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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Re: Reusing Yeast (Phil Sides Jr)
  RE:  Reusing Yeast ("Parker Dutro")
  re: hop plant question (Paul Kensler)
  re: reusing yeast (Paul Kensler)
  Re: Infected beer??? (Jeff Renner)
  America, You gotta love it! ("Jim")
  Zymurgy Errata and Value (Ray Daniels)
  AHA turnaround? (David Harsh)
  Re-using yeast (LJ Vitt)
  Re Reusing Yeast ("Hedglin, Nils A")
  Re: Mark Tumarkin comments (Sean McDonald)
  re: cooling wort with dry ice. (mike.sharp)
  Mold in Oak Cask (mohrstrom)
  BYO vs. Zymurgy--a little late to the game, but what the hell (Marc Sedam)
  New Data Point ("Phil Yates")
  RE: Reusing yeast ("Doug Hurst")
  RE: Re-Using Yeast ("Peter Myers")
  2002 California State Fair Results ("Sam Hernandez")
  Another recipe . . . . ("Louis Bonham")


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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 01:49:14 -0400
From: Phil Sides Jr <phil at brewingnews.com>
Subject: Re: Reusing Yeast

John Maylone <mrkoala at mac.com> asks:

>Could someone give the name of a good book on saving, preserving and reusing
>yeast?
>
>
>I am still brewing from extract kits, and most of what I make uses one or
>two yeasts..........seems silly to keep buying that when it's there to
>reuse.  A Dick and Jane level reference book would seem to be in
>order........

Take a look at http://www.wyeastlab.com/hbrew/hbyewash.htm.  That will get 
you started.  I have a couple of books which are out of print as far as I 
know.  One is Yeast Culturing for the Homebrewer by Rog Leistad.  You may 
see copies of this one floating around for sale.  A quick Goolge search 
found this one http://homebrewer.zoovy.com/product/600645.  The second book 
is The Fungus Among Us by Yuseff Cherney and Dr. Chris White.  I heard that 
a third edition of this one may be in the works... check with White 
Labs.  I highly recommend both of these books.  First Steps In Yeast 
Culture by Pierre Rajotte is available from http://www.morebeer.com.  I do 
not have this book, nor have I ever seen it.  It looks to be a pretty 
comprehensive work though.  I'll have to check it out ;-)  Also be sure to 
check out the yeast links at http://hbd.org/brewery/Library.html and 
http://www.yeastculturekit.com/; there is some good reading at these links.

Phil Sides, Jr.
Silver Spring, MD

Need a good laugh today?
Join Altoidman's Humor List - http://www.altoidman.com



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Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 23:41:07 -0700
From: "Parker Dutro" <ezekiel128 at edwardwadsworth.com>
Subject: RE:  Reusing Yeast

My suggestion would be to invest in a good comprehensive brewing book,
such as C. Papazian's NEW COMPLETE JOY OF HOMEBREWING.  It'll be there
for you when you need it, for a long time.  I have lots of questions,
and until I loaned out my copy, I was constantly referencing and
studying.  Many guys will recommend many different books, but THE
BREWERS BIBLE, (a nickname for the NEW COMPLETE JOY.) is a good
all-round book.  I'm sure there's better books, some of Papazian's
method's are outdated and all the pictures are from at least the early
eighties if not before!  But it's been revised a number of times now,
and is solid.  Also check out www.howtobrew.com for loads of good info.

Good luck,
Parker Dutro


"Excuse me doctor, but I think I know a little something about
medicine!"
 -Homer Simpson






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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 06:23:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Paul Kensler <paul_kensler at yahoo.com>
Subject: re: hop plant question

David,
I planted a nugget rhizome late in the year last
summer (late for planting hops anyway - I think it was
June) and although the rhizome did grow a little bit,
it really didn't get very far before the autumn.  This
summer (its second year in the ground), its acting
like a new, freshly planted first-year rhizome.  So in
my experience, getting it in the ground for those few
summer months last year did absolutely nothing for
giving the plant a head start, but it didn't seem to
hurt it either.

