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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  9th Annual 8 Seonds of Froth ("pddey")
  E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition (Scott and Cherie Stihler)
  News From Australia (Phil Yates)
  Chile v Chili and Robert Marshall (SpamZapper)
  Jeff R & CAP (SpamZapper)
  Firestone Oak Barrels; Barrel Milds and Driving in the Rain. (Drew Beechum)
  oak barrel aging ("Steve B")
  Yeast pitching ("George Bulla")
  Sugar nit nits./honey moisture ("A.J. deLange")
  Re: Fat Tire...really ("Reddy, Pat")
  RE: fat tire (Michael Hartsock)
  Ballantine's, was: Oak Barrel Aged Beer (Jeff Renner)
  Predicting Flavour (Hayes Antony)
  Sugar Confusion (Robert Sandefer)
  Re: Oak Barrel Aged Beer (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Victory Whirlwind Wit (Denny Conn)
  new beer (Tim & Cindy Howe)
  Fat Tire (eric)
  Conditioning in a corny (Chris Collier)
  Subject: Re: Nix the cayenne ... (G C)
  kegging question ("Rick & Ruth Duyck")
  Manifold for batch sparge - ("Kenneth Peters")
  9th Annual 8 Seconds of Froth ("pddey")


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Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 21:39:09 -0600
From: "pddey" <pddey at netzero.net>
Subject: 9th Annual 8 Seonds of Froth

Brewers,

The High Plains Drafters announce that their 9th annual homebrew
competition, "8 Seconds of Froth", will be held on Saturday, June 14th at
Sanfords Grub and Pub in Cheyenne, WY.  All BJCP recognized styles including
meads and ciders are eligible for entry.  We are committed to providing
thorough feedback to entrants and fair evaluations by competent and
experienced judges.  For complete details and forms, please visit the HPD
web site at http://www.vcn.com/~bbriggs/8seconds.html


Entries will be accepted between May 19 and June 6.  For drop off and mail
in locations please refer to the web site.  Please do not send entries
Sanfords.

BJCP Judges and stewards are welcome.  Interested?  Please
contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on
the web site).

Good luck and cheers!

Paul Dey
pddey at netzero.com




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Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 19:45:04 -0800
From: Scott and Cherie Stihler <stihlerunits at mosquitonet.com>
Subject: E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition

Announcing the 6th Annual E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition!

This is an AHA sanctioned competition.

The grand prize for Best of Show is $500!!!

Six Classes will judged: Dark Ale, Light Ale, Dark Lager, Light Lager,
Specialty/Mixed style, and Mead.

Great prizes and custom medals will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and
3rd place winners in each of the six judged Classes.

Entries will be accepted: June 23 - July 10, 2003

Entry fees: Submit three 12-16 oz brown or green crown capped
bottles and a check or money order for $5.00 in U.S. funds.

Judging: The first round of judging will take place on July 12th.

Location: Fox, Alaska (~10 miles north of Fairbanks)

More information as well as Entry and Bottle ID forms may be found
at the following URL:
http://www.mosquitonet.com/~stihlerunits/ScottsDen/Beer/Events/Events.html

Should you have any questions or are interesting in judging contact
Scott Stihler at (907) 474-2138 or stihlerunits at mosquitonet.com.

Please forward this message to anybody you know that might be interested
in either entering this competition or helping out with the judging.

Cheers,

Scott Stihler
Fairbanks, Alaska


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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 14:12:14 +1000
From: Phil Yates <phil.yates at bigpond.com>
Subject: News From Australia

Okay Mr Pat Babcock
Last time I was here, I ducked out to take a pee (Ozzie slang) and the next
thing I hear a door slam shut and the lights went out!

So I got the Pat & Bab round the wrong way last time I wrote to you, no need
to lock me in the dunny for a year!!

It's been a different 12 months for me since Ansett Airlines collapsed and I
lost my job there as a pilot. Twenty one years was probably long enough
anyway. It certainly didn't slow up my brewing and in fact I am more
involved than ever before. I teamed up with Wes Smith (also here in Oz) and
formed our company Malt Craft www.maltcraft.com to service the grain
requirements of micro breweries and the homebrew industry in this part of
the world.

