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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Schweinhaxen ("Trevor White")
  Odd Problem -- Don't do this! (David Wilbur)
  Mead Day ("David Craft")
  RE: Thin Beer & Sparge H2O Temp (Bill Tobler)
  Re: a nutrient hypothesis + a question about kit-yeasts ("Gregory D. Morris")
  Kit Yeast ("Harlan Nilsen")
  RE: Thermometer installation (Ronald La Borde)
  Making Tap Handles and Tap locking (Smallaxe27)
  Brewing Software for mac? (NO Spam)
  re. Solera technique ("John Misrahi")
  Keg Lid Leaks ("H. Dowda")
  RE: a nutrient hypothesis + a question about kit-yeasts ("Joris Dallaire")
  Raising Children With Beer (CD Powers)
  Thermometer installation ("Mike Sharp")
  re: AHA Pub Discount Program ("Mark Tumarkin")
  More AHA ("Mark Tumarkin")
  Re: Thermometer installation (Kent Fletcher)
  Re: Maris Otter = stuck mash? (Wes Smith)
  bottling with a tap-a-draft (g flo)
  Adjunct/ was re: ..., soft water ... ("Steve Alexander")
  Stainless Problem ("Tom Viemont")
  RE: Brewery names ("Scott and Lois Courtney")
  Re: Munich Breweries (mjkid)


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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:30:24 +1000
From: "Trevor White" <whitet at usq.edu.au>
Subject: Schweinhaxen

Dennis Lewis posted re Schweinhaxen in a Munich restaurant.

This may be off the topic for the group, but I was in Munich during 1999 
as well and had a most enjoyable meal of Schweinhaxen washed down 
with many different types of weissbier.  Ever since I have wondered about 
the preparation of Schweinhaxen.  Does anyone out there have any idea how 
the flavours are created?

Cheers

Trevor White



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Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 23:36:23 -0700
From: David Wilbur <davew at gibraltar.com>
Subject: Odd Problem -- Don't do this!

I am using the "wet towel/t-shirt" evaporative cooling setup to cool 10 
gallons of beer.  The beer is in two carboys using two separate towels.   I 
also used a timer, hooked to an evaporative cooler pump, and a couple of 
cheap plastic ring sprinklers to recirculate the water every three 
hours.  The humidity in my area has been less than 10% for a while.  This 
setup is inside of a closed, air-conditioned, 9ft by 15ft room that is 
staying at 78 F.  All this is important so that you can get a feel for the 
amount of evaporation that is going on.

The cooling system is all working quite well.  The beer is currently 67 F 
and happily fermenting away.

Here is the weird part.  My brewing partners and I decided to throw some 
Iodophor in the cooling water to keep any "nasties" from 
growing.  Apparently, all the Iodophor evaporates first.  There is 
absolutely no color to the water after a couple days.  There is, however, 
an orange stain on the walls, cabinets, floor, refrigerator, ceiling and 
just about everything else in the room!

What a mess, I hope it comes off.  Is there any sort of "magic" cleaner I 
can use?  Doesn't Billy Mays dump oxy-clean into tubs of Iodine?  Would 
some KILZ and fresh paint job be better?  Maybe I should have used bleach?

If only someone (or a couple of people, perhaps from Africa...) was willing 
to just give me $60,000,000 dollars, with no strings attached, I could 
afford to just get a new brewery.  ;)

David Wilbur
[Southwest a bunch, in Scottsdale, Arizona -- AR]	



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 06:33:09 -0400
From: "David Craft" <chsyhkr at bellsouth.net>
Subject: Mead Day

Greetings,

Does anyone know with Mead Day fast approaching why the recipe and
remittance form are not posted to the AHA site?

I emailed the AHA a few weeks ago and never heard back.  I hope the recipe
doesn't require any unusual ingredients or special honey........