Being as you're starting later than I did, and your
winters are surely more harsh than mine, I'd suggest
to keep the rhizome indoors and plant it next spring. 
I don't think the rhizome would die if you planted it
outside, but I don't think it would be of any benefit
either.


Hope this helps,
Paul Kensler
Gaithersburg, MD



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 06:27:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: Paul Kensler <paul_kensler at yahoo.com>
Subject: re: reusing yeast

I'd recommend checking out Wyeast's website
(www.wyeastlab.com) and taking a look at their
recommendations for homebrewers on how to clean and
reuse yeast using mason jars.  Its easy and it works
great.  My only suggestion is to use larger mason jars
 - I always seem to have much more yeast and trub left
over in my primary fermenter so I use quart jars (I
believe the website recommends pint jars).


Hope this helps,
Paul Kensler
Gaithersburg, MD



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 09:28:54 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Infected beer???

>Michael Fross <michael at fross.org>
>Subject: Infected beer???
>
>Hello all.
>
>I just racked my nut brown ale to the secondary, and the next morning
>I saw some while speckles on the top.  They look the same the next
>day.  I'm wondering if that is just yeast activity or if the beer is
>infected.
>
><snip>I was going to leave this beer in the secondary for
>a week or two.

I suspect that this is just tiny bubbles at the tops of streams of 
CO2 rising from nucleation points on the bottom of the beer.  I 
imagine that this beer has a bit more residual, slow fermenting 
sugars than ones you've done in the past (1.021 is a little high for 
the near end of fermentation for a 1.051 beer).  It's probably just 
slowly ticking over and as the CO2 is produced, it comes out of 
solution.

A couple of thoughts, though.  First, I find that the "top hat" air 
lock is harder to monitor than the "triple ripple" kind.  Personal 
preference, of course, but you probably will want to know if your 
beer is indeed still fermenting, and you can watch bubbles push 
through.

A secondary serves several purposes.  It allows you to rack your beer 
off trub, dead yeast, etc, and get it into a closed container, where 
it is more protected from contaminants and air as if finishes 
fermenting and settles out.  If you have very little head space, it 
the beer can stay there for some time.

However, you have quite a bit of head space, and it is probably not 
filled with CO2 as it would be if you had active fermentation, but 
rather with air (unless you blew it out with CO2).  This air can 
allow acetobacter (vinegar producer) and other aerobic critters to 
grow.  Some of them make white films on top of beer.  It is possible 
that this is what is happening.  You might want to bottle the beer 
earlier rather than later.

But, you want to be sure the beer is done fermenting so you don't 
have bottle grenades.  Your present 59% apparent attenuation (1.051 
 -> 1.021) is rather low.  Is this typical of your beers?  Did you use 
an extract like Laglander that finishes high?  Did you mash at a high 
temperature, or use lots of crystal?  These might all lead to a high 
FG from unfrementables.

However, if this high FG is due to a weak fermentation (from 
underpitching, for instance), then it could be problematic.  Monitor 
your specific gravity/bubble production to make sure it's finished, 
then bottle it.  If it seems too cloudy, you can use gelatine to fine 
it.

All of this is not to suggest you should worry, just some things to 
think about.  It's probably going to be just fine.

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: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 08:50:57 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
From: "Jim" <bermingham at antennaproducts.com>
Subject: America, You gotta love it!

