HOMEBREW Digest #664 Fri 21 June 1991
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Trip to Luxemboug, Germany (IOCONNOR)
Cutting keg liquid tubes... (Gary Mason - I/V/S PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 20-Jun-1991 0812)
lambic tasting (Russ Gelinas)
Half filled bottles (Marc Light)
Half filled bottles (Marc Light)
Absurd question -- good beer in Las Vegas? (Chris Shenton)
Corn (MC2331S)
Vienna Brewpubs (Dave Wald)
rabbits & hops (Carl West x4449)
Straining pellet hops (Ken Johnson)
beer periodicals??? (TPH)
more on mashing (mike_schrempp)
Scott's Yeast (Martin A. Lodahl)
Re: Homebrew Digest #663 (June 20, 1991) ("One of these days everythings going to be allright..")
RE: Miller Genuine Draft (Steve Fowler)
Brewpubs, and the lack thereof, in LA (IYU6MES)
Extremely important information (David Taylor)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmi at hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmi at hplabs.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues]
Archives are available from netlib at mthvax.cs.miami.edu
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1991 8:45:39 EDT
From: IOCONNOR at SUNRISE.ACS.SYR.EDU
Subject: Trip to Luxemboug, Germany
Standard request for info on breweries and brewpubs. I will
be in Luxembourg on July 13-5, then on to Germany. In Germany I will
be in Hamburg July 15-18, Berlin July 18-21, and then Munich July
22-26 or so. These dates arent firm--but are pretty close.
Any onfo on places to go etc, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Kieran O'Connor
IOCONNOR at SUNRISE (bitnet)
IOCONNOR at SUNRISE.ACS.SYR.EDU (internet)
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 09:47:20 -0400
From: mason at habs11.ENET.DEC.COM (Gary Mason - I/V/S PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 20-Jun-1991 0812)
Subject: Cutting keg liquid tubes...
> Just be sure that is what you really want to do, because once you cut
> it, you can't make it longer again without replacing it.
Whaddaya mean? One of my favorite sayings (popular with woodworkers) is
"Damn...I cut it twice, and it's STILL too short!"
Cheers...Gary 8')
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1991 9:53:49 EDT
From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: lambic tasting
I had the pleasure of attending the Belgium lambic (and similar beer) tasting
at the AHA conference last night. I'm too ignorant of the style to post any
kind of in-depth beer review; I'll leave that to someone who took notes (you
know who you are). Of course ignorance won't stop me from saying *something*
about it.
There were maybe 25 people in attendance, four people to each bottle, which
gave each of us a good portion. We sampled geuze (sp?), kriek, frambroise,
Belgium brown ales, and some homebrewed lambic-style beer. An educated
and interested group of tasters made for a very enjoyable and informative
session. The homebrews were very good, some were extremely close to the
real thing. I never thought I would hear a homebrew *praised* for having
a "horse-blanket" aroma!
Kudos to Mike Sharp for organizing the tasting and to Dan Hall (BFD!) for
helping out.
My one taste observation is a unique sensation I noticed as I was driving
home: my mouth felt extremely clean, as opposed to the way it can feel after
a night of drinking "normal" beer. I would guess this is because the acidity
of the lambics cuts through the residual sugar that would normally be left on
your teeth. I can still feel the effect today! Belgium mouthwash!?
Russ
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 10:23:46 -0400
From: Marc Light <light at cs.rochester.edu>
Subject: Half filled bottles
I bottled a batch of brown ale last night and as usual I was only
able to fill the last bottle half way with beer. I remember
reading that one should never cap a half filled bottle since it is
likely to explode. Thus I drank a couple swigs and throw the rest
away:-(.
My housemates and I were not able to come up with a good
explanation for why a capped half bottle of beer is a dangerous
thing. So I ask, why is a half full bottle of beer more likely to
explode than an almost full one? What about almost empty bottles?
What about completely full ones?
I apologize if these are totally mundane questions.