Regards,

David B. Craft
Battleground Brewers Guild,





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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 06:51:32 -0500
From: Bill Tobler <wctobler at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: RE: Thin Beer & Sparge H2O Temp

A clip from Jonathan's post yesterday:

"While I have also read that 170F sparge water should inactivate the
enzymes, there must be some time dependency in that inactivation."

Steve A. wrote a great post (Actually it's two, part 1 & 2) last year on the
deactivation of enzymes.  Below is the link.


http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/4011.html#4011-2

Cheers!

Bill Tobler
Lake Jackson, TX
(1129.7, 219.9) Apparent Rennerian




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:46:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Gregory D. Morris" <gmorris at literati.com>
Subject: Re: a nutrient hypothesis + a question about kit-yeasts

<<Even if there isn't any nutrient added to the original
package, dead yeast cells are often good for other yeast to feed off right?
>>
Everyone has always told me that when yeast eat the dead yeast, you'll get
a lot of off-flavors and smells.  I don't think that it would be a major
problem doing what you propose, however, because there really wouldn't be
that many dead yeast cells to be eaten.

As for there being nutrients in the packets, I'm not sure about that.  Some
of the kits I have used come with the same packets of generic (Muntons or
otherwise) "Brewers yeast" that I sometimes get at my HB shop.

Also, I have used a few kinds of kits, and the yeast has always been
completely viable (even in old clearance sale kits.)  I just made a golden
ale from a kit (forget the brand off-hand) and it turned out perfect.

If you are worried about the yeast not being the right kind, or good enough
for your beer, or not viable, I suggest not using kits in the first place.
If you want a custom beer, make a custom beer.  If you want a pre-fab beer,
just follow the instructions.


- --
- -----------------------
Gregory Morris
Web Developer
Literati
(304) 296-8026 ext.139
gmorris at literati.com






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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:37:59 -0500
From: "Harlan Nilsen" <ramnrah at nebi.com>
Subject: Kit Yeast

What I have done in the past is just throw it in the boil and let it be a
yeast energizer.  This will not change the flavor of your beer but will help
the good yeast you put in.  I also do this with yeasts (both wine or beer)
that I have had around for awhile.

As for the cost of putting in what you know is good fresh yeast, you can buy
a pack of Coopers or other for around a dollar or less.  Small cost to know
that your beer will ferment well and be good when done.
Hope this helps.

Harlan Nilsen
YE OLDE BASEMENT BREWERY

Latest brews:
California Common-----5.4%abv
American Pale Ale------5.6%
American Amber Ale---5.2%
American Brown Ale---5.7%




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 08:43:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ronald La Borde <pivoron at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Thermometer installation

>From: mailto:pacman at edwardwadsworth.com
>
>I have a couple of long stem dial thermometers that I
>want to install in
>my Mash tun and kettle.  Both are SS (thermometers
>and kettles).  The
>pisser is that the therm's haven't got the threaded
>nut at the base of
>the dial like some that I have seen

I haven't tried it myself, but a suggestion read on
the HBD long ago suggested using a compression
fitting, except remove the brass compression ring and
use an o-ring instead. This should work for a
thermometer stem, as well as for any probe or tubing
that you need to attach.  It also allows removal to be
easy.

Also, if you would like to see my homemade probe
protector, take a look at my web page.

Ron

=====
Ron
Ronald J. La Borde -- Metairie, LA
New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie, LA
www.hbd.org/rlaborde



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 11:58:11 EDT
From: Smallaxe27 at aol.com
Subject: Making Tap Handles and Tap locking


 Has anyone in the group made their own tap handles?
 I'm curious what sort of threads will fit in the female end
 of the faucet.

 I'm also interested in ways of locking the taps.
 As a student and a father of 2, hobby money is somewhat 
 short. Thus I'm not buying any $40. tap locks, but looking
 to come up with another way of preventing my 3 year old 
 from playing with the taps.

 Weighing in late on names, mine Smallaxe Brewery is from the 
 Bob Marley song about the little guy taking on the big guys.
 Seems to fit.

