corrected in the Jan 12, 1999 HBD).  And there will be a bit of
slip between that formula and ProMash because in ProMash we were able to
use the full version of the various underlying formulas rather than the
truncations I used in coming up with the "pen and paper" formula.

As far as Pete's suggestion about coming up with "calibration" solutions
of sucrose and isopropyl alcohol, I don't think this will get you
anywhere.  (If you want to use something as a calibration solution, use
Bud or Coors . . . don't laugh, the ABV and SG of these beers are
readily available, and their QA/QC tolerances are probably smaller than
most of our measurement errors!)  Even assuming that isopropyl alcohol
has the same RI and SG as ethanol, as noted before beer has lots of
other stuff in it with varying refractive indices.  For this reason, the
various refractometry formulas (e.g., Berglund, Emlington, and
Rassmussen regression equasion cited by DeClerck) were derived from
empirical data (SG, ABW, RI) from lots of beers . . . and even then, the
confounding affect of these other substances affects the utility of
these formulas.  

I'm afraid this is kind of like the search of the "perfect" IBU formula
 . . . it's just not there.  These kind of formulas are pretty good at
estimating things, and may be "good enough" for our purposes as amateur
or small scale brewers, but because of the complex nature of beer
they'll just never provide the kind of accuracy that one associates with
quantitative lab assays.

LKB
  



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Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 08:14:14 -0400
From: "Steven Parfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Boil Time

Boil 60 Minutes or boil 90 minutes?

If boiling removes water, then longer boil times will translate into higher 
SG, and higher concentrations of non-fermentables which contribute to mouth 
feel, head retention as well as sweetness and other flavor components.

At 1.5G/H evaporation rate, you should loose .75 gallon additional water. 
The question is, is this accounted for.

If the specific gravity of the wort (post boil) is the same in both cases, 
then this is a null statement.

Steven, -75 XLCH- Ironhead Nano-Brewery  http://thegimp.8k.com
Johnson City, TN [422.7, 169.2] Rennerian

"Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes.... I prefer 
to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the cost of my own." Otto von 
Bismarck




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Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 08:28:37 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Cornmeal

"John Misrahi" <lmoukhin at sprint.ca> wrote:

>If I want to use corn meal in a mash , in place of brewers' flaked corn, do
>I need to cook it first?

Yes.  The starches of corn and rice do not gelatinize and become 
available to the amylase at mash temperatures the way raw barley, 
wheat and rye do.

To cook, add about 30% malt ("premalt) (that's 30% of its weight, not 
30% of the malt in the recipe), mash for 20-30 minutes at 153F or so, 
then bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes for cornmeal or 
broken rice, longer for grits or polenta.  Then add to your main 
mash, which you have already mashed in at a proper temperature to 
accommodate the heat of the cereal mash for the next step.

Be sure to use plenty of water for the cereal mash, and adjust the 
minerals as you would for the main mash.  This means low alkalinity 
for a pilsner.  1.5 quarts per pound is not too much.  I mash in an 8 
qt. pot in a preheated oven at mash temperature, then bring to a boil 
and cook on the electric stove with a trivet or heat diffuser between 
the element and the pot.  This helps prevent scorching, but you still 
need to stiff frequently until you establish a boil and can turn the 
heat down to a simmer.

I just brewed a CAP yesterday for our daughter's wedding in August. 
It was 95F outside and hotter in my garage with the burners going.  I 
used the mash schedule I have settled on - mash in at 145F, rest for 
30-45 minutes while boiling the cereal mash, add the cereal mash, 
which brings the combined mash to about 160F (you may need to add so 
boiling water or heat), and rest another 30-45 minutes.  This 
produces a wort with high fermentability for a crisp pilsner.

Be sure to use degermed cornmeal, not whole corn meal, which has the 
oily germ present.

Jeff
- -- 
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: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 09:04:30 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Gypsum & Bottle Chilling

Nils Hedglin <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> or Sacramento, CA writes:

>   I made some oatmeal stout last week & since we have a water softener, I
>was going to add some gypsum.  Unfortunately, I was almost at the end of the
>mash when I realized I didn't know when to add it.  Should it go in the mash
>liquor, or in the boil?  I'm assuming the former, but added to the boil just
>in case.