One thing about America, you don't have to subscribe to either AHA's Zymurgy
or BYO magazine if you don't want to.  If you don't think your getting your
money's worth, drop your subscription.  I subscribe to both and will
continue to do so, unless I can talk my barber into dropping his "Field and
Stream" and replacing it with one of these.  Then maybe I can then get by
with only one subscription.
New subject: Membership cards and brewpubs.  I read with interest Gary Glass
and Erin Fay's account of using their card at the local brewpubs in Bolder
so I took my membership card into downtown Millsap (population 102)Saturday.
 "Joe Young's Corner Grocery and Chevron Station" Joe doesn't sell beer but
said if and when Millsap became "wet" he would be proud to accept my card
from such a great national organization as the NHA and the publisher of the
BYO magazine.  Next I was off to the "Millsap Small Engine and Chainsaw
Repair" Bubba, the owner of this fine establishment, was just a little
skittish in talking about a pub discount.  He said if the Texas Dept. of
Tobacco, Firearms and Alcohol was to get word that he was selling booze in
the back room they might shut him down.  I assured him that with all the
tobacco spit on the floor out front they would never go into the back room. 
Reluctantly he accepted but since he only carries Bud, Miller and Coors I
don't know how often I will visit.  Next the "Millsap Co-Opp Feed Store and
Peanut Dryer".  No beer here either.  They did say if I furnished them with
some of mine I could use my card to help them drink it.  No luck at the
United States Post Office, or the Millsap City Hall.  The Veterinarian's
office said I could trade some of my beer for some services of the Vets, but
only if they came to the ranch.  They also said they wouldn't accept the
card at the office, but would at the ranch.
Conclusion:  The card is great!  Merchants love it!  Just get out, waive it
in the air like Gary and Erwin did, and ask about the discount.
Jim Bermingham
Millsap,TX


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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 09:22:17 -0500
From: Ray Daniels <raydan at ameritech.net>
Subject: Zymurgy Errata and Value

Hello all,

First an item of housekeeping.  In the "Geeks!" chart on page 45 of 
July-Aug Zymurgy we inadvertently reversed the legend symbols for the 10- 
and 20-foot data lines.  My apologies to anyone who may have had difficulty 
understanding the chart as a result of this error.

Next, I want to thank those who have had kind things to say about my 
stewardship of Zymurgy.  It is ultimately YOUR magazine and I view my job 
as one of finding and presenting the cool, interesting and insightful 
things that you folks have to say about homebrewing.

Personally, I have been reading and writing about beer and brewing for more 
than a dozen years now and I continue to find new and interesting ideas in 
the content we present.  While there are a limited number of topics in this 
field, every author has a unique perspective, their own resources and 
different recipes.  Thus new ideas constantly emerge.  The freshness that 
results from those ideas is what gets me up in the morning.

I have to admit that I don't pay as much attention to BYO as I probably 
should.  After subscribing for a couple of years when it first came out in 
the mid-90s, I stopped getting it at all until earlier this year. Mind you, 
I've been friends with BYO publisher Brad Ring for many years and he does a 
great job of presenting their content.  It's just that when it comes to 
generating ideas, I have better sources of inspiration, including the HBD, 
the AHA board of advisors, the many cutting edge professional brewers that 
I work with and Charlie Papazian's constant stream of creative 
thoughts.   Add to that my own experiences visiting breweries and judging 
at homebrew and professional competitions and a library of more than 200 
brewing-related books both modern and historical that is three steps from 
my desk and I've got a constant stream of ideas.

As for Zym/BYO overlap, it would seem to be entirely coincidental.  You 
have to remember that the production process is slow and the time lines 
long.  We set our issue themes nearly a year in advance (we're doing it now 
for all of 2003) and that is when the general direction for each issue is 
set.  The specific articles are assigned four to six months before you see 
the magazine.  If we and BYO run similar stuff in the same issue then it 
would appear to be simply a matter of great minds thinking 
alike.  (Although occasionally an author will feed us both the same story 
at the same time---shame on them!)

And speaking of ideas/freshness, wait till you see the September-October 
Special Issue of Zymurgy focused on specialty and experimental brewing 
techniques:  low-alcohol homebrew, milk mead, innovative hopping, brewing 
with mesquite pods, and conditioning wooden barrels to make sour 
beers.  Show me anyone else with more new ideas in one issue and I'll eat 
their magazine!

Best regards,


Ray Daniels
Editor, Zymurgy & The New Brewer
Director, Brewers Publications
ray at aob.org

Call Customer Service at 888-822-6273 to subscribe or order individual 
magazines.

For more information, see www.beertown.org



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 11:09:10 -0400
From: David Harsh <dharsh at fuse.net>
Subject: AHA turnaround?

Our esteemed janitor wrote:
> So, folks, I am firm in my belief that the AHA has turned their
> tailspin into a 360' turnaround....

Umm...  I just can't resist pointing out that 360 degrees means no
change of direction.

It does seem as if the AHA has found a clue, though.

