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


Contents:
  Maple Mead (Not mine, from coz at triton.unm.edu) (COLE)
  Re: Homebrew Digest #880 (May 13, 1992) (JJANSSEN)
  Calories ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  Re: Homebrew Digest #880 (May 13, 1992) (Jacob Galley)
  Maple Syrup beer (Ted Manahan)
  Re: Newbie / (korz)
  Growing hops (Carl West)
  NA beers from Micah Millspaw (Bob Jones)
  AHA competitions from Micah Millspaw (Bob Jones)
  Pre-boiling ("Joe McCauley")
  old peculier (Nick Zentena)
  Wyeast Bavarian Lager (Nick Zentena)
  rec.crafts.brewing and HBD (Sterling Udell)
  pasta mill mod (Bob Fozard)


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Date:    Wed, 13 May 1992 9:49:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: COLE at IRENE.MIT.EDU
Subject: Maple Mead (Not mine, from coz at triton.unm.edu)


I though I would contribute a recipe for maple-syrup mead that was
sent to me by coz at triton.unm.edu as an answer to an inquiry I made a few 
months ago on rec.crafts.brewing about maple mead. I haven't had a chance 
to make it yet, but am in the process of procuring the syrup from friends 
in Vermont. Below is the recipe I received verbatim:

- --------------------------------------------------------------------


3 1/4 lb maple syrup
7 pts water
1/2 tsp acid blend
3/4 tsp yeast energizer
1 campden tablet
1 pkg Red Star champagne yeast

If you are going to make a small quantity of this brew, I sugget that you
follow this recipe fairly closely.  I, on the other hand, make mead 5 gallons
at a time and so my recipe for a large batch varies a bit.  If you want to 
make a lot, try it this way:

in a 6 gallon primary, place:
1 1/2 gallons of maple syrup
4 gallons water
2 tsp acid blend
4 tsp yeast energizer
1 campden tablet
1 pkg Red Star champagne yeast

It'll take about a day to really get fermenting, and should go like crazy for 
4 to 6 weeks.  Rack off the yeast sediment at that time and then re-rack at 
least 3 times at 3 month intervals.  It'll be ready to bottle by 9 or 10 months
of age, but the longer it sits, the mellower and smoother it becomes.  hope 
this is was what you were looking for...let me know how it turns out.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------

Just as there is a great variation in honey, there are great variations
in the types and flavors of maple syrup. The quality and flavor of the 
syrup depend on the climate and spring weather in the region of interest 
and vary greatly from year-to-year. True maple syrup (Mrs. Butterworths ???? 
arg!!!!!!) can be obtained in different grades which reflect the degree to 
which the sap has been boiled down. Typically the marketed, expensive syrup 
is Grade A, fairly light in color and fairly light in taste also. Good Grade A 
syrup tastes nothing like pancake syrup, it has a woody-tangy taste (best I 
can describe it) and is not overly sweet. This will probably make a nice 
smooth mellow mead. Lower grades of syrup are darker and sweeter, though I 
don't know how available they are in regions where sugaring is not done. 
I would use a lower grade syrup for something like a stout as the flavor is 
stronger and the color darker. I would think Grade A syrup would get lost in a 
true stout. This is of course all theoretical as I have not actually brewed a 
beer yet with maple. However, we used to make our own syrup when I was young 
and living in Maine, and I look forward to making a maple-syrup based beer.

Hint:: If you have a little left-over syrup sitting in the bottom of a tin 
        and you can think of anything to do with it, pour a tablespoonful into
	a glass of milk and stir it up. This makes a wonderful drink. 


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Date: Wed, 13 May 1992 15:35 +0100
From: JJANSSEN at KUB.NL
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #880 (May 13, 1992)

The Mr Janssen you are sending these messages to is not on this
address. My name is also Janssen and I am not at all interested in
this kind of mail. Please take my name off the list.
Thank you!!!!!!!!

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 10:02:34 EDT
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu>
Subject: Calories

korz at iepubj.att.com writes:
 > the Swiss study ... found that metabolism was increased by alcohol.