Several things here.  First, the water salts do generally go in the 
mash to provide calcium ions to aid in the achieving the proper pH 
for conversion.  But with a stout and the acidity of dark malts, this 
is not as important as with a pale beer.  It depends on the 
alkalinity of your water.

Now to another item - you say you have a water softener.  I assume 
that you also mean that you used the softened water for the brew. 
While it might not have caused a problem, especially in this brew, 
it's not a good idea to brew with softened water.  An ion exchange 
softener replaces each calcium and magnesium ion with two sodium ions 
and leave any alkalinity unchanged.  so you are removing the desired 
calcium ions and leaving the generally often unwanted (at least for 
pale beers) alkalinity.

Finally, a style consideration.  The sulfate in gypsum (calcium 
sulfate) is generally considered to accentuate the dry bitterness of 
the hops, and oatmeal stout is a softer, less dry stout.  I don't 
think I'd use gypsum for it.

In general, you should add water salts to brewing water based on a 
reason, not just a recipe.  Recipes don't often take into 
consideration the differing natures of brewing waters.  For oatmeal 
stout, I would think you'd want sufficient calcium for mashing (50ppm 
or greater), sufficient alkalinity to balance the dark grains, and 
low sulfate.  You might not have needed to add anything.

Of course, in the end, you beer will likely do fine.  Beer wants to 
be made.  Don't worry, let us know how it turns out and we'll add to 
the body of knowledge.

>   Also, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that if you chill a bottle of
>beer too fast, it might gush.  Is this true?

No reason I can think of for this to be true.  The CO2 in the warm 
beer is at supersaturation, but it's still in solution.  When the 
beer is colder, it can hold more CO2, but it won't take any time for 
it to achieve greater solubility.

>I had batch of brown ale that
>I bottled last week, in a room that was about 80 degrees.  I stuck it in the
>freezer for about 30 minutes & when I opened it, it gushed out all over.
>I'm really hoping it's not contamenated or that I over carbonated it.

What's more likely is that it wasn't thoroughly chilled in 30 minutes 
and it gushed because the beer couldn't hold as much CO2 as it could 
if it were colder.  If it doesn't taste infected, it probably isn't. 
Of course, it may be overcarbonated.  Let a bottle chill in the 
fridge a day and see.

Jeff
- -- 
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: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 08:25:58 -0500
From: Michael Fross <michael at fross.org>
Subject: Dave Millers Books

Hello all,

I'm a big fan of Dave Miller's "The Complete Handbook of Homebrewing."
I noticed that Dave had a new book out called "Dave Miller's
Homebrewing Guide"
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882669052/103-1683071-4450222)

Ok, it may not be new, but I just noticed it.

I'm wondering if this is a different book or an updated version of the
one I have.  I hope it is as that is my favorite  book.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Frosty



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Date: Tue,  2 Jul 2002 09:45:19 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net>
Subject: Son of a Chiller

Aaron asks about problems with his Son of a Fermentation Chiller.
The instructions clearly state that you can not use a digital
thermometer, so that's likely the proble he is having.

cheers,
 -Alan

- -- 
http://www.bodensatz.com/
The Beer Site 


Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 09:45:49 -0400 
From: "Rogers, Mike" <mike.rogers at eds.com>
Subject: Stainless Bud Kegs?

I was given some Bud kegs in 1999.  I have since fitted the kegs and have
been actively brewing with them for the last year.  Are these Kegs
stainless?  I assume yes, as the shavings from when the tops were removed
did rust just a bit before I cleaned and ready the kegs for duty.  What
grade of stainless are these Kegs?  I'm sure the keg makeup is common to all
AB kegs, rather than regional in nature.  So, I'm assuming again that all AB
kegs are stainless.   It must be a simple question for the individual with
the right knowledge, of which I'm sure resides somewhere within the HBD.
Ps.  I checked the archives before posting,,,I hope the questions are not
redundant.