I see a lot of new faces here on HBD but I'm pleased to also see my old
friend Steve Alexander or "S" still stirring up the natives, this time with
his culinary preferences.

I remember once Steve told me to stop writing rubbish on the HBD and maybe
produce an article about what malts are available in Australia. Now how did
you know Steve I was destined for this?

I can tell you that at least one American entrepreneurial soul (who shall
remain nameless at this stage) is in discussion with us to consider
importing some Ozzie malts into the USA. After all, you can't really make a
genuine Ozzie beer without the right ingredients. Some might ask why you
would bother? Well the rapid growth of the Australian micro brewing industry
is producing commercial beers like we haven't had a chance to try in years.

Maybe some of these will find their way to the USA also.

That's about it at the moment. Pat, I promise never to get your name wrong
again. I don't want to spend another twelve months locked in the dunny!!

Cheers
Phil



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Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 23:19:15 -0600
From: SpamZapper <spamzapper at comcast.net>
Subject: Chile v Chili and Robert Marshall

On 14 May, Robert Marshall rather unceremoniously 
chided -S for his views on "vege" beer.  Well, Rob, 
you stepped in it in your own right.

Your claim about chile v chili is wrong.  Note from 
my sig line that I am from New Mexico - chile 
capitol of the world.  The proper spelling is 
chilE.  The chilI abomination comes from a state 
that holds as its contribution to society Shrub.  
Chili is the name of nothing.  Chile is both the 
name of a country and a collection of real fine 
food.

There will be no Rennerian Coords.  Those Texans 
might get out thier mortars!


Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 21:43:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Robert Marshall 
<robertjm at hockeyhockeyhockey.com>
Subject: Intolerance is brewing!!

Man, oh man!! I haven't seen this much intolerance 
for a LONG time.

[snip]
 (BTW: Chile is the country, NOT the food). And 
there are a LOTS of people that like it, especially 
in the Orient, where Cave Creek Chili Beer is a big 
seller.

Robert

Tom & Dee McConnell (tdmc at bigfoot dot com dot 
no-spam)
Albuquerque NM 87111



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 00:03:50 -0600
From: SpamZapper <spamzapper at comcast.net>
Subject: Jeff R & CAP

Hey Jeff.  Liked the plug for CAP and CACA.  But.... I am wondering 
why you are not pushing Classic Lite American Pilsner? <g>
Tom & Dee McConnell (tdmc at bigfoot dot com dot no-spam)
Albuquerque NM 87111



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 00:32:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Drew Beechum <drewbage1847 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Firestone Oak Barrels; Barrel Milds and Driving in the Rain.


Mike and everyone else...

2 months ago I actually took a road trip from Los Angeles to the recently
aquired Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles (acquired from SLO brewery).
Big gorgous brewery and they're expanding even more. 

I had a big ole tour of the brewery and a long talk with the brewers who were
there. Unfortunately, they've abandoned the Firestone Union system as being
too large a maintence hassle for the fermentation effect. 

Instead what they do now is use brand new 60 Gallon Mendocino oak barrels for
primary ferment. Roughly 20% of the batch is brewed in oak for 6 days and then
is blended back into the main ferment. The barrels are simply bunged with a
dip tube in buckets of iodophor. 

Treatment is pretty standard wine practice. Pressurized hot water rinse
followed by a flush of SO2 gas. Barrels are used for 20 generations and then
released to the public.

Now guess why I was there? :) My home brew club decided to take a plunge into
oak barrel beers for our 30th Anniversary next year. (The Falcons were founded
in 1974.. woo hoo!) So I drove up there and back in one day. I carried the
barrel back to Los Angeles in my convertible Mustang with the top down. The
problem was that in an unusual step for Southern California, it rained for the
first 20 miles back home. Lots of people giving the crazy guy in a leather
jacket, ball cap and goggles weird looks. One very cold driver after night
fall. Gotta love this hobby!