Overall metabolism was increased by alcohol.  Fat metabolism was
reduced.  Moral: don't eat fatty food with your beer.  They
added/replaced (two different experiments) 25% of the daily calories
in alcohol.  More than you're likely to drink in an average day!

At higher levels (!) of alcohol consumption, the body converts alcohol
to fat.  The authors of the Swiss study did not think that was
happening (although their method could not rule it out).  The complete
abstract is included below for the masochists.

=Spencer W. Thomas 		HSITN, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
spencer.thomas at med.umich.edu	313-747-2778

Suter PM  Schutz Y  Jequier E  
The effect of ethanol on fat storage in healthy subjects.
N Engl J Med (1992 Apr 9) 326(15):983-7

  BACKGROUND. Ethanol can account for up to 10 percent of the energy
intake of persons who consume moderate amounts of ethanol. Its effect
on energy metabolism, however, is not known. METHODS. We studied the
effect of ethanol on 24-hour substrate-oxidation rates in eight
normal men during two 48-hour sessions in an indirect-calorimetry
chamber. In each session, the first 24 hours served as the control
period. On the second day of one session, an additional 25 percent of
the total energy requirement was added as ethanol (mean [+/- SD], 96
+/- 4 g per day); during the other session, 25 percent of the total
energy requirement was replaced by ethanol, which was isocalorically
substituted for lipids and carbohydrates. RESULTS. Both the addition
of ethanol and the isocaloric substitution of ethanol for other foods
reduced 24-hour lipid oxidation. The respective mean (+/- SE)
decreases were 49.4 +/- 6.7 and 44.1 +/- 9.3 g per day (i.e.,
reductions of 36 +/- 3 percent and 31 +/- 7 percent from the
oxidation rate during the control day; P less than 0.001 and P less
than 0.0025). This effect occurred only during the daytime period
(8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.), when ethanol was consumed and metabolized.
Neither the addition of ethanol to the diet nor the isocaloric
substitution of ethanol for other foods significantly altered the
oxidation of carbohydrate or protein. Both regimens including ethanol
produced an increase in 24-hour energy expenditure (7 +/- 1 percent
with the addition of ethanol, P less than 0.001; 4 +/- 1 percent with
the substitution of ethanol for other energy sources, P less than
0.025). CONCLUSIONS. Ethanol, either added to the diet or substituted
for other foods, increases 24-hour energy expenditure and decreases
lipid oxidation. Habitual consumption of ethanol in excess of energy
needs probably favors lipid storage and weight gain.

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 9:47:44 CDT
From: Jacob Galley <gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #880 (May 13, 1992)

Hi again. I forwarded my yesterday's post to the Mappelbrau's brewer,
and he wrote back saying he used 5 lbs ~ 2+1/2 cups of maple syrup. He
says his next experiment took 3 lbs, and that was still a little
strong.

I just remembered another friend who was telling me about his recent
coffee/maple porter ("The only beer to drink with breakfast") which
imparts a walnutty taste . . . This might be worth trying.

Let me just correct the estimation I made yesterday: try 1 cup of
syrup.

Cheers,
Jake.

Reinheitsgebot <-- "Keep your laws off my beer!" <-- gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 08:08:50 pdt
From: Ted Manahan <tedm at hpcvcbp.cv.hp.com>
Subject: Maple Syrup beer
Full-Name: Ted Manahan


> If honey is fermentable into something quite tasty, why not Maple Syrup?
> So, has anyone out there ever heard of maple beer or anything of the sort?
> Would it be any good?
> Would it be worth the money?

At our last homebrew club meeting I tried some maple syrup barley wine.
It was very good, but not an 'everyday' beer. The first impression was
of alchol, the maple flavor hit in the aftertaste. This was a very well
made brew; you need something strong like a barley wine to counter the
flavor of the maple syrup.

The overall effect was almost overpowering. The beer is suitable for
sipping after dinner, but I don't know if I could drink a whole bottle
by myself.