 Lastly, I'll be sailing to Kowloon shortly on a mission of beery rescue
 and multilevel marketing. Can anyone recommend any good brewpubs
 in the area? Any problems bringing full carboys into US ports?

 Steve G. 
 Cobbling stuff together outside Philly


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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 12:42:13 -0400
From: NO Spam <nospam at brewbyyou.net>
Subject: Brewing Software for mac?


Awhile back, there was a discussion about various
brewing software, and I remember someone posted they
were looking for some good mac brewing software.
So am I.  Anybody find any?

Bill



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 12:49:48 -0400
From: "John Misrahi" <lmoukhin at sprint.ca>
Subject: re. Solera technique

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Jeff Renner's article on Solera
kegs that appeared in Zymurgy?

Is it on-line somewhere?

I have a pretty awesome tasting sour brown ale (using Wyeast Roeselare
blend) and i'd like to try making some subsequent batches by 'feeding' the
existing culture.

 -john-




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:59:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: "H. Dowda" <hdowda at yahoo.com>
Subject: Keg Lid Leaks

OK a duhhh question.  I have almost stopped kegging
because of pressure loss in the kegs.  It seems due to
small slow leaks in the keg lid o-rings (new, old and
middle aged).  It is impossible to keep a keg on a
pressure system when it leaks as the CO2 tank is
rapidly depleted (duhhh).  Any ideas?  TIA. Private
e-mail fine.



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 14:21:15 -0400
From: "Joris Dallaire" <Joris.Dallaire at meq.gouv.qc.ca>
Subject: RE: a nutrient hypothesis + a question about kit-yeasts

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003, Stu asks opinion about rehydrating the so-called "bad"
yeast and heating the cells to use it as the basis for a starter.

>Even if there isn't any nutrient added to the original package,
>dead yeast cells are often good for other yeast to feed off right?

Yeast feeds off dead cells when it runs out of nutrients in the wort.
It's called autolysis and gives bad taste to your beer. It usually happens when 
fermentation temp is too high or fermentation too long. So personnally i 
wouldn't recommend autolysis in a starter.

I used Coopers kits in the late years when i brewed from extract and they were 
amongst the best kits availlable IMO. My advice on the yeast included is DON'T 
THROW IT!!! Keep it in the fridge for backup if your starters don't smell right 
on brew day, or if fermentation doesn't start. If you are going to throw them, 
well, send 'em to me, i'll pay for postage :O)!

I used to always buy a couple of Coopers dried yeast as backups along with my 
liquid yeast before i switched to Lallemand dried yeast (,cuz they have bigger 
packs).

OTH!
Joris, brewing in Quebec,Canada


Joris Dallaire,
Programmeur-analyste
Groupe CGI
Projet Contact - 644-5348




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 13:01:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: CD Powers <cpowers1114 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Raising Children With Beer

Hello, I have a question to those members of the
collective with children. I have so far successfully
managed to continue brewing with a three-year-old and
a 5-month-old. My wife has noted my commitment to the
hobby, and wonders how other brewing families have
dealt with having both lots of beer in the house and a
presumably more liberal (in the politically-neutral
sense of the word!) view of its consumption when the
children get older and wonder what all of the fuss is
about. Would you let an older (adolescent) child share
in the fruits of your labor now and then, like some
folks would allow a little glass of wine at
Thanksgiving or Passover? How about a low-alcohol
table beer with dinner? Would having exposure to
better-quality beer in a supervised setting contribute
to a young adult's ability to make informed choices
with regard to alcohol consumption, or be the first
step on the road to early debauchery? My own personal
hope is that my kids will grow up with a more
"European" attitude to the place of alcohol in the
diet, develop a sensible aversion to mass quantities
of BMC, and could be trusted to have a glass now and
again with no ill physical or social effects, but I
could also be particularly naive about how children
actually turn out. I hope to hear lots of good advice
and success stories!