Our first beer is a little over 2 weeks old, it's 20 Gallons of English mild
brewed to see how the barrel would do. So far at this point, the results are
disappointing as the beer has a sharp sulfury nose that fades after about 10
minutes in the glass. I'd like to get a Double IPA going, but I've got a lot
of convincing of my club members to do. 

- -- Drew
Maltose Falcons - Los Angeles, CA.

> From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Oak Barrel Aged Beer
> 
> If you've been watching the Bachelor on TV, you might be interested to know
> that Firestone Brewing uses oak barrels as fermenters in a process that's
> roughly based on the Burton-Union system.  ;^)




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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 08:10:55 -0400
From: "Steve B" <habenero92 at hotmail.com>
Subject: oak barrel aging

Old Dominion has been aging their beer in oak barrels that have aged bourbon 
for quite some time, as long as I have been in the area (6+ years).  They 
have discontinued their tap accounts for the plain stout in favor of the 
bourbon stout.  Also the District Chophouse in DC (an offspring of Rock 
Bottom) makes a bourbon stout.  The bourbon in the barrels imparts more 
flavor than the oak itself.  I personally find the flavor too sweet.
I can remember some Belgians that used new oak barrels for aging.  I believe 
they were Duchesse de Bourgone and/or Bos Keun.  The flavors in these beers 
was amazingly different and even enjoyable.  The wood imparted a tanginess.  
In my unscientific observations stateside, most of the "oak barrel aging" is 
done with oak barrels that were used for bourbon/whiskey aging first.  I 
even have vague memories of some breweries charing the inside of the barrels 
first or maybe that was wineries.  It all blurs.
Just my $.02
S



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 08:30:40 -0400
From: "George Bulla" <chip_bulla at hotmail.com>
Subject: Yeast pitching

Hello fellow Brewers,

I have been brewing for about a year and half now and feel fortunate to not 
have had any batches turn up with contamination (Knock on wood).  While my 
beers don't always have the flavor profile I was hoping for, I have been 
told by everyone who has tried any of them that they really liked them.  
Hopefully, they weren't just being nice.  Anyway, getting to the point, my 
question for the collective is: exactly how long from the time your wort is 
cooled, can you take to pitch your yeast and not risk contamination?  I ask 
this because when I cool and whirlpool the wort, it seems to take longer 
than I feel comfortable with for the trub to settle out.  So, I usually just 
pour the wort, trub and all, into the fermenter, pitch my yeast, and seal 
her up.  I would like to keep the majority of the trub out of the fermenter 
if possible, knowing that some of it is OK for yeast stimulation.  If I 
leave the brewpot lid on the wort after cooling (it takes about 20 minutes 
with my wort chiller), can I just let it sit for an additional 30 or 40 
minutes to allow further flocculation of the break material, or am I risking 
contamination?  Any advice or techniques would be greatly appreciated.

Chip Bulla
Apex, NC



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 12:56:23 +0000
From: "A.J. deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Sugar nit nits./honey moisture

The D and L designations generally, but not always, relate to the 
optical rotation properties of carbohydrates. They actually refer to the 
arrangement of atoms about the  "chiral" carbon farthest from the 
carbonyl group (which as John mentioned can be keto or aldo). If the 
arrangement (in the line conformation) is H-C-OH at this carbon, the 
carbohydrate is "D". If it is HO-C-H it is "L". Thus the glucose we know 
and love is D- glucose or D- gluco pyranose (referring to the fact that 
its ring structure contains five carbons). It and is dextro rotary and 
an aldose). Fructose, OTOH, is D-Fructose or D- Fructo furanose 
(referring to the fact that its ring structure is like that of furan 
having 4 carbons) but its common name is Levulose indicating that it is 
actually levorotary. It is a ketose. Most of the carbohydrates which 
participate in biochemical reactions are "D".

John also mentioned honey moisture. The principal factor in determining 
honey moisture content is its "ripeness" which means essentially the 
length of time it has been in the hive. It is packed into cells as a 
fairly thin liquid (the nectar of the flowers from which it comes) and 
the bees then circulate air through the hive to evaporate much of the 
water. When the water content becomes low enough they cap the cells but 
moisture continues to leave. You will see the beekeeper afield with his 
refractometer as most of the cooperatives will not accept honey unless 
the moisture content is below (I think) 18% (it may be 17). The problem 
is spontaneous fermentation as honey contains lots of yeast (and 
botulinus - can we get that one going again?) spores held dormant by 
osmotic pressure.

