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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  British "bisquit" (Nathaniel Lansing)
  Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops (David Thompson)
  Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops and US-56 rehydration (Bob Hall)
  Seeded Hops ("I ≠ coldheart")
  Gruit Ale Supplies ("I ≠ coldheart")
  Software ("Ghettos J. Overseer")
  Sparge pH ("A.J deLange")
  RE:  Vacuum sealed hops and US-56 ("JONES,AARON K")
  Hotels In Chicago during brewing courses ("Lemcke, Keith")
  Stir plates and hops ("Peed, John")
  Re: American proprietary yeasts (Ben Dooley's marginal note) ("Thomas M \"Biz\" Bisard")
  What's the answer to the Biscuit malt question? / Homeland Security HomeBrew (Jeff Adelsberger)
  RE: your tax dollars at work: dog booties and beer making equipment ("Ronald La Borde")
  McMenamins Yeast ("I ≠ coldheart")
  Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops ("Terry Felton")
  Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia etc ("Ariz T. Onrushes")


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JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:44:27 -0400
From: Nathaniel Lansing <delbrew at compuserve.com>
Subject: British "bisquit"

British use a malt that is similar to bisquit. They call it 
"amber" malt though. I've seen it around 22L to 27L.
It has a taste very similar to bisquit with some "honey malt"
character also.



Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:27:07 -0500
From: David Thompson <david at dtphoto.com>
Subject: Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops



Andrew Tate posted:

 >I've been considering buying bulk hops and a vacuum sealer. I'm less
 >interested in economy than convenience and having a fresh, quality product.
 >My volume is pretty low, perhaps 5 gallons every 6-8 weeks. Can anyone
 >advise whether this might be beneficial? Or guide me toward sources and
 >options for the hops and equipment?

I usually buy in 1-lb lots from HopsDirect.com and find their service to be 
out standing, especially when you consider I get over 1 pound in each 
1-pound pouch of hops.

I've bought both pellets and whole. (I am switching to whole hops, BTW) I 
use a vacuum sealer I got at WalMart for 40 bucks and it works great.  Hops 
bought last November smell as fresh as when I packed them.  Of course, I do 
keep them in the freezer and track their losses in ProMash.

No matter how much I'd brew, I always found it advantageous to have bulk 
hops around.  I work my recipes around the varieties I buy, namely, Saaz, 
Cascades, Magnum, etc.

The sealer is a generic Food Saver one, and I use the generic baggies 
branded by WalMart. Yes, it's a bit of work, and whole hops do take up a 
pile of room, but it's a LOT cheaper buying this way.

Dave
Austin, Texas




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:28:16 -0400
From: Bob Hall <rallenhall at henry-net.com>
Subject: Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops and US-56 rehydration

Andrew Tate asked about buying hops in bulk and resealing. Last Christmas 
one of the gifts from my niece was a wine-saver vacuum pump with two bottle 
fittings. Silly her ... an open bottle of wine seldom survives long around 
this house. What I did find, however, is that it makes a great hop saver. I 
bought a pound of tettnanger pellets, poured them in wine bottles, inserted 
the vacuum seals, pumped out the air, and stuck them in the freezer. The 
bottles have opened with a pop every time telling me that the vacuum holds 
well and the hops have remained very fresh.

I and my brew group have used US-56 a lot over the past six months ... it 
is an incredible dry yeast that can go toe-to-toe with 1056 and 001. I have 
rehydrated (as I always did with Nottingham) and I have sprinkled on top as 
per Fermentis directions (just like most dry wine yeasts). I really haven't 
noticed a difference in performance either way. Lately I've been doing more 
of the sprinkling to save a step and the ales have been excellent. Good luck!

Bob Hall
Napoleon, OH




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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:10:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: "I &#8800; coldheart" <rebelcat1 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Seeded Hops

Hi, I've got a question about hops: I was brewing some
ESB (from gambrinus' mug,
http://brewery.org/gambmug/recs/351.shtml) yesterday
and I noticed that the hops, northern brewer whole,
had seeds. There looked to be about 100 seeds in the 3
oz I added. I live in PDX and got the hops from a very
reputable brewshop. I assume the fault lies with the
grower or packager, but how will it effect my beer?