Thanks in advance,

Mike Rogers
Cass River Homebrewers - Mid Michigan
www.hbd.org/cassriverhomebrewers
mailto:mike01_rogers at yahoo.com



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Date: Tue,  2 Jul 2002 09:45:52 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net>
Subject: cornmeal


John,

I have always cooked my corn meal first.
Someone once told me that it still has some oils in it and so
is not optimal in beer.  But I never was able to confirm that,
and never had a problem with it.

cheers,
 -Alan

- -- 
http://www.bodensatz.com/
The Beer Site 


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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 06:54:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cameron LiDestri <clidestri at yahoo.com>
Subject: Outdoor cooker bargain alert

Hi, I'm a long-time lurker emerging from the shadows. 

I just got a flier in my local paper from Ocean State Job Lot stores.
They have a propane turker cooker setup for sale for only $40. Don't
know if it's any good, but the price is right. I already have one, so
I didn't check it out, but I thought someone here might be
interested. I don't know where any other stores are located, but
there's one here in Milford, CT.

Returning to the shadows with a tasty ale...

 -Cameron LiDestri



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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 07:02:35 -0700
From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com>
Subject: Re: SG & Alcohol  As of 7/1/02


On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Pete Calinski wrote:
> ...
>(And why is it Demonick in the "From" field and Domenick in the "sig" field?

I have a devilish streak and someone near and dear to me monikered me
thusly.




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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 07:35:03 -0700
From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com>
Subject: Re: SG & Alcohol  As of 7/1/02


On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Pete Calinski wrote:
>Anyhow, as I said, I was trying to find a method of making "calibrated"
>solutions that simulate the solutions that evolve during the fermentation
>process.  These solutions could then be used to correct the readings from a
>refractometer (or other device for that matter). So for a first
>approximation (excluding differences between wort and sucrose for now),
>could I use distilled water, table sugar and isopropyl alcohol to reasonably
>approximate the solutions found at, say 4 points in the fermentation
>process?  To use Steve's example of OG=1.0483, or OP=12, I could make a
>solution of 13.6 mg of sucrose in 100 ml of H2O.  That would yield:

Watch your units.  A 13.6 P solution has 13.6 GRAMS of sucrose in 100 grams
of solution, or 1.36 grams of sucrose in 10 grams of solution, etc.  That
is, one milliliter of pure water at 4 C weighs one gram.

I've been using a refractometer in brewing for a few years and once the
refractometer is calibrated with a reference solution it agrees to within
0.001 with my hydrometer on my wort samples.  I suppose my hydrometer could
be off, though I know it is accurate at 1.000.  So, the first thing you
need to do is calibrate your refractometer(s) with known sucrose solutions,
and calibrate your hydrometer.

You may want to use Everclear (ethanol) instead of isopropanol.  If you
can't find Everclear, try some 151 rum.  Adjust your solutions for the
proof - 1 proof = 0.5% ABV.

Since there is much more glucose (dextrose) in wort than sucrose you may
want to use corn sugar (dextrose) rather than table sugar (sucrose).  You
could probably devise a way to use CliniTest to determine the glucose to
sucrose ratio :-)  It might be interesting take a known weight of wort and
evaporate all the water, weigh the residue, then make a standard solution
with the residue and test for glucose content.  If you assume that ALL the
residue is glucose and sucrose, you might get a good idea of the glucose to
sucrose ratio.  Of course it is wort specific.

>How can I get a handle on how much this method is in error?

My guess is that there is NO LESS eventual error in your method than in
just using a calibrated refractometer and calling it good.

Domenick Venezia
Venezia & Company, LLC
Maker of PrimeTab
(206) 782-1152  phone
(206) 782-6766  fax
Seattle, WA
demonick at zgi dot com
http://www.primetab.com





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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 17:06:19 -0400
From: "dan kehoe" <dan.kehoe at verizon.net>
Subject: new guy wants to keg

hi all. i am relatively new to the brew world (again) i took a few years off
after just starting to brew and have nothing but sucess thus far. i
typically do partial grain batches 5 gallons at a time. my problem is that,
even brewing a batch every 3 weeks or so, i cant keep the stuff around.
(hey, i like to drink, what can i say?) so, i would like to make larger
batches and keg them, so i can keep some brew around. i know NOTHING about
kegging and would like to find a good resource, like a "kegging for idiots"
any place you gods can reccomend that i can look online for a start? thanks.
hoppy brewing, dan