Anal-retentively yours, and don't forget the hyphen  ;)

Dave Harsh
Bloatarian Brewing League

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*  The world's largest keg-only homebrew competition  *
*        See http://hbd.org/bloat for details         *
*******************************************************



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 08:10:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re-using yeast


John Maylone asked about books describing saving and reusing yeast.

While this may not be exactly what he is asking for, I would recommend
Yeast Culturing for the Homebrewer by Rog Leistad.  It does into detail
about making yeast starters and slants.  On the HBD, I see the description
"yeast ranching".  I think this is what that is meant by that phrase.



=====
Leo Vitt
Rochester MN



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 08:25:48 -0700
From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com>
Subject: Re Reusing Yeast

>Could someone give the name of a good book on saving, preserving and
reusing yeast?  
>John Maylone

Hi,
  I came to the same conclusion a few months ago.  I got 3 answers when I
asked the same question:

1) When you're ready to rack from primary to secondary, just brew another
batch & use the same yeast & carboy/fermentation bucket.

2) Bob Barrett sent me this answer.  When racking the off the yeast, leave a
little bit of the wort on top.  Then swirl the carboy around to bring the
yeast into suspention.  Next, pour the slurry into a 1 gal ziplock bag.
Just store it in the frig until you need it next.  I heard that the bags
come sterile from the factory, so that shouldn't be a problem.  When you're
ready to pitch it again, just soak the bag & a pair of scissors in a
sanitizing solution & then clip on of the bottom corners off the bag.  That
way, you won't have to try to open the ziplock with your hands & possibly
get it mucked up again.  I used this process for my last batch of beer & it
seemed to work great.  It was recommended that you only use this method if
you're planning on using the yeast again in a few weeks.

3) Check out this document at Wyeast's website:
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hbrew/hbyewash.htm.  I haven't tried it yet, but it
looks pretty easy & thorough.

4) Another suggestion that a local brewer gave me is to go to a brewery &
see if you can get some of their yeast.  Since they toss a lot of it, I'd
bet they'd be happy to put it to good use.  I got a 1 qt Ball jar of yeast
recently & had fermentation in less than 3 hours.  

Most of the responses to my question were in the April 5th HBD digest, so
you can search the archives for the other answers.
Good luck,
Nils Hedglin
Sacramento, CA
(wondering what this Rennerian positioning this is)


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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 11:04:47 -0500
From: Sean McDonald <seanmc at irga.com>
Subject: Re: Mark Tumarkin comments

Mark,

- ------Eventually, it will be much more widespread and available; and
will become a
more valuable member benefit.

When? Where? How? I've made valid complaints/suggestions and all the
response I've
gotten is that "The plan for now is to be passive about adding pubs
while we iron
out any bugs that the program may have." Sorry, but to me that is either
laziness
and/or poorly worded response to a valid complaint.

- -------Even then, there will be some areas that have many participating
pubs and
others that have few or none. Still, given the number of requests on HBD
for brew
pub recommendations, it's pretty clear that many home brewers combine
travel with
beer hunting and may find this a welcome benefit even if they
don't have a local waterhole on the list.

I don't travel enough to utilize that aspect of the pub discount and if
there are
no pubs/bars signed up in my area then it is worthless to me. If that is
the case,
then what the hell is AHA doing for me, the average home brewer? Answer:
NOTHING.
I'm not interested in entering in beer competitions. I'm not interested
in
becoming a beer judge. I'm not going to spend $1,000's of dollars to
travel to and
attend AHA conferences'. I've been brewing for 7-8 months, and I've
already
outgrown Zymurgy. Besides, even if I haven't outgrown Zymurgy, I could
get it on
the newsstands for less than $38 per year. There's no AHA home brew
supply
discount programs offered by any shops in my area, they only honor
regional brew
clubs for discounts. Therefore, I ask again, what benefits am I deriving
from AHA?

- -------It's not you and them.... it's US. You say, 'their website',
their
conference', I'd like you to stop for a moment and perhaps try using the
words My
and Ours.