Thanks,
Will in portland



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Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:44:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: "I &#8800; coldheart" <rebelcat1 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Gruit Ale Supplies

Hi, I'm posting again to ask if anyone has suggestions
on finding Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale) and Wild or Marsh
Rosemary (Ledum palustre) for gruit ale. And internet
search has been fruitless, and I'd really like to try
and include these classic potherbs. 

Thanks,
Will in portland



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 02:26:17 -0700
From: "Ghettos J. Overseer" <zmbenhal at glembocki.com>
Subject: Software

Photoshop, Windows, Office.  REALLY CHEAP.

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The rest is on our site:
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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:58:25 +0000
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Sparge pH

I wouldn't worry too much about being exact on sparge pH. The effect of 
pH on tannin extraction is not so sharp as it is on enzyme activity. In 
addition to which the runoff is a pretty dilute solution as the pH 
approaches 6 so I wouldn't expect the pH shift to amount to as much as 
it does with mash or wort. If your beer doesn't taste astringent then 
you are not extracting tanins and have nothing to worry about. So why 
not be conservative, measure at room temperature and give your electrode 
a break?

A.J.


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:59:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: "JONES,AARON K" <kjones1 at ufl.edu>
Subject: RE:  Vacuum sealed hops and US-56

Andrew--

I, also, am only able to brew once every month or so, and I love 
to have fresh, quality hops around.  I ordered from Hop Tech for a 
long time, and always had good experiences with them (although the 
owner did switch oxygen-barrier bags and the new ones don't seem 
to stay sealed for as long now).  As a matter of fact, I recently 
used some '03 Sterlings I had kept in the freezer since receiving 
them in early '04, and they smelled and looked great (we'll know 
for sure when I taste the final product).

I recently ordered some hop plugs from Williams Brewing (and I'm 
sure you can find them at some of the HBD sponsors as well--I had 
a gift certificate).  They are made by American Hop Plugs, and the 
Cascades I used were wonderful.  They are vacuum sealed really 
well in good heavy barrier bags, and they hardly take up any room 
in the freezer, which makes them more popular with the wife, also. 
 They're not terribly expensive, so if you're not worried about 
economy, they might be a good way to go (however, although they do 
stock many varieties, they won't have nearly everything you might 
be looking for).

I'm not going to attempt to speak on US-56 on the microbiology 
level, all I know is when I open up the packet and sprinkle it in, 
it is, without fail, fermenting happily within 10-12 hours and 
always delivers a good performance.

Kyle



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 09:05:58 -0400
From: "Lemcke, Keith" <klemcke at siebelinstitute.com>
Subject: Hotels In Chicago during brewing courses

I am getting inquiries from potential students about booking
lower-priced hotels & accommodations during our upcoming Chicago brewing
courses. While we do have suggested hotels listed on our web site at
http://www.siebelinstitute.com/registration/hotel.html, I have a few
other contacts & suggestions I can provide for more economical housing
in Chicago. If you would like to get more info, please drop me a line at
klemcke at siebelinstitute.com. 

 

Keith Lemcke
Siebel Institute & World Brewing Academy



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 06:42:24 -0700
From: "Peed, John" <jpeed at elotouch.com>
Subject: Stir plates and hops


Ben asks about using a stir plate to stir a carboy of beer
pre-fermentation.  I think it's a moot question because the bottom of
the carboy is slightly dome-shaped and I don't think the stir bar will
stay centered.  

Andrew asks about vacuum sealing hops.  I've been doing that for some
time. It works great - vacuum sealed hops will last practically
indefinitely in the freezer.

John Peed
Oak Ridge, TN




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:29:00 -0400
From: "Thomas M \"Biz\" Bisard" <mrbiz at torchlake.com>
Subject: Re: American proprietary yeasts (Ben Dooley's marginal note)  

Ben <bendooley at gmail dot com> wrote:

On a marginally related note, does anyone know how American breweries
acquire proprietary yeast? I've noticed that several have them.