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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 20:41:03 -0500
From: "Louis Bonham" <lkbonham at houston.rr.com>
Subject: "Boycott the AHA" -- Five years later (Part 1)

Greetings all:

With all the well-deserved raves about the recent AHA National Homebrew
Conference, I think it is appropriate for us to reflect on how far the
AHA has come in the past few years.  (The following thoughts are mine in
my individual capacity, and do not necessarily reflect those of the AHA,
its Board of Advisors, or anyone else.)

Long-time denizens of the HBD will recall that five or so years ago, I
was one of the more vocal critics of the AHA in this forum and in
r.c.b., and goodness knows there was plenty to criticize.  The
organization had become totally out of step with most homebrewers,
Zymurgy had become a very bad joke, and member/customer service was
awful.  NHC's were being run "top-down" by the AHA, which engendered
lots of grumbling from the local clubs who did most of the work.  There
was an AHA Board of Advisors made up of various appointed amateur
brewing luminaries, but from most accounts it was a token entity that
the AHA bureaucracy could (and usually did) ignore.  Many of the shots
out of Boulder were being called by a non-brewer who attempted such
ill-advised moves as trying to replace the BJCP and Home Wine & Beer
Trade Association with AHA-associated and controlled organizations,
which didn't win the AHA any friends.  At one point the AHA tried to run
the HBD, and did such a horrid job that it very nearly died (but for Pat
Babcock and Karl Lutzen riding to the rescue, it would have).
Meanwhile, Charlie Papazian was seeing his salary increase to
stratospheric levels, while appearing to be spending most of his time on
extended world-wide pub crawls on the AOB/AHA dime.  Many aspects of the
AOB/AHA's finances appeared suspect, but management refused to allow
members to see even basic records such as IRS Form 990's (by law, these
were supposed to be made available on request to the general public).
Worst of all, there was no democracy whatsoever in the AHA, and thus
there was nothing AHA members could do about these problems except quit
- -- which they did by the thousands.

Fast forward to the present.  Thanks to a lot of genuinely hard work by
Paul Gatza and what is for the most part a new crew in Boulder, the ship
has been righted.  Ray Daniels has brought Zymurgy back to being the
premier amateur brewing magazine.  NHC's are now run by local clubs with
the assistance of the AHA staff, with spectacular results.  In response
to member suggestions, there are many programs in the pipeline to
provide more value for AHA members, such as the Pub Discount program, a
member discount program, the Lallemand Scholarship, student/associate
MBAA and ASBC membership opportunities, and creation of a speakers
bureau for local clubs to tap.  The former imperial "AHA only" tone from
Boulder is gone, with the AHA now actively and genuinely reaching out to
work with other organizations to assist their efforts to promote amateur
brewing (e.g., MCAB and the BJCP).

[continued]




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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 20:41:20 -0500
From: "Louis Bonham" <lkbonham at houston.rr.com>
Subject: "Boycott the AHA" -- Five years later (Part 2)

[post continues]

Democracy has also come to the AHA.  The voting members of the Board of
Advisors are now all elected by the AHA membership, and include several
former AHA-skeptics such as myself and Pat Babcock.  The Board meets
year-round by e-mail, and the the AHA staff in Boulder takes their
advice seriously (indeed, many of the programs coming out arise from
Board of Advisors suggestions).  AHA members also now have a genuine
voice in the running of the business affairs of the AHA *and* its parent
organization, the Association of Brewers, by virtue of the fact that
three members of the AHA Board of Advisors sit on the AOB Board of
Directors.  (FYI, the AHA BoA members currently serving are Dave
Houseman, Alberta Rager, and as of last month, yours truly.  The craft
brewers' arm of the AOB, the Institute for Brewing Studies, similarly
now elects three of its member-elected advisors to the AOB Board.)
Charlie's salary and travel issues have also been addressed, with
Charlie voluntarily taking *very* substantial pay cuts, curtailing his
trips (which are now subject to Board of Directors oversight and
approval), and from most accounts Charlie is now taking a much more
active role in running the day-to-day affairs of the AOB.