Marc Light ARPA: light at cs.rochester.edu
University of Rochester UUCP: {decvax,rutgers}!rochester!light
Rochester NY 14627-0226 VOX: (716) 275-2569
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 10:28:57 -0400
From: Marc Light <light at cs.rochester.edu>
Subject: Half filled bottles
I bottled a batch of brown ale last night and as usual I was only
able to fill the last bottle half way with beer. I remember
reading that one should never cap a half filled bottle since it is
likely to explode. Thus I drank a couple swigs and throw the rest
away:-(.
My housemates and I were not able to come up with a good
explanation for why a capped half bottle of beer is a dangerous
thing. So I ask, why is a half full bottle of beer more likely to
explode than an almost full one? What about almost empty bottles?
What about completely full ones?
I apologize if these are totally mundane questions.
Marc Light ARPA: light at cs.rochester.edu
University of Rochester UUCP: {decvax,rutgers}!rochester!light
Rochester NY 14627-0226 VOX: (716) 275-2569
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 11:01:09 EDT
From: Chris Shenton <chris at asylum.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Absurd question -- good beer in Las Vegas?
or good food? Thanks....
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 10:34 CDT
From: MC2331S at ACAD.DRAKE.EDU
Subject: Corn
Has anybody ever used corn starch in brewing? Papazian says that corn
starch can be added directly into the boil, without any sort of pre-cooking. Weare trying some lighter-bodied beers and it seems that corn starch would be a
cheap substitute for corn sugar.
A possibly unrelated note on cider making: it seems that the addition
of some acid blend to the mix allows for a much greater amount of sugar to be
put in, while maintaining proper "tartness" (as opposed to "dryness").
Mark W Castleman
Big Dog Brewing Cooperative
MC2331S at ACAD.DRAKE.EDU
Drink Heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin
I'll sleep when I'm dead. -- W. Zevon
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 09:46:03 PDT
From: Dave Wald <wald at seismo.gps.caltech.edu>
Subject: Vienna Brewpubs
I've got the fortunate opportunity to present research at a meeting
in Vienna this summer. The obvious question is, where should I go to satisfy
my thirst for worldly beer consumption and to investigate brewing practices.
I need not limited my excursions to Vienna, just the general vicinity including
southern Germany and perhaps Switzerland. Any suggestions?
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 13:51:30 EDT
From: eisen at kopf.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Carl West x4449)
Subject: rabbits & hops
It seems that rabbits like hops.
Sometime yesterday the local rabbits got to my hop plants.
The Hallertaur is now 4 inches high, and the Bullion and
Cascade are missing leaves from about 4" to 18" off the
ground. The Saaz wasn't touched. When I get home tonight,
I'm fencing in whatever's left.
Hmm..."Saaz, the anti-bunny hop"
Y'know, I'm kinda surprised that noone has marketed a hops
bag with the name "The Hop Sock". Or maybe I just missed it.
CW
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 12:06:38 PDT
From: kjohnson at argon.berkeley.edu (Ken Johnson)
Subject: Straining pellet hops
I used to use only flower hops for my brews. I could run the wort through a
hopback and get it crystal clear before pitching (i.e. no trub). But I have
recently switched to pellets, and the old hopback technique doesn`t work.
How do you filter out all the hops from the wort without having to wait
hours for the tiny bits to settle out?
kj
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 15:49 EDT
From: TPH at PSUVM.PSU.EDU
Subject: beer periodicals???
Could someone please tell me if there are any good beer making etc...
periodicals. I have just gotten into brewing and would really enjoy
reading articles on a monthly basis.
Thanks,
Tom Hettmansperger
tph at psuvm.psu.edu
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Date: 20 Jun 91 12:49 -0700
From: mike_schrempp%42 at hp4200.desk.hp.com
Subject: more on mashing
As a newer masher, I'm still in the process of getting my process smoothed
out, but I have some comments regarding Jim's mashing vs extract that haven't
come up yet.