Thanks,

Christopher Powers
Portland OR




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 12:59:44 -0700
From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com>
Subject: Thermometer installation

Parker Dutro asked for suggestions on Thermometer installation

Find a comression fitting that's close to the size of the themometer stem.  
Take out the ferrule (the little ring inside the compression fitting) and 
replace it with an appropriately sized o-ring.  Or you can get nylon 
ferrules, if the stem is a close fit.  But you don't want to compress the 
stem very far at all, or else you might interfere with the bimetal strip.

Regards,
Mike Sharp



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 17:55:43 -0400
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: re: AHA Pub Discount Program

Hey y'all,

Since Dave wrote concerning his less than satisfactory experience with the Pub
Discount Program, we've had several posts on the topic. Some have been
positive, others not so positive. At the risk of having Steven accuse me of
pimping the program, I'll make a few comments as well; and like Phil Sides,
I'm a member of the AHA Board of Advisors but these opinions are my own, not
official AHA policy. But hey, that's why they wanted Advisors and y'all
elected us to the position ..... to give our opinions on issues affecting the
AHA. And Dave, just to let you know, Steve Jones (another AHA BOA member who
regularly reads & posts to the HBD) had sent on your post to the BoA and the
AHA staff the day you posted it here. We want this program to work well for
all of us and will continue to work to make it better.

We have also heard reports of AHA members going into participating pubs only
to find the staff or management is not aware of their establishment's
participation in the program. The program definately still has some rough
edges. Though it is still relatively new (less than a year old) it is rapidly
growing. On the positive side, more locations are being added all the time.
Check out the insert listing all the locations in the last issue of Zymurgy -
it was a great issue with all the Bell's clone recipes, by the way. So, Steve,
even if you think your AHA membership's only good for Zymurgy, that alone is
worth the cost. Ray Daniels continues to make it better & better. But most of
us feel there are other worthwhile benefits as well - including the PDP. It
continues to improve as well, the next step will be to add some of the well
known beer bars to the program (watch for more info soon).

There is no standard discount to be offered with the Pub Discount Program, it
is entirely up to the participating pub or restaurant. Some offer the discount
only on beer, others on the entire meal, and others on merchandise only (the
laws of some states prohibit discounts on alcohol). While the Rock Bottom Dave
visited didn't offer the discount to the entire party, Phil & Paul report that
their local Rock Bottoms have discounted the entire bill 20%. Rock Bottom is
committed to the Pub Discount Program, to the point of printing up their own
discount cards that have been distributed to AHA members, so I suspect this is
a communication issue that will be resolved within internally - hopefully
soon.

On another issue concerning the PDP, it's up to all of us to make it work well
if we want it to continue to improve & expand rather than dry up & dissappear.
What I mean by this is we all
need to use it... and let the managers know we're using it. They have signed
on to give us discounts, what they want in return is for the program to bring
them new customers, and for those customers (us) to then spread the word about
their establishments & craft-brewed beer. If the program isn't used, they
won't see the benefit in it to offset their cost (discounted bills, time spent
training staff on the program, etc). We don't all have participating pubs in
our local areas (hopefully this will change!), but if you do, or when you
travel, go into the participating pubs and talk to the manager or the brewer.
Let them know that you appreciate the discount program and their
participation.

Mark Tumarkin
Hogtown Brewers
Gainesville, FL










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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 17:55:54 -0400
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: More AHA

On another topic concerning the AHA, Marc Sedam wrote suggesting that the
National Homebrew Conference be moved around to different areas of the country
each year. That is already being done - to as great an extent as possible. We
want the conference to move around so that everyone gets the opportunity to
have it close to them - so that they can drive or at least get there more
cheaply.