Ted Manahan
tedm at hp-pcd.cv.hp.com
503/750-2856

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 10:28 CDT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com
Subject: Re: Newbie /

JLAWRENCE writes:
>     1.  I am using a single-stage fermenter.  Pros/cons?  Seems
>to work great, with no necessity for transferring to another
>container part way through the process.

If you're making ales and their fermentation is complete within two or
three weeks, then single-stage is probably best -- I personally, feel
that there is less to be gained from two-stage on such short ferments
and the increased risk of infection and oxidation is not worth it.
For longer ferments, lagers, very high-gravity ales and slow yeasts
(such as my Orval-clone and my pseudo-Lambic), I use two- or even
three-stage.

>     2.  I have a book called "Home Beermaking" by William Moore.
>It appears that he recommends pouring the hot wort into the fer-
>menter and cooling there.  I usually cool in the pot, then
>transfer.  Any comments?

Yes.  Aerating wort over 80F will most certainly oxidize the wort. What
you want is aeration not oxidation.  The result of oxidizing the wort is
darkening and sherry-like or wet-cardboard aromas and flavors in the
finished beer.  My beer improved considerably when I began chilling before
aeration.  You're doing the right thing by cooling quickly.  Another
reason for cooling quickly, is that as the beer cools, while it is
between 212F and 140F, DMSO is being converted to DMS.  DMS will give
your beer a "cooked corn" or "cooked vegetable" aroma.  Remaining
DMSO will be used up by your yeast and will not be evident in your
beer.
>
>     3.  Speaking of transferring, should I pour the whole pot
>into the fermenter, "sludge" and all, or should I attempt not to
>dump in that stuff?  What is it, anyway?  Is this the hot/cold
>break stuff I've been reading about?

Leave the sludge.  It's called trub, in general, and yes it's hot and
cold break.  Hot break is cooked proteins and is created during the
boil.  Cold break is clumped proteins which coagulate as you cool the
wort.  I've read that yeast ingests the trub and produces additional
fusel oils/alcohols from them.

>
>     4.  I have cooled the wort 2 ways:  by sitting it in a bath
>of cold water, and by simply letting the pot sit overnight.  Haven't
>had any problems with contamination either way, with about 20 batches
>under my belt.  What are the pros/cons of using a wort chiller?  Seems
>like a huge waste of water, and living here in the West, that's of
>concern.

As soon as the wort drops below 160F or so, it is fair game for wild
yeasts and bacteria.  The quicker you cool, the sooner you will be
able to pitch and therefore, give your yeast a head start over the
wild yeast and bacteria.  You will always have some wild yeast and
bacteria in your wort and thus in your beer, but if the "good,"
cultured yeast you pitch eats up all the sugars, then there's little
left for the bad guys to eat.  Minimizing DMS (see above) is another
reason for cooling quickly.

>
>     5.  Miller also recommends boiling the priming sugar with water
>before mixing it in.  Is this necessary?  I've always just dumped it
>into the brew before bottling, with find results.

Boiling is a good idea to kill any bad guys.  Once the beer is fermented-
out, the acidity and alcohol level and antiseptic qualities of the hops
are often enough to keep bad guys at bay, but I just boil it and it
gives me one less thing to *potentially* worry about.
>
>     6.  Does anyone have any guess on whether our mile-high altitude
>has any effect on the specific gravity?  Can't remember my high
>school chemistry.  I tried a recipe this weekend and have a 5 degree
>higher starting gravity than expected.
>
Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes.  This fact would
skew decoction mashes by a few degrees down and would require compensation.

Robert writes:
>I have read lately of people pitching their berries along with the
>aroma hops. I will try this approach in a couple of months, when the
>berries are ripe!

The advantages to adding both fruit and aroma hops after the initial
fermentation is over are:'

1. Increased alcohol level and decreased pH are a less-hospitable environment
to nasty organisms, and

2. The intense CO2 bubbling during the initial ferment tends to scrub the
aromatics we want (from the dryhops and fruit) out of the beer.

Al.