The bottom line, in my opinion, is to do it. Trying mashing can be cheap, fun,
and enlightening. Your contribution is time and patience.
On Quality: I've noticed better CONTROL of my beer. By chooosing mashing
temperature, you can cause your finished beer to be sweeter (hotter mash) or
less sweet (cooler mash). The place that made your extract had to make this
choice when they mashed for their extract. Their choice, not yours, and since a
hotter (sweeter) mash is quicker, economics may push the extract makers this
way. Controlling the temperature is easy with the correct, cheap equipment.
On time: Plan a full day for your first brew. For my full mashes, I start early
on a Sunday, get the mash started and read the paper while it works. My
personal time breakdown for beginners would look like this:
Crushing the grains - don't, buy pre crushed. As a beginner this not the best
way to start the day.
45 minutes - getting the mash water hot
10 minutes - getting the grains and mash water mixed (Mash-in)
30 minutes - protein rest/ph adjust. A cool temperature rest. I believe this
is good for beginners even if it's not needed because it gives
you a chance to work with the mash, see the volume, use the
thermometer, etc. This will be good practice when it comes time
to raise the mash to starch conversion temperature, etc. Also,
play with those damn ph papers for a while, then throw them away
when you can't make them work and hope everything will be okay as
is and don't sweat it. Beer was invented before ph was.
15 minutes - raising mash to starch conversion temperature. For the beginner,
shoot for the middle of the mashing range (63C 145F) and take
anything close (58-67C 136-152). Don't sweat it. The only danger
is overheating.
2 hours - starch conversion. Depending on your temperature this can actually
take anywhere from 15 minutes (hot mash/sweet beer) to 2 hours
(cool mash/dry beer). During most of this time you are reading the
paper. Do the iodine test often to see what the hell it's all
about, not just when you think the mash is done. I usually do it
the first time during the protein rest just to reassure myself
I know what I'm doing. If you are doing a low temperature mash you
may get bored after an hour and decide to raise the temperature
some more to speed things up. WOW, now you're doing a two step
mash.
30 minutes - raise temperature to 75C (167) to kill enzymes and stop the mash.
90 minutes - sparge. The first 45 minutes are spent recycling the wort (remember
to keep it hot) and worrying about why it won't clear, the next 45
minutes are spent rinsing the grains with hot clear water. If the
sparge stops running, don't stir it, stab it with a knife to get
the sparge water down into the grain bed. Expect low yield, about
25SG points per pound per gallon.
120 minutes - boiling the wort. It might not really take this long, depending on
how much sparge water you used. I advise stopping the sparge early
to keep the blood pressure down. You'll know what I mean when you
sparge the first time.
60 minutes - cooling the wort in the sink (in the pot, of course).
15 minutes - racking into the carboy, leaving the hops behind.
That it, and all in less than 9 hours. Not bad for the beginner.
On Equipment: You need a big enough pot (not necessarily 10 gallons). I use one
of those enammeled pot. I think about 3-4 gallons will do for the beginner.
(when the pot is full, the sparge is over!).
For a grain strainer (only advanced brewers need to call it a lauter tun)
you can get by with one of those steamers or make a two bucket version. I
I built (read "drilled") my first 2 bucket thing while my first mash was
converting. I think I spent about $10 for 2 buckets and a spigot.
You can mash in your boiling pot, with the pot in an oven on low,but I think
it's easier to use a picnic cooler. I'll assume that everyone has a picnic
cooler of some kind. Wash the cooler (no need to sanitize, you'll be boiling
everything later) and throw in the dry grains. Add the mash water and you're
done. When it comes time to raise the mash temperature, it all comes out and
goes back into the pot on hte stove, then back into the cooler. I'd say any
picnic cooler will do, but I use one of those 3 gallon Gott water jugs. If you
go with one of these, it can be the outer bucket of your strainer and it has
a built in spigot. It also keeps your grain bed hot during the sparge, which
is a very good thing.