No, it's not "Us" or "We." That would imply that I joined a co-op -
where we work
for the organization, and in doing so we essentially pay for our
membership
benefits. Not sure about you, but I paid cash for my membership
benefits, and
thusly would like some return on my investment. Besides that, save your
J.F.K.
"Ask not what your association can do for you, but what you can do for
your
association," speech for someone that's dumb enough to buy into it.
Don't you
know, this is the consumer age. Companies, organizations and
associations need to
be smarter, faster and more efficient in order to survive and thrive,
the AHA is
falling vastly short of those. Would you go to a grocery store that
didn't have
any of the items that you needed or wanted, and the ones that they did
have they
over-charged for them? I would hope not!!

- ------For the last four years, it's been local clubs and home brewers
that have
organized, planned and run the conferences.... and with increasing
success. They
just keep getting better, organized and run by us... with help and
cooperation
from the AHA staff.

Well, if that's the case, why would I bother to join AHA and pay $38 per
year when
I could join a regional club and only pay $12 per year and derive the
same
benefit. You're really not making much of a case for the AHA here.

- ------There's not a lot of staff time and/or money to devote to projects
like
this. But it will start happening soon.

I have only a one word response to that "bull." The AHA, AOB and IBS
(it's
really all one organization, just with different membership tiers) has a
staff of
24 people and I'm sure brings in a fairly significant amount of income
through
membership dues, conferences, advertising and special programs (BJCP for
example).
Take it from someone that works for a non-profit association and deals
with
associations on a daily basis, that is a huge staff and a huge income
with very
little for return on benefits. Soon? How long has the AHA been around?
Approx. 25
years? And it hasn't happened already? Hmmmm, I guess your idea of soon
and mine
are extraordinarily different.

- -------Get involved in the AHA, be proactive with the brew pub discount
program in
helping to line up your local pubs. You'll be helping yourself directly
as well as
helping the rest of us.

Again, if I'm going do the work, then why do I bother paying dues to the
AHA? The
answer is this: Because my dues go to fund/support an AHA staff, so that
they can
do the work for me.

- -------Board of Advisors.... most of them are participants in the HBD.
Hmmm,
another example of them is us.

As far as I know, the HBD is independent of the AHA. Perhaps I'm wrong
about this,
but the HBD is not a program or division of the AHA or vice-versa.

Now, I'd like you to stop for a moment and ask yourself, what is the AHA
providing
to the average brewer. What are they getting from the AHA that they
could not get
else where? Disregard the NHC, home brew competitions and the BJCP,
because I
don't believe that the average home brewer participates in those kinds
of things.
And, if they do...I'd like to see the statistics on that (ie. membership
numbers,
participant numbers in those events, etc.).

We've already established that I can get home brew supply discounts
through my
regional club, and I'm sure with little effort I could get pub discount
through
that same regional clubs as well (for only $12 per year). Zymurgy,
though it's
nice to read, is not worth $38 per year, especially when I can get it
off the
newsstand for $20 something. The AOB forum is awful. The only traffic
that's been
on that is from me and my comments about the AHA.

In the future, you shouldn't be so quick to defend the AHA and disregard
the
criticism, because it is only by those methods that "we" the membership
make the
AHA work more for "us."

 - Sean McDonald
Average Home Brewer



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 09:15:56 -0700
From: mike.sharp at lante.com
Subject: re: cooling wort with dry ice.


Kevin Boyer asks about cooling wort with dry ice.

Dave Burley replies:
"Adding dry ice to a wort to cool it fast has one problem that I know of
and
that is the source of the CO2.  In the bad old days when this was a
by-product of coal burning, SO2 could be a component of dry ice, if memory
serves. Today with improved processes I don't know. You wouldn't want too
much SO2 in your wort or any other condensed gases. Ask your supplier and
remember that dry ice likely isn't food grade."

Much of the dry ice I've bought was made to order, using the same CO2 that
the gas supplier fills my tank with.  However this dry ice is not
compressed, and sublimates quickly.  I suppose it could be used to cool
wort, but it seems awfully expensive to me.  I imagine you'll end up with a
super saturated solution of CO2, but aerating the wort with a wine degasser
would probably fix that.