A.J.



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 08:33:37 -0500
From: "Reddy, Pat" <Pat.Reddy at mavtech.cc>
Subject: Re: Fat Tire...really

Ditto.

I enjoy Fat Tire, but then again, I enjoy just about any beer with more
color than the armpit of my tee shirt.
Like Nic said, perhaps an honorable mention based on its popularity coupled
with the fact that it's not mega-swill.
Good beer, sure.  Original?  New?  One of the best?  Pulleeeze. 

Pat Reddy
MAVERICK Technologies
(618)281-9100 x134
pat.reddy at mavtech.cc
 



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 06:33:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Hartsock <xd_haze at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: fat tire

I have to put my vote up for New Belgium's Fat Tire,
and their other fine products as well.  I don't know
how many of their beers are available in each of your
respective region, but I feel that their sunshine
wheat is the best regional brew of the american wheat
style.  While I like boulevard, etc. Sunshine Wheat
really does put it to shame.  Furthermore, if you've
ever had a 1554, you'll probably agree it is
exceptional.  If you've never had one, try it!  The
Trippel is a fine american effort at abbey style ale. 


If I was going to pick a best microbrew or regional
brew, the only reason I wouldn't pick Fat Tire, is
because it gets beat out by 1554 (the draft being
better than the bottle, IMHO).  Maybe it would be
inappropriate to put it up against international
brews, I mean, why compare Chimay and New Belgium? 

But as far as american brews go, New Belgium truely is
a tribute the ability of american brewers.

Mike
(I'm not affiliated with new belgium at all, I'm just
a zealous advocate of their brews.  there is a reason
more than half of my homebrew can be found in
recylcled new belgium bottles.)

=====
"May those who love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
may he turn their ankles
So we'll know them
by their limping."



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 11:15:49 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Ballantine's, was: Oak Barrel Aged Beer

Thanks to Al <asemok at mac.com> for delurking and writing a nice post 
about Ballantine's IPA.

Long time readers will remember Larry O'mahoney's emails about 
cloning Ballantine IPA back in 1998.  I helped him put together a 
recipe from a note in Zymurgy quoting an old Ballantine's brewer and 
some other references, including Martin Lodahl's article on stock 
ales in BT, Wahl and Henius' 1902 "American Handy Book" and Nugey's 
1948 "Brewers Manual.  He brewed up a clone and sent me a 22 oz. 
bomber that was really fine.  (Are you still around, Larry?)

A search for "Ballantine" in the 1998 archives should get you good 
info if you are interested in brewing a clone, and I hope that Al 
will post his recipe and experience.

For Ballantine fans, check out the comprehensive Ballantine page at 
http://www.jadetech.com/~smallsha/ballantine_ale.htm

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, 20 May 2003 17:36:19 +0200
From: Hayes Antony <HayesA at aforbes.co.za>
Subject: Predicting Flavour

I get to brew about 12 to 15 times a year, and tend to like to experiment
with different ingredients. This approach has cost me a few batches and
resulted in my solo drinking of quite a few more.

An ingredient which I have played with extensively is sorghum.

The semi objective statement that I can make is that most people don't like
a sorghum content over about 20% of the grist as it tastes phenolic, in a
strong-tea type of way.

That being said, a 60% sorghum lager that I took to a festival was described
by one patron as the best beer he'd tasted, despite no one else liking the
thing. (Described as distilled sweat from a mine worker's underpants by
another)

So it would be true to say that there is nothing wrong with a 60% sorghum
lager (someone liked it), but useful for me to tell my club members that if
they feel like adding sorghum, 20% is the right place to start. In this way
they might not have to throw away the first few attempts, as I did.

