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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  CAMRA Guide ("A.J deLange")
  RE Warming fermenter (Steven Parfitt)
  Re: Pubs in County Kent (Jeff Renner)
  Keeping Fermenter Warm (Rob Schlank)
  Cotswold Pubs (Scott Birdwell)
  water hardness ("Jay Spies")
  Homebrew Powerpoint ("Joe Aistrup")
  BABBLE Brew Off 2006 (val.dan.morey)


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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:03:09 +0000
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: CAMRA Guide

Buy it at one of the Heathrow bookstores or get it from Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/203-7517490-1060725

A.J.


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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 05:59:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Steven Parfitt <thegimp98 at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE Warming fermenter

In the winter my garage gets down to 45F. 

I simply wrap a dark towel around my fermenter and
place a heat lamp about two feet away. I use a
thermostrip thermometer on the carboy (Fermenter) and
turn the heat lamp on when it gets below 66f, and off
if it gets above 70f. I normally only cycle it once a
day. It takes a little manual intervention, but due to
the thermal mass of the fermenter it has a very slow
ramp. 

You could adjust the distance from the heat lamp to
the fermenter to eliminate the power cycling as well.

STeven

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

"There is no such thing as gravity, the earth sucks." Wings Whiplash - 1968



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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 10:07:25 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jsrenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Pubs in County Kent

Bob Hall writes from just down the road in Napoleon, OH

On Jan 31, 2006, at 2:19 AM, Request Address Only - No Articles wrote:

> We've just received an invitation to a May wedding in Gillingham,  
> County
> Kent, England. We'll probably spend some time in London, and there are
> plenty of references to good pubs and tours there. However, I'd  
> like any
> recommendations for pubs/tours out in the County Kent, Surrey,  
> Sussex area.

Bob

I'd suggest starting with the CAMRA page http://www.camra.org.uk/ 
SHWebClass.asp?WCI=ShowCat&CatId=15, which lists CAMRA chapters in  
each county.  Often each chapter has named pubs of the year, which is  
certainly a good start.  Some local chapters also publish regional  
Good Beer Guides.  There are ones for Surrey, E. Surrey and W.  
Sussex, N. Sussex, the Kent Weald, and S.E. Kent (see source below).

If you find some specific area you want to visit, you might email the  
contact person for that local chapter for ideas.

> Also, I'd like to get a copy of the 2006 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, but  
> all of
> my online searches list sources in the UK. Can anyone point me to a US
> distributor?

It's in the UK, but I've had good luck dealing with Beer Inn Print  
http://beerinnprint.co.uk/.  Good selection, nice people (or person?)  
to deal with.  They have a more complete selection of regional pub  
guides than CAMRA's shop, but I don't seem to be able to locate the  
CAMRA Good Beer Guide, which is UKP17 plus shipping from CAMRA.  Very  
strange.  I was sure that they have it.  I'd check with them.

If you like, I can email my UK friends, who now live in Essex but who  
used to live in Kent and who are still members of the Maidstone and  
Mid-Kent CAMRA chapter.  They may have some favorites.

And, of course, see my recommendation of Ye Olde Mitre in the City of  
London in today's (yesterday's?) HBD.

Have fun.  I hope you'll stretch it into a real vacation.

Jeff
- ---
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, jsrennerATumichDOTedu
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943
***Please note new address***




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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 10:19:20 -0500
From: Rob Schlank <rschlank at comcast.net>
Subject: Keeping Fermenter Warm

I have a Belgian Dubbel fermenting now, and the temp was dropping below 
65f, slowing the fermentation.  I did some research and settled on a 
terrarium heater (also used for  keeping Lizards and other pets.)  The 
heater is a pad that has adhesive on one side.  I stuck it to the side 
of the carboy in the middle so it would not be crushed by the weight.  
It keeps the beer in the carboy at 68f - 70f depending on ambient temp.  
There are several sizes and the larger ones will give a bigger temp 
increase over ambient.  With the small one (6" x 8") I am maintaining 
68f - 70f, while the unheated fermenters are at 64f - 66f, so the 
smallest heater is giving me about 5f.

If you want to dial in an almost exact temperature, you would need a 
Thermowell (metal tube fits into stopper and down into carboy so you can 
insert thermostat probe) and a thermostat.  Beer, Beer and More Beer has 
these, as do other brew supply sites.

I used a Zoo Med Under Tank Heater.  You can buy at any pet supply store 
or online for about $15 for the small one, and under $30 for the 
biggest.  They also have a Cable Heater that looks interesting and would 
not be as "permanent" since it could be wrapped around the carboy 
needing the heat and easily removed.  I have not tried this though.  A 
50w, 23' cable is about $30 at PetSmart.com.
More info on these heaters at: 
http://www.zoomed.com/html/under_tank_heaters.php

Of course, the recommendation to lager is a GREAT one!  You'd have a 
hell of an Oktoberfest ready if you start now!