As the CO2 sublimates, it freezes the liquid around it, which in my opinion
reduces the efficiency, and slows the sublimation process down.  I'll bet
the CO2 vapors that bubble out of solution are pretty cold, which means
less heat removed.

A better method of chilling, if your tap water is too warm, would be to use
your CF chiller, or an immersion chiller to get the temperature down to,
say, 100F, then cut in a second immersion chiller sitting in your ice-water
filled sink to pre-chill the cooling water, and bring the wort temp down
the rest of the way.  If you don't have a second immersion chiller (I have
both a CF and and immersion, which is handy at times), but you do have a
pump, you can just fill a tub with ice water, and when the tap water
becomes ineffective, pump water from the tub through the chiller.

Fortunately for me, here in the Seattle area, our water temperature is
pretty low.  Even in summer, using a CF chiller, I can get the wort down to
pitching temp relatively quickly.  If its a 5 gallon batch, I just use the
immersion chiller, as it's easier to set up and clean.  Doesn't work as
quickly for the larger batches.

Regards,
Mike Sharp




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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 14:03:06 -0400
From: mohrstrom at humphrey-products.com
Subject: Mold in Oak Cask

Trouble in River City!

After returning  from a succession of road trips (including NHC  Dallas -
kudos to the Blue Man's Crew!), I have been catching up with a few brew
chores.  I opened the bung of my 15 gallon oak cask to find the there was
too much headspace, and mold had begun to form.  The cask had been filled
with a critic acid and water solution.  Is there any effective way to slay
the mold without killing all of my special friends (Oud Bruin cultures)?

IMOCR?


Mark in Kalamazoo



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 14:08:53 -0400
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: BYO vs. Zymurgy--a little late to the game, but what the hell

Much of what could be said, has been said...just not by me.
Ha!

I think people should look at the AHA as any other
professional organization--it's the professional
organization of homebrewers.  As with all orgs of a similar
ilk, there are four possible opinions:

1)  I participate and I like it (active member)
2)  I participate and I don't like it (this doesn't last
long)
3)  I don't participate and I like it (wallflower)
4)  I don't participate and I don't like it (the "bitcher")

I say to those who complain about the AHA, if you disllike
the AHA and you don't try to make it better then you have
little right to whine.  It's like complaining about the
president if you didn't vote.  Lots of us on the HBD were
AHA bashers, but were willing to put a little time and
effort into it and into Zymurgy to see if anything paid
off.  I say it has.  Sure, things are repetitive.  This is
beer, after all.  There are only so many ways to say "this
is how you make beer."  Look for shades of grey, tips and
tricks for improvement.  I recently read the Zymurgy for
Beginners magazine.  Now I don't need this magazine, but I
picked it up, read it, just so I could tell someone else if
it was worth reading or loan it out.  In other words, try to
help.  Someone else other than you may benefit.

That all being said, I do like the joie de vivre that BYO
brings to the table. It's certainly better now than it was
when it started.  I would say that BYO is good for the total
newbie and that Zymurgy starts to pique interest when adding
specialty grains to the mix comes into the picture.  But
Zymurgy is fine for beginners too.  Neither comes close to
BT in terms of scientific content, but that's not why they
are there.

Cheers!
- --

Marc Sedam
Chapel Hill, NC



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Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 09:03:18 +1000
From: "Phil Yates" <phil.yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: New Data Point

Doc Pivo (who seems to have settled at least for the moment back in Northern
Europe) has emailed me to say his kegs are making that terrible "phhhhht"
sound. I take it he is running out of beer and that "phhhhht" is the sound a
Northern hemisphere keg makes as it sucks the last remains of your brew.

Well I am sorry to hear that Doc. You will need to stay at home more and get
the supplies back up.

Interestingly though, here in the Southern hemisphere a keg emptying itself
actually makes a "whorrrrrrst"  sound rather than a "phrrrrrt". This is not
a matter for interpretation. I have turned my attention from HSA problems to
concentrate on this new mystery.

It's early days but I suspect that nasty Coriolis effect is rearing its ugly
head again. Whatever the case, the last thing a brewer wants to hear is
"phhhhht" or "whorrrrrrst" coming from his kegs.

I wonder what it sounds like on the north and south pole.