Well, I think I've stretched this out as long as I can.
GO FOR IT!
Mike Schrempp
"A beer in the hand is worth it"
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 16:22:34 PDT
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!malodah at PacBell.COM>
Subject: Scott's Yeast
In HOMEBREW Digest #663, Oran Carmona sez:
> Same person mentioned using a new (to me anyway) brand of ale yeast
> made by Scott (sp?). It is supposed to be a *very* clean fermenter
> that produces a minimum of fermentation by-products ...
> Has anyone out there used this stuff? Care to comment?
Howdy, Oran! What he might be referring to is Lallemand yeast,
now being distributed by a company named Scott. It's dry yeast, sold
in bulk to the brewpub/microbrewery industry, and it is indeed clean
and predictable, and not particularly attenuative. I recently had
tastes of two otherwise-identical batches, one fermented with
Lallemand and the other with reused Sierra Nevada ale yeast. The
difference was amazing, and most felt in Sierra Nevada's favor.
Nevertheless, one of my first orders of business when I get back
from vacation is to make up a pale ale, fermented with the small
stock of Lallemand I've been hoarding since March, and dry-hopped
with Chinooks.
= Martin A. Lodahl Pacific*Bell Staff Analyst =
= malodah at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) =
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1991 20:13 EDT
From: "One of these days everythings going to be allright.."
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #663 (June 20, 1991)
Hey Brewfreaks!
I just got through cooking my first batch. Everything went fine. I followed
the instructions..btw it's all extract, I purchased a kit and it was pretty
self explanatory. My first effort is a amber beer. Its a bubblin now. Anywho,
it was alot of fun cookin and stirrin. Thanks to everybody who answered my
questions! Well the instructions said to fermint 5 days. I'll let ya all know
how it goes...later!
yours in suds,
_,---/|
\ o.O ; ack thrpththrpth
=(_____)=
U
----------------------------------------------------------------
( Bill Wiley acswiley at eku.bitnet )
( Academic Computing Services )
( Eastern Kentucky University 606-622-1986 )
( Richmond, Kentucky 40475 )
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 18:51:01 EDT
From: hplabs!kpc!uunet!pdn.paradyne.com!steve (Steve Fowler)
Subject: RE: Miller Genuine Draft
in HBD#660 dbreiden at mentor.cc.purdue.edu says:
>In the course of this thinking, I once again got to thinking what a shame
>it is that ingredients need not be given for beers. I really wish I could
>see what is in the beer I'm drinking. When enjoying an American beer, I'd
>like to know for sure if they use corn sugar, or corn syrup, or rice, or
>whatever. But my thinking just got me sort of frustrated. So I had another
>beer and quit thinking about it.
One way to find out what ingreddients they use is to contact the nearest
brewery of the beer in question. I have found that the brewers use corn,
rice, and whatever else. The magic words to look for are "cereal grains."
This usually indicates (IMHO) that the brewer is using rice or corn. They
use these items to stretch the malt grains thus using the same amount of
the more expensive grains and making more beer. The problem is if the
drinker has a problem with the other grains. Example: my friend is
allergic to corn and cannot drink most beers because of that. So, he
is constantly looking at the ingredient list for those magic words.
- -------------------------------------------------------- I~ Teenage Mutant
Steve Fowler |UUCP: ..!{uunet|att}!pdn!steve | =.== Ninja Brewers.
AT&T Paradyne |DOMAIN: steve at pdn.paradyne.com | =...== Brewers
P.O. Box 2826 |LAND: (813)530-2186 | ==.=== Drinking
Largo, FL 34649-2826 |ICBM: 27 53 30 N / 82 45 30 W | ==== Half Kegs.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Here with my beer I sit, while golden moments flit: Alas! They pass
unheeded by: and as they fly, I being dry, sit, idly sipping here, my beer."