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 10:54:52 EDT
From: eisen at kopf.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Carl West)
Subject: Growing hops


1.  Growing pattern -- Straight up is best, that's where they want to
go. They climb by twining, they don't have grippers like ivy, so, no,
they won't climb the side of your house. Give them a length of twine to
climb. If you're going to use poles, they should be 10+ feet tall,
you'll probably want to put them in more than a foot. A suggestion I'm
trying is to drive 4 foot iron bars into the ground and lash my poles
to them, it's s'posed to make harvest time easier.

2.  When should they be planted?  ASAP, I'm in the Boston area and I got
mine in in May last year, my tallest reached about 8 feet and yielded
about 1/8oz. this year should be better.

3.  Light requirements -- direct sun, minimum half a day.

4.  Soil requirements --???

5.  Root (rhizome) depth --???

6.  Recommended planting distance --2-3 feet for same-kind, 6+ between
different kinds (so you can keep track of what's what)

7.  Fertilization schedule?  ???

8.  How many should we plant? 4-6 rhizomes

9.  How do you "winter" the hop plants?  Let die,trim down, then cover
with straw and manure.

10.  Watering requirements -- Well drained, but lots o' water. I don't
think they like mud, but they do like water. Mulching helps.

That's what I know about it.

Carl

When I stop learning, bury me.


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Date: Wed, 13 May 1992 14:47 PDT
From: Bob Jones <BJONES at NOVA.llnl.gov>
Subject: NA beers from Micah Millspaw

	I told myself that I would not enter into any more HBD frays,
but the posting of the analysis of Jack's N\A beer and the commercial
N\As interest me. About three years ago a fellow homebrewer and myself
began writing a book on making low alcohol, non alcohol and Diat beers.
After a lot of notes, experiments and recipes we found that the AHA was
not really interested publishing something like this. In the spring of
'91 the California Celebrator ran a small item of mine about making N\A
beer. This seem to stir some interest in this line of brewing. I refrained
from the earlier HBD disscussion about N\A (they were very heated) but now
that things have become calm and rational I would be more than willing
to share my info. I also would be interested in having some of my
N\A tested ( you can drink it too ) my measurements indicate that the
alcohol levels I am getting are below 1% by weight, but my methods are
slightly different than the one that Jack described. 
	Anyone in HBD land interested? let me know.

                let other poets raise a fracus
               'bout vines an wines and drunkin Baccus
                an ither stories rack us
                and grate our lug
                I sing the juice scotch bere make us

                                        R. Burns

                                                    Micah Millspaw 5/12/92


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Date: Wed, 13 May 1992 14:48 PDT
From: Bob Jones <BJONES at NOVA.llnl.gov>
Subject: AHA competitions from Micah Millspaw

	I've heard some rumors about the prize situation in the AHA national
homebrew competition. First, in the winter issue of zymurgy it was said
that the prizes for 92 would be announced in the spring issue, they where
not. And now I have heard that there will be no big prizes this year.
At $7.50 (for members) and $9.50 (for non-members) entry fee,the investment
in entering is hardly offset. Unless the AHA makes some changes, this years
2300 or so entries  may be as big as it gets. Lower entry fees and lower
shipping cost will make the local competitions look a lot better.
	Since the AHAs officers are not elected by the general membership
perhaps they should at least be called to a vote of confidence. And yes
I hope that this stirs up some #% at #!!!
                                            Micah Millspaw  4/27/92


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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 19:21:12 EDT
From: "Joe McCauley" <mccauley_je at vnet.ibm.com>
Subject: Pre-boiling

Greetings.  I have been an extract brewer for the last few years, but
plan to move up to mash/extract in the near future and eventually to
all-grain.

Early on I began the practice of pre-boiling and chilling the water used
in the brew.  This will kill any beasties in the water supply, and will
remove other chemicals that may be present in trace amounts and which
are bad for your beer.  However, I've only been pre-boiling the water
that gets added in the fermenter, not the water used in the wort boil.
Of course, I bring this water to a boil anyway before I add the extract,
but when I use specialty grains I steep them in the water before it ever
comes to a boil.  Is there any reason to use pre-boiled water in this
case?