However, just as the AHA as a whole has become more of a grass-roots
organization, so has the NHC. Since the conference in Kansas City 6 years ago,
the NHC has been organized & run by groups of local clubs working together.
This is the key to the huge success of recent conferences, especially Chicago.
We try to work ahead as much as possible, so as to announce the site for the
next conference at the Awards Banquet each year. It will be in Las Vegas next
year. We already have clubs working to put together bids for 2005 and onward.
And there is interest on the East Coast.... clubs in several areas have asked
for the bid info package. I'm trying to interest the Florida clubs in putting
in a bid. Location selection mainly depends on getting a strong group of local
clubs interested - of course, other factors like reasonably priced hotel that
will accept us bringing in copius amounts of beer, and ideally destinations
that would also interest SWMBO 7 the family.  So talk to the clubs in your
area  and if there's interest in hosting a conference, you can email me or any
of the other BOA members, or the AHA staff directly to get the bid packet.

There were some good posts on the success of  the Chicago conference already
so I don't need to expand on how great it was. But Steve, if you get the
chance to attend an NHC, don't miss it. I think you'd then agree there's more
to the AHA than just Zymurgy (or the PDP, events like Big Brew, Mead Day or
Teach a Friend to Brew Day, or discounts & special sessions for the Great
American Beer Festival, TechTalk, the AHA Beertown website, the sanctioned
competitions program (including the Club-Only Competitions & the National
Homebrew Conference (by far the largest comp around), not to mention
participating in key support for the brewing community - including both home &
pro brewers, etc). Well, enough pimping the AHA.

But while I'm on the subject of the Chicago NHC, I guess I should publicly
apologize to Marc Ohrstrom for letting him down. As you know, Marc stood up
for the honor of the AHA & challanged detractor Sean McDonald to a Slamdown
Duel at the conference. Marc had asked me to be his second, but, since the
Slamdown was scheduled for 5am, I slept through it. Sean didn't show up, so I
guess no harm was done. I'll just plead too much late night fun & beer as my
excuse.

Mark Tumarkin
Hogtown Brewers
Gainesville, FL






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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 16:30:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Thermometer installation

Parker Dutro is having difficulty inserting his
thermometer:

"The pisser is that the therm's haven't got the
threaded nut at the base of the dial like some that I
have seen. (snip) Does anyone here have a really
good way to address my problem?  Thanks"

Hi Parker,

I'm going to assume that you have a thermometer with a
3/16" diameter stem, a typical brewing dial type. 
What you want to use is a male flare fitting, a flare
cap and a number 008 O-ring.  Use an adaptor that is 
1/2" MPT (assuming your bulkhead opening is 1/2", if
not, substitute whatever size you need) on one side
and 1/4" male flare on the other.  Prep by screwing
the cap on snug and then drill through (from the 1/2"
side) bothe the male flare and the cap with a 3?16"
bit.  Remove the cap and install the adaptor into your
bulkhead fitting.  Insert the stem through the cap,
then slide the O-ring down inside the threaded portion
of the cap.  Stick the thermometer stem through the
male flare to the point that you want it to protrude
inside your vessel, then slide the cap down and thread
it onto the male flare, tighten down just snug with
your fingers.  Adjutable, removable for cleaning, and
leak-free.

The same set-up can work for other size stems by using
the right flare fitting and O-ring.  Pocket-type
thermometers with smaller shafts follow the same
procedure, using an O-ring and bit matching shaft the
thermometer diameter, such as number 006 for 1/8". 
With a 1/4" shaft, use the  flare nut instead of the
cap, drill the male flare fitting with a 1/4" bit, and
use a 009 O-ring (it will be a slight stretch-fit on
the shaft).  

Hope that helps,
Kent Fletcher
Brewing in So Cal
 






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Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:02:02 +1000
From: Wes Smith <wsmith at rslcom.net.au>
Subject: Re: Maris Otter = stuck mash?

Paul Kensler is having problems with his Maris Otter mashes - its a bit 
difficult to diagnose without some more data like time and temp, water 
treatment, type of mash tun (HERMS/RIMS or simple Infusion), any amylase 
additions and crush. The gray protein sludge is coming from excessive 
protein breakdown in the mash tun. These malts (Thomas Fawcett or Crisp) 
are fine malts and true to traditional English styles. They are FULLY 
modified and typically low protein and usually all but mash themselves 
producing lovely clean runoffs and full bodied beers.