George Arnold: "Beer" c. 1855
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Date: Thu, 20 Jun 91 19:31 PDT
From: IYU6MES at MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU
Subject: Brewpubs, and the lack thereof, in LA
In response to Laura's request for info on LA brewpubs:
When I moved down here four long years ago to attend grad school
there were exactly zero brewpubs in the LA area. Pretty depressing
having moved here from Seattle.
Well things aren't quite so bad for anyone traveling to Southern
California today, but not great either. I don't know of anything in
the Anaheim/Garden Grove area in particular, but here are the options I
am familar with:
Gorky's: faux-Russian food and beer joint in two locations,
Downtown LA, in amongst the warehouses, E.8th Street
and about Maple Street (can't miss it) and Hollywood,
just North Hollywood Blvd. on Cahuenga Blvd. Pretty good
"Red" Ale.
Eureka: very, very trendy Wolfgang Puck restaurant and brewery.
Very large, very metallic, and very pretentious. The
unfiltered-pilsner is however a nice Czech-styled
beer. Located at 1845 S. Bundy Drive in West LA. Find
this location then go around the block, the entrance is
on the other side.
Alpine Village: a strange sort collection of things German in
the middle of nowhere (Carson). Location of the
Oktoberfest celebration in LA. They brew beer all year
but I am not sure where it is available past their
two month long Oktoberfest, perhaps in the restaurant.
I drink it at a local, Santa Monica, pub. It's located
just off the Harbor Freeway (110) at Torrence Blvd. in
Carson.
There's also a place in Pasadena called something like The Rose and
Thissle(?) which I haven't been to. Hope you enjoy your vist. Also,
I hope another posting lists brewpubs I don't yet know of.
Mark Schweitzer IYU6MES at MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU or at UCLAMVS.BITNET
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Date: Fri, 21 Jun 91 13:32 EST
From: David Taylor <DAVID at phillip.edu.au>
Subject: Extremely important information
Gooday
A few tips and comments:
Dave Line mentions 'torrefied barley' as contributing to loose mashes and
easier sparging, while contributing a slight grainy taste. It's really
just barley (unmalted) that's been popped like popcorn. I made some once
in a microwave which gives clean heat without toasting the grains. The
barley had to be on a glass or ceramic plate as the plastic u-wave proof
bowl I tried came out with grain melted into its base. It took 8 - 10 mins
before most of the grain had popped. At the time I only had dried yeast so
poor yeast performance masked any finer flavours. It may be worth a try if
your mashes run too slow, and with the better yeast cultures available today.
Does everyone know the fastest way to empty a bottle? I don't mean to stick
a straw in it! I mean when you're washing dozens of bottles for your next
batch. It was demonstrated many years ago by Professor Julius Sumner Miller
on 'Why Is It So'. He had two flagons (~4.5litre) full of water, one he gave
to his stooge, the other he held. On the signal the stooge started pouring
and shaking the flagon; Prof JSM held his neck down and gave it a swirl - the
water whirlpooled out the neck and emptied in much less time. I've always
swirled water out of bottles since - it's fun just to watch it work - and to
think how much sooner you'll be emptying bottles of brew into a glass!
As a fuzz-faced home brewer, what is it about not shaving in the morning
that makes a bloke want to brew beer? Anyone any ideas?.... Eh Charlie?
And a similarly demographic question - most homebrewers who read HBD are
computer literate and have technical abilities. We have access (a privilege
I feel) to this fast, worldwide network on which we piggyback our homebrew
discussions. I'm just wondering if brewers with net access are different
or better than those without? I recall the atmosphere of ignorance that I
laboured in when I started, compared to the immediate information available
in HBD and via email. Has this been discussed before? Could it be the subject
of a future editorial by Charlie P.?
Some day some unique styles may evolve:- Bit-Bucket-Bock? Klages-Kluge-Ale?
Megabyte-Memory-Malt-Liquor? Program-Counter-Porter? Stack-Overflow-Stout?
Bye now
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #664, 06/21/91
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