Rob Schlank
Independent Home Brewer
Newbie


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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 10:20:18 -0600
From: Scott Birdwell <defalcos at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Cotswold Pubs

> 	Chris Hofmann asks about pubs in the Cotswolds.  I've been to
> Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds!  The Cotswolds are lovely, famous  
> for
> the yellow sandstone (called Cotswold stone go figure) that all of the
> older homes are made from.  One of my ABSOLUTE favourite pubs is in
> Great Tew (a tiny place actually) called the Falkland Arms.
> http://www.falklandarms.org.uk/
> A lovely place with a thatched roof. Ancient, of course!  And an
> excellent Plowmans lunch (huge piece of stilton, with a crusty  
> bread and
> cress salad and Branston pickle).  Yum! Also, a fine selection of  
> guest
> beers on tap.
>
> If you check the link, you'll see it is critically acclaimed.  I  
> haven't
> been there since 1992, but it remains a very, very pleasant memory!
>
> Jim Cave

I can echo Jim's sentiment with regard to The Falkland Arms.  I've  
been there a couple of times (the last time being about two years  
ago) and it hasn't lost any of its charm.  We were there late morning  
on a Monday and the place was virtually deserted.  By the time we  
were finished, it was packed!  The Great Tew isn't easy to get to,  
but well worth the effort.  I can also highly recommend The Royal Oak  
in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and The Smoking Dog in Malmesbury,  
Wiltshire (technically just outside the Cotswolds, but just  
barely. . . and, besides, they host a beer and sausage festival every  
May!).  Hope this helps.  Have fun!

Scott Birdwell
DeFalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston  TX
www.defalcos.com



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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:36:04 -0500
From: "Jay Spies" <jayspies at citywidehomeloans.com>
Subject: water hardness

All -

Just moved to York, PA recently and one of the techs who's doing follow up
on our new house did a pH and hardness test on our water supply and said
"it's very soft, only about 3-4 grains of hardness".  I asked him to clarify
and he said that was the scale thay they used to measure hardness.  My pH is
a bit high at 6.5 - 7.

So I'm stumped.  Short of ordering a full-on water test from York County,
how do I quantify these measurements?  How would I best compensate for
making beer?  I'd hope that the soft water (if it is in fact soft) would
lend itself well to pilsner-type styles, and would likely require some
mineralization for hoppier styles.  A.J. DeLange to the rescue?  Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller??

Thx in advance,

Jay Spies
Head Mashtun Scraper
Asinine Aleworks
York, PA



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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:21:36 -0600
From: "Joe Aistrup" <joe_aistrup at msn.com>
Subject: Homebrew Powerpoint

Hi all,

My homebrew club is teaching a community course on homebrewing: Homebrewing 
102.  We plan to do a partial mash since this exposes them to basic brewing 
practices from an extract and all-grain prespective.  I know that Beertown, 
Zymurgy, BYO, and several other internet sites have tons of material to help 
with this class.  But, I was wondering if anyone has already put together a 
powerpoint slideshow designed to teach a brewing course.  I would be 
interested in both extract brewing (Homebrewing 101)or partial mash brewing 
(Homebrewing 102).

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Joe Aistrup
Manhattan, KS
Little Apple Brew Crew




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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:21:50 -0600
From: val.dan.morey at juno.com
Subject: BABBLE Brew Off 2006

Attention brewers, entries are now being accepted for the BABBLE Brew Off
2006.  Some good reasons to enter:

1.  We are part of the Midwest Homebrewer of the Year Circuit.
2.  We are having an Entrant Appreciation drawing.  One entrant will be
selected at random to win a special prize package.  Each submission
counts as an entry in the drawing.  So the more you enter the better your
chances.
3.  Special category for 2006 - Beyond Barley Beers
4.  Ribbons and prizes, donated by our sponsors, will be awarded to
flight and BOS winners.

For full details and entry forms visit: 
http://www.babblehomebrewers.com/

Entries can be dropped off or shipped to Flatlander's in Lincolnshire, IL
through the 18th.

Additional drop off sites (1st through the 16th) for those in the greater
Chicago metropolitan area are:

Chicagoland Winemakers, Elmhurst
Brew and Grow, Schaumburg
The Homebrew Shop, St. Charles
Crystal Lake Health Foods, Crystal Lake

An awards ceremony will follow the event, starting around 4:00 pm.

Cheers,
Dan Morey
BABBLE Brew Off Organizer


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