The benefit of Steve Alexander's three point model (below) is that it gives
you an idea of where to start experimenting:

"1/ A counterpointing of contrasting flavors,
2/ A cluster of similar flavors which diffuse the simple
    one-dimensional effect of the a single dominant flavor,
3/ A pair of distinct competing flavors, well balanced.
Of course texture and basic tongue flavor design require attention too."

Using this, you are more likely to have success with your experiments
(although you may miss something radically different- the downside of any
model).

In a similar vein, I have used Glen Tinseth's models to help me choose
starting hop levels for new recipes. Although in subsequent iterations of a
recipe, I may move away from the model's results to suit my own tastes.

The result of using these models is that I get to enjoy more of my 12 to 15
batches than might otherwise be the case. Hence I am grateful to the people
who take the time to draw them up.

Ant Hayes
Johannesburg


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=======================
The contents of this e-mail and any accompanying documentation
are confidential and any use thereof, in what ever form, by anyone
other than the addressee is strictly prohibited.



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 12:28:46 -0400
From: Robert Sandefer <melamor at vzavenue.net>
Subject: Sugar Confusion

There seems to be some confusion as to what glucose and dextrose are. My 
source is at the bottom of this post.

Organic chemistry currently uses "glucose" as the term for the 
monosaccharide we're all talking about.
Glucose is a pentahydroxyhexanal (i.e., an aldehyde with a six carbon chain 
with five -OH groups). In sugar chemistry, glucose is described as an 
aldohexose--a 6-carbon aldehyde sugar.

Dextrose is simply a synonym for glucose. I believe it is a term used in 
older chemistry nomenclatures.

Stereochemistry is not the simpliest field, and I will only review parts 
here.
Optical isomers can be levorotatory or dextrorotatory. Levorotatory 
substances are labeled (-); dextrorotatory, (+).
There are enantiomers (mirror-image stereoisomers), which are distinguished 
by "R" or "S" prefixes.

In carbohydrate stereochemistry, sugars can be either "D-" or "L-". This 
prefix "describes the configuration at only one stereogenic center....". D 
and L sugars (of the same compound) are enantiomers. The D,L prefixes have 
no (necessary) relation to being dextrorotatory/levorotatory. A D-sugar can 
be dextrorotatory or levorotatory; it depends on each chemical.

What's the point of all this gobbledegook?
No matter what its stereochemistry is, the name of the compound does not 
change. D-glucose, L-glucose, (+)-glucose, (-)-glucose--it's all glucose 
(and dextrose only if you're reading older papers).

Robert Sandefer

SOURCE-
McMurry, J. (1996) Organic Chemistry. 4th ed. Brooks/Cole Publishing. 
Pacific Grove:295,302,306,1010-1037. 


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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 12:26:09 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Oak Barrel Aged Beer

Robert Marshall <robertjm at hockeyhockeyhockey.com> writes:

>Barrel aging has actually been going on for some time.
>Here in the United States you have to simply look at
>Budweiser as an example. (I said LOOK at it. You don't
>have to drink it!!!). They used Beechwood to age their
>beer. Nowadays, rather than use barrels, they chuck
>beechwood strips into the stainless steel storage
>tanks and let the beer sit on those for a while.

Actually, aging on beechwood chips is the way beechwood aging has 
always been done, although maple and other woods and even metal were 
used or at least tried.  It was never a matter of aging in beechwood 
barrels.

In old American breweries, the clarification cellar was also called 
the chip cellar.  See p. 762 of Wahl and Henius' American handy Book 
of Brewing (1902) 
http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Wahl/p0762.2.gif.  (for the entire 
book go to http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Wahl/ )

The advantage of chips is that the yeast cells don't have to fall as 
far as the bottom of the clarification vessel to settle out.  Some 
yeasts need this more than others, and A/B believes their yeast is 
especially suited to this.  You will note that the chips were boiled 
with soda until they were flavorless.  This is still done.  The wood 
serves a mechanical purpose, not a flavoring one.

Historically, the chip casks were no doubt pitch lined wood (see p. 
694 - 697 of Wahl & Henius for a description of the pitching 
operation).

