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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Re: Hunter...the sequel  (Kenneth R. van Wyk)
  Baltimore Brewpubs (Kim Mills)
  Head and Belgium (Eric Pepke)
  taxes,etc. (Russ Gelinas)
  Oatmeal Stout, Blueberry Ale and priming (Patrick Stirling (Sun HQ Consulting Services))
  Re: Beer Tax (Rick Noah Zucker)
  Using external controls on 'fridges for homebrew (Greg Wageman)
  Vortex in bottles ("FEINSTEIN")


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Archives are available from netlib at mthvax.cs.miami.edu


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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 09:08:22 EDT
From: Kenneth R. van Wyk <krvw at cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Hunter...the sequel 

> While on the phone with Hunter, we got to chatting about what I was using it
> for.  The result is that their product manager now knows about the AHA, and 
> may contact them about editorial mention, etc.  They may also buy a Zymurgy, 
> and contact major homebrew suppliers advertising therein regarding selling 
> the product.

Good job!  I'm glad that the Hunter folks have been made aware of this
potential marketplace.  I've been using the AC thermostat on my
brewing fridge for some time now, and I love it!  If I could make just
_one_ suggestion to the Hunter folks, though, it would be to make the
thermostat go below 40F; I'd love to be able to adjust the temperature
all the way down to 33 or even 32F for lagering.  I'd imagine that
this would be a trivial ROM (or some such) change for the Hunter folks
to make.  But then, what would I know...

Gary, I'd be happy to phone the Hunter folks to tell them this - could
you email me the phone number that you used to contact them?

Cheers,

Ken van Wyk
krvw at cert.sei.cmu.edu (work)
ken at oldale.pgh.pa.us  (home)

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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 09:26:18 -0400
From: kim at nova.npac.syr.edu (Kim Mills)
Subject: Baltimore Brewpubs

I am visiting Baltimore this coming weekend and would like to know
of any brewpubs in the city, especially near the waterfront.  Thanks, Kim Mills

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Date:    Mon, 10 Sep 1990 10:50:47 EDT
From: PEPKE at scri1.scri.fsu.edu (Eric Pepke)
Subject: Head and Belgium

In re. Mike Charlton's head retention problems.  If the bubbles are small, it
sounds like everything's OK mechanically with the head.  You must just be
missing some of the miscellaneous organic molecules that strengthen the head.
How are you mashing?

The discussions here plus Michael Jackson plus the ghost of a bottle of
Framboise I drank a year ago that still smells good have pretty much convinced
me to go bum around Belgium.  What percentage of the populace speaks French
as a primary language?  My other wanderings in Europe have convinced me that,
although it is always possible to find people who speak enough English to 
get around, one fares much better if one can speak the local language, even
poorly.  I think it conveys a respect for the culture, which causes people to
warm up much quicker.  I can already speak some German.  Would it be worthwhile
for me to learn some French before going?

Eric Pepke                                     INTERNET: pepke at gw.scri.fsu.edu
Supercomputer Computations Research Institute  MFENET:   pepke at fsu
Florida State University                       SPAN:     scri::pepke
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052                     BITNET:   pepke at fsu

Disclaimer: My employers seldom even LISTEN to my opinions.
Meta-disclaimer: Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.

"Belgium, man, Belgium!" --Zaphod Beeblebrox

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Date:     Mon, 10 Sep 90 11:26 EST
From: <R_GELINA%UNHH.BITNET at MITVMA.MIT.EDU> (Russ Gelinas)
Subject:  taxes,etc.

Another number you can call to protest the proposed beer tax is 1-800-33-TAXES.
Just leave your name and address and letters are sent to your reps and to ol'
"read my lips".

On a better note, I tried a new? beer out of Utica, NY called New Amsterdam Ale
(and beer, but the ale is better).  Pretty standard for a small-batch brew, but
it is dry-hopped, and has a very nicey, spicey flavor and aroma. A pleasant
surprise.

Russ
 -- the stout (with the Perle instead of Northern Bullion hops put in by
 -- mistake) goes into bottles tonight.......almost a month to ferment out!

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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 11:31:41 PDT
From: pms at Corp.Sun.COM (Patrick Stirling (Sun HQ Consulting Services))
Subject: Oatmeal Stout, Blueberry Ale and priming

Hi,

My Oatmeal stout having now had a month in the bottle, I thought I'd 
post my findings (er, opinions!). The recipe was derived from several
posted by Jay H in digect #459 (thanks Jay!):

Oatmeal Stout
	8lb   British Amber Malt Extract
	0.5lb Black Patent 
	0.5lb Roasted Barley
	0.5lb Chocolate Malt
	1lb   Steel Cut Oatmeal
	2oz Eroica (brewing)
	1oz Fuggles (finishing)
	~9g dry Whitbread yeast
	0.5cup Corn Sugar (priming)

	Procedure
	Crack the grains (I used a rolling pin)
	Add grain and oatmeal to about 2gal cold water
	Bring water slowly to a boil (over about an hour)
	Strain out all grains
	Add extract and Eroica, boil for 1 hour
	Add Fuggles, boil another 2 min
	Steep 15 min
	Sparge through a seive into a plastic bin, over ice
	Mix well, take SG reading
	Rack into 7gal glass carboy and pitch the yeast (no starter)
	Bottle when fermentation is complete (a week for me)