Five years ago, I issued a call for people to boycott the AHA until it
changed its ways and became the kind of organization that deserved our
support.  I think the AHA has reached that point.  While the AHA isn't
perfect -- there is still work to do --  I firmly believe that the
changes are real, that the bulk of our criticisms have been or are being
addressed, the structures for member-driven improvements are in place .
 . . in short, we've gotten just about all of the things we wanted, and
the AHA now deserves our support.  Thus, for you AHA-bashers out there,
perhaps it's time to declare victory and move forward.  

For those of you who have never been AHA members, I ask you to consider
joining -- both for the benefits of being a member and to help us
promote beer appreciation and the craft of amateur brewing.  For those
of you who used to be AHA members, I ask you to take another look --
it's *not* the same organization we all used to know and, shall we say,
not love.

All the best -- 	Louis K. Bonham
			lkbonham at hbd.org



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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 20:46:56 -0500
From: "Paul McFarland" <Hawkfueler at neb.rr.com>
Subject: The simple truth.

Howdy all,

Thanks to everyone that posts here.  By passing along your knowledge you
have helped me. and numerous others to brew better beer.

I myself started brewing back in 1994, brewing extract batches.
And since then have gone to all grain, or extract with partial mash brewing
(depending on the recipe and time available).

The knowledge a home brewer can be exposed to here at HDB has done more to
improve my brewing skill than anything else.

For new brewers I would tell them the same things I learned either here
(From fellow brewers in HBD) or on my own.

1. Mr. Beer type kits suck, they brew god awful beer.
2. If you brew extract brews use DME not liquid extract.
3. If you want better beer, move up to partial mashs, or all grain.
4. Keep brewing and improve your recipes  / beer.
5. You have to be drinking a home brew when you are brewing or the beer gods
get pissed and make things go awry.

Currently drinking my "Midnight Madness" Imperial Stout" while my
"Sand Hills Pale Ale" finishes in secondary, and my awesome "Atomic Red"
amber ale is bubbling along happily in the Primary.

Keep Brewing!!

Paul



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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 19:56:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest Request (July 02, 2002)

In HBD 3977, Charlie asked about:
Looking for a place to get ss false bottom material
to use as a bottom for the cooling tray on a coffee
roaster. The archive search just gives me an 
error message. Can someone help? Charlie
  
Charlie,
Check out
http://www.mcmaster.com/param/asp/desc.asp?esc=
Stainless%20Steel%20Perforated%20Metal&descid=32494
cut and paste as needed in your browser. They
(McMaster-Carr) have both 304 and 316 in a large
array of thicknesses, hole size and spacing.

Kent Fletcher
brewing in So Cal





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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 20:29:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Wiring HELP !!!

IN HBD #3978 Aaron asked for help with using a digital
thermostat (for a 'son of ferm' chiller): 
"The Thermo has 4 terminals marked R, W, G, Y
R-power in
W-Heating and Heating damper
Y-AC and AC damper
G-Fan

When I connected a wire from either AC terminal on the
adapter to the R 
terminal on the thermo...Nadda!!! Any ideas??"

Aaron,
You didn't mention the make and model of thermostat.
But since it (from your description) doesn't have a C
(common, sometimes labeled BK for black) terminal, it
is either battery operated, which shouldn't be too
hard to figure out;), or it is a "power stealing"
model. For power stealers, the circuit is completed
once you connect the R (red, or power) to one of the
transformer terminals, the Y or G to one fan wire, and
the other fan wire to the remaining transformer
terminal. The thermostat uses milliamps, and the fan
will pass this current without actuating. When your
stat calls for cooling (or heating, you can hook up a
heating element through a relay to the W terminal)
full current flows through the fan to operate it. With
the fan connected to Y, it will only operate when the
stat calls for cooling. Connected to G, you can also
manually switch it on using the Fan key on the stat.
If you use thermostat wire it will help simplify
wiring. Check the current requirement on your computer
fans, make sure the two of them don't overdraw your
transformer.

Kent Fletcher
brewing in So Cal



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