On to mashing...is there any advantage to using pre-boiled water in the
mash?  What about the sparge water?  How about the water I use to take a
shower the night before?  Oh, sure, I could just stop worrying and boil
it all, but I'd rather not spend the time and the electricity (or gas)
if there's no reason for it.  Thanks for any information.

Joe McCauley

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Date: 	Tue, 12 May 1992 20:00:00 -0400
From: Nick Zentena <nick.zentena at CANREM.COM>
Subject: old peculier


        Hi,
                The real Ale Drinkers Almanac gives the
                following on Old Peculier:

                og 1058
                abv 5.6
                ingredients:pale malt, crystal malt,maize
                and cane sugar[I'm not sure if they mean
                maize=corn or maize=corn sugar it not clear
                but it probably just priming sugar anyway.]

                Hopping fuggles and other hops. Both whole
                and pellets.

                Hope this helps.
                Nick
                Because Real Brewers brew Real Ale -)
- ---
  DeLuxe 1.21 #9621  nick.zentena at canrem.com
- --
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044

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Date: 	Wed, 13 May 1992 19:32:52 -0400
From: Nick Zentena <zen at hophead.canrem.com>
Subject: Wyeast Bavarian Lager

Hi,
        Has anybody used Wyeast Bavarian at warm temps? 
Around 65-70F? Any comments? I'd like to make a steam beer.
        Thanks
        Nick
        for now
        nick.zentena at canrem.com

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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 21:39:39 EDT
From: sterling at gandalf.umcs.maine.edu (Sterling Udell)
Subject: rec.crafts.brewing and HBD

I would strongly vote against the HBD being replaced with r.c.b, for a
number of reasons.

First, the accessibility.  Internet, Bitnet, et al access is MUCH more
common and easy to come by than Usenet access.  For many people, this
(the HBD) is the only way that they could participate in such a forum.

Second, the reliability.  In my experience, news feeds are are a
tricky and undependable thing.  At several sites I've been at, the
news came quite sporadically, and the ordering of the messages was
site-dependent as well.  How many times have you Usenet users read
dozens of replies to a single message, and then have the original show
up much later?  Or not at all?  I know I've seen that a LOT.  Internet
mail, in contrast, goes through like the USMail should.  Except for
the rare occasions when something breaks on Rob's machine, I can count
on my HBD every day.

Third, the attitude.  This may be just me (though I have reason to
think otherwise) but . . .  Usenet seems MUCH more flammable than
Internet digests are.  With a few exceptions, the HBD has been a
sober (well mostly :) group with an excellent s/n ratio - much better
than the times I've followed r.c.b.

Well, I guess I can climb down off my soapbox now, and slake my thirst
with a cool ale.  Ahhh, that's better.  Other opinions?

String
- --
Sterling Udell (sterling at gandalf.umcs.maine.edu, sterling at gandalf.bitnet)
Big Dog Brewing Cooperative - Eastern Division
"In the Fine Tradition of Armageddon . . ."
					- Big Dog Ragnarok Oatmeal Bock




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Date: Wed, 13 May 92 21:49:22 PDT
From: rfozard at sword.eng.pyramid.com (Bob Fozard)
Subject: pasta mill mod

After having read about using a pasta roller for a grain mill here in
the digest, and then finding one on sale for $40, I decided to give it
a shot.  The poster recommended scarring up the rollers with a grinding
wheel or some such device in order to roughen them up enough to cause
the grain to be fed through.  I did a version of this, but was never
quite satisfied with the feed rate.  I have recently applied a few
1/2'' wide strips of self-adhesive friction tape down the length of the
rollers (4 strips on each roller, with about 1/4'' space between each),
the same stuff you might put down on a step to keep people from
slipping.  This has resulted in a huge increase in the feed rate, with
no apparent degradation in the crush.  I thought that the sand-papery
tape might shred the husks to bits, but they come out quite nicely.
The adhesive seems to work quite well, so I doubt I'll need to refresh
them very often.

- -- 
rfozard at pyramid.com

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #881, 05/14/92