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


Contents:
  What!!!??? Support MADD???!!! You *MUST* be on drugs! (Mark Stevens) <stevens at stsci.edu>
  brew clubs in DC? (Ben Bloom)
  DC area HB clubs? (Ben Bloom)
  Stuck fermentation (Andy Leith)
  Cooling wort before pitching (Bill) Mayne <mayne at sun10.scri.fsu.edu>
  FIX'D DRUM TAP (TSAMSEL)
  Homebrewing Dry Beer (Randy Tidd)
  mashing out (Ken Johnson)


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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 09:35:37 EST
From: (Mark Stevens) <stevens at stsci.edu>
Subject: What!!!??? Support MADD???!!! You *MUST* be on drugs!


In Homebrew Digest #584 STAFINIAK at hermes.psycha.penn.edu posted an announcement
of an upcoming homebrew competition at the Dock Street Brewery to pick a new
beer recipe for them to brew. He said that the registration fee of $5 would
go to MADD.

I question the wisdom of beer drinkers giving money to a group that seems
to be increasingly losing its focus on the problem of drunk driving and
stepping up efforts to make it more difficult to buy beer and other
alcoholic beverages. Their track record seems very poor in this regard. If
memory serves me correctly, I believe they were instrumental in forcing
states to raise drinking ages, that they supported tax increases to the
brewing industry, and that local chapters have been seeking limits on
liquor licenses and generally making it more difficult for people to
buy or sell beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages.

I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way that I will give one red cent
to neo-prohibitionists. If MADD focuses ONLY on public education efforst
and legislative efforst to increase penalties for convicted drunk drivers,
then fine, I will support them, but as long as they seek restrictions on
the free trade of alcoholic beverages, then I feel that NO homebrewer, 
brewery, brewpub, retailer, or consumer of beer wine and liquor, should
give MADD any money.

Why stroke the mangy cur that bit you?

- ---Mark Stevens, a free-thinkin', beer-drinkin' kinda guy
   Send praise, "right-on"s, and kudos to:  stevens at stsci.edu
   Send complaints, flames and &c. to: /dev/null

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 08:50:20 EST
From: shadow!spike at uu.psi.com (Ben Bloom)
Subject: brew clubs in DC?



Can somebody clue me in on the whereabouts and whoabouts of a homebrew
coop or club in the DC/Northern VA area. 

Thanks, 
replies to spike at ait.com


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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 08:52:45 EST
From: shadow!spike at uu.psi.com (Ben Bloom)
Subject: DC area HB clubs?


Can anyone refer me to homebrew clubs in the Northern VA/ DC area?

Thanks,
replies to spike at ait.com

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 09:31:15 CST
From: andy at wups.wustl.edu (Andy Leith)
Subject: Stuck fermentation

While Al Taylor (HBD #584) is correct in saying that large amounts of O2 are needed at the start of fermentation so that the yeast can multiply, once fermentation is underway O2 is no longer necessary.  A lack of O2 will result in a slow fermentation (not enough yeast) it should not result in a completely stuck fermentation.  The problem
is most often the result of the yeast settling out too soon and no longer being able to do its job.  The best thing to do is either to pitch some more yeast into suspension, or to rack the wort into a new container (carefully so as to avoid aeration). This will stir the yeast back into suspension and fermentation should start up again. All this assumes of course that the problem is not that the yeast has been stunned by a high alcohol content.
Andy Leith
andy at wups.wustl.edu

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 10:43:42 -0500
From: William (Bill) Mayne <mayne at sun10.scri.fsu.edu>
Subject: Cooling wort before pitching

Since after I mix the hot wort from the boil with cold water in the
fermenter the temperature is normally down to a point which yeast
can tolerate I have always followed the practice of pitching the
yeast immediately. A book on homebrewing recommended this since it
takes several hours for the wort to cool down to ideal fermenting
temperatures. The rationale was that it is better to start fermentation
immediately since the layer of CO2 produced in the fermenter provides
some protection against bacterial infection. Although my results have
been good, IMO, I am starting to question the wisdom of this practice.

I recently switched to William's dry ale yeast, which starts very
quickly. Yesterday I brewed a batch and noticed that within a couple
of hours, while the temperature was still above ideal, the fermentation
was going so fast the airlock was literally blowing a constant stream
of CO2. If there was any interval between bubbles it was a tiny fraction
of a second, too short to notice. I wonder if such fast fermentation is a
result of the wort still being warm, and if it might not be better to let
the wort cool first so the fermentation can proceed at more modest rate
and at a suitable temperature. Besides what I have said here, what
are the pros and cons? Should I at least chill the water to be mixed
with the hot wort to get the initial temperature down more? On the other
hand, my present procedure works. So maybe I shouldn't fix it.

Bill Mayne
Florida State University
mayne at nu.cs.fsu.edu

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Date:    Mon, 25 Feb 1991 10:50:36 EST
From: TSAMSEL at ISDRES.ER.USGS.GOV
Subject: FIX'D DRUM TAP

I may be redundant but our MAIL facility was somewhat disabled last week.

DrumTap Fixed:
    A smidgen of vaseline in the threads of the valve does the trick.
(And Boy Howdy, does my Bitter/Brown schmekt gu"t)!!
Ted Samsel (TSAMSEL at USGSRESV.BIT) 

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 12:52:59 EST
From: rtidd at ccels3.mitre.org (Randy Tidd)
Subject: Homebrewing Dry Beer


I'm trying to get my brother turned onto homebrewing, so I asked him
what his favourite kinds of beers were, hoping I could brew up a batch
of each to impress him.  He said Pale Ale (no problem) and Dry beers
(yuck!).  I don't particularly like dry beers, so I was thinking of
brewing a half-batch of a wimpy dry beer he might like.

Does anyone have any tips on making dry beer? Can I do it with only
extracts and some specialty grains?  Someone told me that the
fermentation is somehow extended to ferment out all the sugars from
the beer, leaving it with no aftertaste.  This doesn't sound quite
right to me.

I've been sipping on some Righteous Real Ale (by the recipe from 
Papaizan's book), and I think it's my best beer so far! It came out
very dark (almost black) and bitter. After 2 1/2 weeks of aging in
the bottle, it's delicious!

Happy brewing!

Randy Tidd
rtidd at mwunix.mitre.org

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 91 09:57:14 PST
From: kjohnson at argon.berkeley.edu (Ken Johnson)
Subject: mashing out

Could someone please tell me the reason for a mash out. Is it to deactivate
the enzymes?  To raise the mash to sparging temp.?  What?

confused
kj

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #585, 02/26/91
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