My OG was 1.062, at bottling it was 1.015. I pitched at 75F by saving a
bit of the cool wort in a saucepan, adding the dry yeast, swirling it
and dumping it into the carboy. It has turned out excellently! One of
my best yet (if I do say so myself). Black, smooth and creamy. The
oatmeal doesn't add a very pronounced flavour; I think it rather
contributes to the creaminess and smoothness, which is becoming more
pronounced as the beer ages. It has a fairly dark brown head,
presumably from the roasted barley, - creamy with small bubbles.
Similar to Guinness bit not as long lasting. At first I thought I'd
need a bit more oatmeal next time, but now I think Jay got it right!
We'll see in another month (if any makes it that long!).

Now on to Blueberry. I've just bottled a blueberry ale. A very simple recipe:
	7lb British Amber
	1.5lb Crystal
	2oz N Brewer (boiling)
	1oz Fuggles (finishing)
	Whitbread yeast
	2lb fresh frozen blueberries
Basically the same procedure as the stout. I added the blueberries at
the peak of fermentation. I tried some when I bottled; not much of a
blueberry flavour, but there is something there. We'll see how it
ages, but I suspect that more is required to give it a notecieable
fruit flavour. This time I used a 2 step fermentation - 1 week in the
7gal primary (with fruit), then another week in a 5gal secondary. I got
a lot of deposit in the primary - 2-3 inches; much less in the secondary,
about 1/2". The beer has come out remarkably clear, with a nice reddish
tint.

Finally, priming. I tried priming with malt extract for a while. I
found it caused a 1/2" layer of haze at the bottom of the bottles. This
was a dilemma for me - do I waste some good beer of pour sediment into
the glass? My solution was to return to priming with corn sugar!

patrick

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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 11:57:32 -0700
From: noah at cs.washington.edu (Rick Noah Zucker)
Subject: Re: Beer Tax

>Date: Fri, 7 Sep 90 17:49:51 EDT
>From: harley!chuck at uunet.UU.NET (Chuck Cox)
>Subject: Beer Tax
>
>In the latest issue of 'Brewprint' (the Wort Processor's newsletter),
>an article about 'no-new-taxes' Bush's new beer tax lists
>a number you can call to get a free anti-beer-tax telegram sent
>to your representative.  The number is 800-321-9035, simply give your
>name, address & phone number.
>
>Don't delay, call now.

	If you are a sports fan in the US, I am sure that you have seen
the Anheuser-Busch commercials against an increase in the federal excise
tax for beer.  What is interesting is that they say that this tax already
costs beer drinkers in the US $3 billion/year and that it is the single
most expensive part of the beer (I assume they mean theirs).  However,
they never say how much it is per beer.  They probably don't want people
to find out how cheap their ingredients (including corn) really are.
Isn't it great that we buy these products without knowing how much tax we
are paying?

						   Rick Zucker

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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 90 12:47:21 PDT
From: greg at cemax.com (Greg Wageman)
Subject: Using external controls on 'fridges for homebrew

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but there is a possible down
side to using external controls (such as the Hunter control recently
mentioned) to control the temperature in a homebrewing 'fridge.

*IF* the 'fridge you're using is a cycle-defrost ("frost free") model,
the external control will interfere with the self-defrosting function
of the 'fridge.  The way these generally work is that a timer
mechanism, which runs continuously, periodically shuts down the
refrigeration system and activates a high-wattage heating element which
is wrapped around the evaporator (freezing) coils.  The element melts
any accumulated ice, and when a preset temp. is reached (usually within
a couple of minutes), is thermostatically shut off.  Eventually, the
cycle-defrost timer turns the refrigeration system back on.

The external control works by shutting off all power to the 'fridge
when cooling isn't needed.  This means that the cycle-defrost timer
runs only a small fraction of the normal time (only when the control
supplies power because the 'fridge is too warm).  As a result, the
defrost cycle will occur only very occasionally.

Now, I realize we are running these things at a much warmer than normal
temp., and they are not typically being opened several times a day as
they would be in normal use, so icing may never become a problem.  It's
something to be aware of, though, if you use the external-control
approach.

	-Greg (sj.ate.slb.com!cemax!greg)


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Date: 10 Sep 90 23:16:00 EDT
From: "FEINSTEIN" <crf at pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: Vortex in bottles

Hi there!


RE:  creating a vortex when draining bottles by spinning them a few times while
holding them-- this isn't meant to sound condescending in the least, but ever
hear of the Coriolus effect?  This is the "spin effect" put on winds, waters,
etc., by the Earth's rotation.  It's also what creates that useful little
vortex mentioned in dig 492. 

The Coriolus effect, btw, is affected by latitude.  So, you'll probably find
you get a better vortex spinning the bottle in one direction or the other, but
not both. 


                         Yours in Carbonation,

                                      Cher 


"With one tuckus, you can't dance at two weddings." -- Yiddish proverb
=============================================================================

	Cheryl Feinstein              INTERNET:  CRF at PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU
	Univ. of Fla.                 BITNET:  CRF at UFPINE
	Gainesville, FL


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End of HOMEBREW Digest #493, 09/11/90
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