The usual mash parameters are a longish rest at 66C (151F) - say 70 to 90 
mins with a liquor to grist ratio of around 3:1 and a mash pH of 5.3 to 
5.5. Any time spent down in protein rest territory would definitely lead to 
the problems mentioned above. Another point to consider is the crush - it 
cant be too fine for some single infusion systems. You need the coarser 
crush to stop the grain bed compacting. What efficiency do you achieve 
typically?

Maybe with some of the above parameters we can get a bit closer to the problem

Wes.
(We import Thomas Fawcett malts into Australia and New Zealand)


I've got a recurring problem whenever I used Maris
>Otter malts (I've used Crisp in the past, and I'm
>working my way through a sack of Fawcett right now).
>Each and every time, I get a HUGE amount of grey
>protein sludge on top of the mash.  I




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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 18:16:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: g flo <gflo77 at yahoo.com>
Subject: bottling with a tap-a-draft

I was wondering if anyone has any experience force
carbonating using the tap-a-draft system, and then
bottling.  It seems straight forward enough, but I was
wondering if anyone had tried it and had any warnings
or suggestions before I try it. I know the tap-a-draft
has a tendency towards foaming, so I plan to get the
force-carbed beer pretty close to freezing before I
bottle it.  The is the best I can do until I have the
space/money for a proper kegging system.  Any
suggestions are appreciated.

Greg Flores
Santa Cruz, CA
http://emptyboxbrewing.blogspot.com



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 21:44:21 -0400
From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Adjunct/ was re: ..., soft water ...

>AlK's and AJ's comments about making beer from soft water [...]
>No question lagers from soft
>water are far superior, but also many of the other styles benefit.The
mineral
>myth seems to have started in Britain, perhaps as a marketing thing.

I agree that there is something superior about DI water pils, but other
darker
styles - even an o'fest - don't seem to need the extreme lack of minerals so
much.

I have mixed feelings about high mineral content in ales.    Magnesium else
a lot of calcium change the character of an ale - or so I think - but I'm
not quite sure if it's for the better or worse.

On a different but related topic - I'm not sure that we HBers make British
ales at all like the Brits do.    I was perusing M&BS and they state that
the mix
of adjuncts in British beer has remained quite constant for decades.  At the
time of the writing in 1976 the average brewers 'grist' in Britain was 76.8%
malt, 9.0% starchy adjunct, and 14.2% copper(boiler) sugar and syrup
adjunct.  Also that UK production of crystal malt accounted for only 3% of
the malt used !   Those percentages are not necessarily  typical of any
particular beer, but the percentages in use are vastly different from most
ale recipes I've seen.

A recipe w/ 8.5lbs of malt,  4oz of crystal, a pound of torrified barley,
and 1.5lbs of sugar just doesn't sound familiar !

Barley and wheat in various forms seemed to top the starchy adjunct list.
No clear list for the sugar & syrup adjunct except a trend then away from
sucrose and toward starch hydrolysis mixes that have about the same
fermentability as wort.

Something to think about when you are making your next IPA ...

 -S





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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 21:10:01 -0500
From: "Tom Viemont" <t_viemont at hotmail.com>
Subject: Stainless Problem

Greetings Fellow Brewers!

I recently picked up a wayward keg at a junkyard for $11.  The local welder 
cut a nice hole in the top with a plasma cutter and drilled the side to fit 
a Weld-B-Gone fitting.  I cleaned it out with Beer Brite and used a wire 
brush on a couple of spots  (I know that was the wrong thing to do now).

All was right with the world, so I filled it up for a pre-flight test boil.  
While the water was heating, I noticed that there were a couple of tiny 
spots of rust on the inside of the pot.  These seem to be deposits of 
regular (non-stainless) steel that came about from the wire brush I used 
most likely, though they could be from the plasma cutter, I suppose.