Phil
Deep in Investigation





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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 18:28:08 -0500
From: "Doug Hurst" <DougH at theshowdept.com>
Subject: RE: Reusing yeast

John Maylone wrote:

"Could someone give the name of a good book on saving, preserving and
reusing
yeast?"

You can culture and propogate your own yeast stock.  It can easily
become a second hobby.  I've done some culturing and it's really not as
difficult as it sounds when you read the descriptions.  You do need to
work under virtually sterile conditions as opposed to the sanatary
conditions needed for brewing.

The book I've seen (but don't own yet) with the best reviews is Yeast
Culture, First Steps by Pierre Rajotte.  It's available through most
homebrewing suppliers.  I was not able to find it at Amazon.com

You might also find the articles about yeast at brewery.org useful:
http://www.brewery.org/brewery/Library.html#Yeast


Hope this helps,

Doug Hurst
Chicago, IL
[215, 264.5] Rennerian



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Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 09:44:09 +1000
From: "Peter Myers" <myerspeter at bigpond.com>
Subject: RE: Re-Using Yeast



John Maylone asked:

>Could someone give the name of a good book on saving, preserving and
reusing yeast?

There is a book I bought a while back titled "Yeast Culturing For The
Homebrewer", by Rog Leistad. It is quite in depth, and some on the materials
required can be difficult to come by (in Australia at least) unless you have
access to a scientific supply shop. I found it quite informative and very
inexpensive.



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 18:28:20 -0700
From: "Sam Hernandez" <sam at calbrewers.com>
Subject: 2002 California State Fair Results

Greetings,

The results for the 2002 California State Fair Homebrew and Commercial Craft
competitions have been fully released and posted.

Thank you to all brewers that submitted beer.

The results can be found at
http://www.calbrewers.com/StateFair/SFResults.htm.

Sam Hernandez
Manager/Grand Master Craftsman
BJCP Member #G0446
California Brewers Guild, LLC
(916) 954-2486
http://www.calbrewers.com



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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 21:08:20 -0500
From: "Louis Bonham" <lkbonham at houston.rr.com>
Subject: Another recipe . . . .

Hi folks:

In the spirit of Jeff Renner's awesome pretzal recipe, here's a recipe
of mine for something that goes VERY well with a nice pint or two at the

SPICY SLIM LOUIES -- yields about 1.75 lbs

3 lbs EXTREMELY lean ground beef (minimum 90% lean; >93% preferred)
2/3 tsp. Prague Powder No. 1
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. ground mustard
4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. mace
1 tsp. garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
1 tsp. onion powder (NOT onion salt)
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 chili powder
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Worchester sauce
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (omit if a smoker is used)

Use the absolutely freshest, leanest ground beef possible . . . the 75%
lean or budget ground stuff just won't work (too greasy), and I never
use anything less than 90% lean or anything that isn't freshly ground.
The use of Prague Powder No. 1 (salt + sodium nitrite) is *strongly*
recommended, especially if you use a smoker, to prevent botulism.  You
can get Prague Powder from many places online, or from meat markets that
cater to sausage makers.  

If you like milder sticks, halve the amount of cayenne pepper.  If you
like *extremely* spicy ones, double it.

Mix the beef with the dry spices (a Kitchenaid stand mixer with a flat
beater works great), then stir in the liquid spices.  If you have a
Kitchenaid stand mixer with a meat grinder attachment, attach a thin
(<1/2") sausage attachment, and regrind the meat, cutting the sticks
that come out of the sausage attachment into 10-12" lengths.  If you
don't have this equipment, get an American Harvest Jerky Gun (available
at WalMart in the housewares section for about $12), and use it to make
1/2" diameter beef sticks.  Arrange on racks in a food dehydrator (MUST
be one with a heating element and a thermostat), an oven with a
dehydration cycle, or a smoker, and cook at 160F.  After two hours, blot
away any grease droplets with a paper towel.  Dehydrate for 5-6 hours.
Remove, let cool, and then store in a ziplok in the fridge.  It's good
for several weeks, but trust me, you'll eat it all well before it can go
bad.

Enjoy!

Louis K. Bonham
lkbonham at hbd.org



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