I answer:

Here's a story (true?) I've heard several times about a very 
distinctive American brewery: When a certain Kalamazoo MI beer maker 
first started as a homebrewer he worked at a downtown bakery. He took 
a bread yeast, developed it into a yeast suitable for beer 
making,  patented it and then sent it out to Oregon to be cultured 
for him with the proviso that they were not to change it in any way. 
I'm not sure exactly what went into "developing it." No doubt a lot 
of research was consumed along the way.


Best,
 -Biz  (aka Tom Bisard)
  Kalkaska MI
<mrbiz at torchlake dot com>






Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 09:00:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Adelsberger <fuzzydodads at yahoo.com>
Subject: What's the answer to the Biscuit malt question? / Homeland Security HomeBrew

Biscuit Malt:

This is pure hypothesis but they could be using self
toasted grains. This would seem to make more sense
from an inventory point of view and get the same
result.

I assume most large scale commercial breweries would
do this for cost and control measures where they can
get away with it.


Homeland Security Homebrew:

The Coastguard Academy had a set up to supply beer for
social occasions. This included bottled Admiral Ale or
something like that. Someone ended up paying out of
pocket for the cost because of the hub-bub. I think it
was tried to be justified as a cost saving measure.

Also this is the same Homeland Security Funds that
were significantly reduced from the two places to
actually have major terrorist attacks (NY and DC). 



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 13:20:03 -0500
From: "Ronald La Borde" <pivoron at cox.net>
Subject: RE: your tax dollars at work: dog booties and beer making equipment

>From: "Peter A. Ensminger" <ensmingr at twcny.rr.com>
>Subject: your tax dollars at work: dog booties and beer making equipment
>
>I don't know about the iPods, but the dog booties were for the
>search-and-rescue dogs and the beer is for these workers, who deserve a
>cold one after spending all day in the Katrina mess.

Let's just hope they drive home burning regular gasoline. If they were to 
have an accident using E-85, or that new gasohol, the newspapers would call 
it an alcohol related accident.

Ron
Ronald La Borde - Metairie Louisiana
New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie Louisiana
New Orleans is the New Atlantis
littera scripta manet => the written word remains 



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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:35:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: "I &#8800; coldheart" <rebelcat1 at yahoo.com>
Subject: McMenamins Yeast

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone knows which yeast the
McMenamins micobrewery uses. Its a brewpub chain in
the portland, Oregon area. I find thier beer overly
sweet and unpleasant, but a brewer there told me that
was the mash technique used, not the yeast. I'd still
like to know the Wyeast specs, can you get that info
for propriatary yeast? 

I want to pick the sample I got into a Old Rasputin
clone, but wouldn't want to waste all that malt with a
crappy yeast. 

Thanks for any help.

 -Will in PDX



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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:39:49 -0400
From: "Terry Felton" <tdfelton at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Vacuum Sealed Hops

Andrew,

I use a Food Saver to package both pellet and whole hops.  I think it
was one of the best investments I have made.  It is also great for
re-sealing other bags, like small bags of grains as well as to reseal
bags of dry malt extract, etc.  Good buys on refurbished or
discontinued models are common on E-bay.  Expect to pay between $25
and $50. Most will come without bags, but those are often available
locally.

Terry Felton
Holland, NY


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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:31:10 -0700
From: "Ariz T. Onrushes" <rau at gophila.com>
Subject: Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia etc

Photoshop, Windows, Office.  REALLY CHEAP.

Some examples:
Extensis Portfolio 7.0 $59.95
Creative Suite Premium (5 CD) $149.95
Windows 98 $49.95
Illustrator CS $69.95
Fireworks MX 2004 $69.95
Photoshop CS $99.95
Photoshop 7 $69.95 
WordPerfect Office 10 $69.95
Borland Delphi 7 Enterprise Edition (2CD) $69.95
After Effects 6 $69.95
Works 7 $69.95
Director MX 2004 $69.95
Premiere 7 $69.95
Picture It Premium 9 $59.95

The rest is on our site:
http://7jvevwv0vnckqpp2c7pku77p.blowironhi.com/



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