I've tried to remove them with a brass brush, multiple scotchguard pads, 
beer brite, and elbow grease, but I can still feel and see them in the 
metal.  They seem to be pretty deep.  One article I read in the Brewing 
Techniques archives indicated that nitric acid would remove these steel 
deposits.  I am running out of elbow.

I'd appreciate any advice.  Will these spots effect the finished product if 
I do nothing?

Thanks!

Hope you're enjoying the summer!


Tom Viemont
Raleigh, NC



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 21:16:51 -0500
From: "Scott and Lois Courtney" <courtney03 at iquest.net>
Subject: RE: Brewery names

In response to the 'brewery names' request (I'm behind in reading the
digest...):

I call my (not as productive as I'd like it to be) brewery Tranquility Base
Brewery.  I was born in 1969 soon after the Apollo 11 landing, I'm an Aero
Engineer, and I think that there's nothing more tranquil than coming home
from a long day at work and drinking a brewski made by yours truly.  Not to
mention the aroma of crystal malt or an all grain mash.

Scott
Indy, IN



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Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 22:41:34 -0400
From: mjkid at rochester.rr.com
Subject: Re: Munich Breweries

On 9 Jul 2003 at 7:43, Abe Kabakoff wrote:

> The Ayinger Brewery has regular tours, and their tour was pretty cool.
> They're a 40 minute light-rail ride outside of Munich in a beautiful
> little town.  Their number is (08095) 8890.  I seem to remember that
> English tours are possible.

I was in Munich in April of last year, and did the Ayinger tour. As 
Abe mentions, it's a beautiful train ride to Aying, which is near the
Bavarian Alps. The new brewery is state-of-the-art, and the tasting 
room
is quite nice. Our tour was in German, so getting an English tour 
may just
depend on timing. You will have to walk a couple kilometers when 
you get
off the train.

On the return trip to Munich, Forschungs Brauerei is a logical stop. 
(I
forget the station, but the "The Beer Drinkers Guide to Munich" has 
all
the details. Be sure to get a copy before you go) I got a personal 
tour
from the founders grandson, who presented me with a .5 L krug 
when we
left. We wound up sitting at a regulars table, but they didn't give us 
a
hard time about it, and by the time we left, they had invited us to sit 
at
their table anytime we visited. They also pointed out a grammar 
error in
the book;-)

> 
> Just outside of Munich in Feldkirchen is where I used to work: 
> Fliegerbraeu.  Fifteen months ago I would have given you the tour.  I
> know the current brewer's English is good.  The number is (089) 99 100
> 191, the S-Bahn stop is Feldkirchen on the S6.  The restaurant opens at
> 11, and the brewers are there until 4:30 or 5 on weekdays.  I believe
> they charge 3 Euros for a tour, and you get a small beer with it.  Their
> sister brewery, Isarbraeu (S-Bahn S7-Grosshesselohe-Isartalbahnhof),
> also gives tours, and the brewmaster has done tours in English before. 
> Their number is (089) 79 89 61. 

We were there almost exactly 15 months ago, and Abe indeed did 
give us the tour of Fliegerbreau. (Hi, Abe!) There was three of us, 
all homebrewers from Rochester, NY, one of whom is currently 
living in Munich. Very nice tour, and the wheat beer in the small 
garden out back, along with some weisswurst, made for a 
memorable morning.

We then proceeded to the town of Erding, to tour the Erdinger 
brewery. This is a well worthwhile trip. You have to catch a bus from 
the
train station, and the schedule is a bit tricky. The bus does stop 
right
in front of the brewery, though. The tour starts in the tasting room,
which is beautiful. We all had the Pinkatus, of course;-) The tour 
isn't
very technical, since the folks that give the tours are hostess types, 
not
brewers. The bottling line is incredible, something like 160,000 
bottles
per hour, 20 hours a day. And, at the hostess heated up some 
weisswurst
for us. All in all, a great day of brewery tours.

Mike Kidulich
Rochester, NY




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