So it isn't really a marketing gimmick, although A/B certainly takes 
full advantage of it in marketing.  They believe it is part of what 
makes their beer as good as they believe it is, and it is certainly 
not inexpensive.

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, 20 May 2003 09:36:54 -0800
From: Denny Conn <denny at projectoneaudio.com>
Subject: Re: Victory Whirlwind Wit

Bill,

This has been discussed on a couple of newsgroups, and Jim Busch from 
Victory said that Golden Monkey uses 3 different yeasts at different stages 
and that the yeast in the bottle is a lager (I think) yeast just for bottle 
conditioning.

         --------------->Denny Conn


At 12:36 AM 5/20/03 -0400, Bill Lucas wrote:


>Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 11:17:19 -0400
>From: "Bill Lucas" <Homebrew42 at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Victory Whirlwind Wit
>
>Hello All,
>
>I have heard that the yeast in Victory's Whirlwind Wit is the same that is
>used to brew Golden Monkey.  Does anyone know if these yeasts are the
>same?  If so has anyone cultured and made a beer using this yeast; did it
>come out like expected?
>
>Any information would be appreciated.  I wouldn't mind trying my hand at
>bottle culturing and this seemed like a perfect candidate for me.
>
>Thanks for any information.
>
>Have fun,
>
>Bill Lucas
>State College PA




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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 12:45:27 -0700
From: Tim & Cindy Howe <howe at execulink.com>
Subject: new beer

 > I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm thinking about making an
 > all-Cascade hopped beer with about six hot peppers in it. I bet that
 > will taste GREAT! Any thoughts?

Marc -

I think this beer's going to need some fruit. How about some pineapple?



Tim Howe
Brewing without fruit & vegetables in London, Ontario



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 12:02:05 -0500
From: eric at schoville.com
Subject: Fat Tire

I have to say that I agree with Nic.  Fat Tire doesn't really impress me, and I
often wonder why it is so popular.  I can remember the excitement when it began
to  be distributed in Dallas, and I didn't understand it.  I can think of many a
beer that I would prefer.

Eric


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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 14:45:58 -0400
From: Chris Collier <CCollier at lanierclothes.com>
Subject: Conditioning in a corny

Several posts lately have talked about conditioning in a corny without 
priming.  On a related note, I have been trying to figure out something.
I have recently been priming in a corny keg to free up 
fermenters and to store ales at room temp (~70F) for use with a jockey 
box.  I have a question regarding monitoring the carbonation.
If I seal a keg with 5# of pressure and the recommended priming sugar, 
what should I expect the pressure in the keg to be after it is fully 
carbonated? Let's keep it real simple and assume medium carbonation.  I 
understand the concept of saturation and equilibrium.  I'll assume the 
keg will rise to a certain number and then decrease slightly when 
saturation and equilibrium occur. 

Based on David Passaretti's post it sounds like he sets his relief 
valve to 15-20#, so is that my answer?  In other words, applying 15-20# 
of CO2 pressure for 3-4 weeks will achieve an acceptable level of 
carbonation.  If so does that also imply that when the corny hits 
15-20# it is complete or it will it go much higher before 
equilibrium is reached and then rest at 15-20#?

I now have a beer that is severely overcarbonated, should I keep 
releasing pressure day after day until it reaches equilibrium at
15-20#?

Thanks,
Chris
Atlanta, GA



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 11:30:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: G C <gsd4lyf at yahoo.com>
Subject: Subject: Re: Nix the cayenne ...

"-S" <-s at adelphia.net> writes:
 
>There seems to be a trend here that the balance level
>occurs well below the point were 'heat' is perceived.
>This is unlike nearly all the pepper beers I've
>sampled.

The heat levels and chile flavors in beer vary
dramatically depending on which ingredients and
techniques the brewer uses. It sounds like you haven't
yet had a well-balanced chile beer. I believe that
Cave Creek was mentioned, which is, in my opinion, a
very poor example of a chile beer. The base beer needs
to be well-made. Which others have you tried? Have you
had any of the chile beers served in New Mexican
brewpubs? 


>I tried an experiment of my own, after some
>encouraging words from others who suggested very
>small doses of peppers - below 'heat' levels:

>I took 1/4 tsp of dried cayenne and mixed this w/  
>50ml of Spaten lager. Of course I didn't drink this
>potent chili mix, I used it to dose other beer
>samples. Specifically, Spaten Lager, Guinness stout 
>and a 12.5P HB IPA with a good bit of hop aroma.
 ....snip

I don't think dried cayenne pepper will impart the
type of chile flavor that one looks for in a well-made
chile beer. Dried peppers don't taste the same as
fresh ones, especially fresh roasted ones. The
roasting brings out the sweetness and other pleasant
flavors. 

Fresh cayenne peppers, at 30,000 to 125,000 scoville
units, pack a high, harsh heat at even the low end of
their scoville spectrum. By comparison, jalapenos,
which can range from somewhat mild to very hot, come
in at 2,500-8,000 s.u.
  
The New Mexican brewers who were interviewed in the
Nov./Dec. 2002 Zymurgy article (anyone else read this
article besides me?) recommmended using either fresh
or frozen fresh-roasted New Mexican green chiles
(100-5,000 scoville units) in lighter beers (i.e. pale
ales) and dried red chiles (in the same s.u. range as
green), as found on a ristra, for darker beers (i.e.
brown ales).  

Some brewers dry-chile'd (one week was mentioned),
while others first-wort chile'd. By varying the amount
of dry-chile time, one has some control over the heat
level. Also, as many people already know, one can 
remove the inner membrane of the chile along with the
seeds to obtain the chile flavor without the heat.  

Guy
Los Gatos, CA 





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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 18:33:41 -0400
From: "Rick & Ruth Duyck" <rnrduyck at sympatico.ca>
Subject: kegging question

Hi all
I've just finished hooking up my keg system and have a couple questions for
those more experienced. I pressurized at 15 lbs and have the regulator set
at 16 lbs which is working great for my system. Can I just leave everything
hooked up and the gas on or is it necessary (or a better practise) to turn
off the gas when not in use? Also is it necessary to unhook the liquid line
after each session (maybe for cleaning) or is cleaning lines usually done
between empty kegs when everything is unhooked anyway? Thanks for the help!
Rick Duyck, Windsor, Ontario.




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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 18:47:26 -0500
From: "Kenneth Peters" <kpeters6 at cox.net>
Subject: Manifold for batch sparge - 

I've started batch sparging almost two years ago and have never looked back. I
am very pleased with my results and the process fits my needs and temperament.
I am using a Gott 5 gallon cooler with a 3B stainless steel false bottom and
have been pleased with the performance, although I do occasionally get stuck
sparges if I try to drain too rapidly. For several reasons (among them
capacity and overall size) , I am changing to a 28 qt. , rectangular cooler.
My question is - since I batch sparge, how important is the manifold system?
Do I need to engineer it in great detail (ala John Palmer's instructions) or
do I merely need to provide a draining capability ( I have a bazooka screen
that I am contemplating using) with a double Branch of slotted pipe?. I don't
believe channeling is an issue with Batch sparging, so I'm thinking that
simple is sufficient. Any opinions/advice will be appreciated. TIA, Ken Peters



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Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 19:56:18 -0600
From: "pddey" <pddey at netzero.net>
Subject: 9th Annual 8 Seconds of Froth

The High Plains Drafters announce that their 9th annual homebrew
competition, the "8 Seconds of Froth", will be held on Saturday, June 14th
at Sanfords Grub and Pub in Cheyenne, WY.  All BJCP recognized styles
including meads and ciders are eligible for entry.  We strive to provide
every entrant with quality feedback and a fair evaluation of their effort.
For complete details and forms, please visit the HPD web site at
http://www.vcn.com/~bbriggs/8seconds.html


Entries will be accepted between May 19 and June 6.  For drop off and mail
in locations please refer to the web site.  Please do not send entries to
Sanfords.

BJCP Judges and stewards are welcome.  Interested?  Please
contact me or another committee member (contact information can be found on
the web site).

Good luck and cheers!

Paul Dey
pddey at netzero.com




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