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


Contents:
  Sugar in barleywine (Phillip Seitz)
  corrected, dry vs. smooth (Russ Gelinas)
  Help with first partial mash... ("Robert Haddad" )
  Adjuncts - steep or mash (Robert Schultz)
  Old Peculier without a category ("Roger Deschner 6-9433")
  solder (Mark R. Garti)
  Headaches and Homebrew? (KIERAN O'CONNOR)
  London Ale Yeast (Mark R. Garti)
  Christmas brews (david)
  Bottles -n- stuff (Bruce W. Lowther)
  Yield2 (George J Fix)
  Barlet Wine, Styrian hops (G.A.Cooper)
  Old Peculier (korz)
  Re: the world's greatest beer (korz)
  Glogg (korz)
  Best of Show (Chuck Cox)
  Carboys and plastic water jugs (Darryl Richman)
  Mead Forum ("Mark Rich-mpr8a at acadvm1.uottawa.ca")
  All about Beer, Hoegarten wheat ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  Reusing plastic petri dishes (b_turnbaugh)
  All About Beer (dbreiden)
  mead forum (?) (chris campanelli)
  Second Annual Brewmaster Oktoberfest (gak)


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

Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 13:33 GMT
From: Phillip Seitz <0004531571 at mcimail.com>
Subject: Sugar in barleywine

Phillip Porch asked about Dave Miller's instructions for putting sugar
into barleywine.

In _Belgian Ale_ Pierre Rajotte opines that using additional malt after
obtaining a gravity of 1.075 or so is unnecessary and wasteful.  While
I wouldn't go that far myself I have just finished the third of three
high-gravity beers using sugar and have no intention of going back.
What you get is all the intoxicating aspects (speaking both
physiologically and gastronomically) but with a "lighter" body.  I.e.
if you want crankcase oil, go all malt.  If you want a refreshing,
strong beverage, use sugar.  (Not that I'm prejudiced or anything. . .).

While you should DEFINITELY make your own decision, my own advice would be
to add ANOTHER half pound of sugar, and cut back on the corresponding
quantity of malt.  

Yes, I know, now everybody's going to be horrified. . .

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Date:    Tue, 22 Sep 1992 10:36:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: corrected, dry vs. smooth

   Ok, I stand corrected.  Most dry yeast will be *more* attenuative
than Wyeast.  I guess I was thinking back to days of underaerated extract
batches, fermented with dry yeast, that finished very sweet.  Somehow
I forgot about the super-dry gushers.
   The real topic is why Wyeast fermented beer might seem "watery" to
someone used to dry yeast ferments.  I feel the reason is that the dry yeast 
produces many of the components usually considered "harsh" - higher alcohols, 
etc.  The Wyeast-ferments produce less, leaving a cleaner, smoother brew (less 
harsh).  This smoothness can be perceived as "watery" when one is used to the
"bite" of the harsh components.
   Obviously, this doesn't hold true for all dry yeast and there are other 
factors which can affect harsh/watery/smooth etc......

RG

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Date:     22 Sep 92 10:35:55 EDT
From: "Robert Haddad" <RHADDAD at bss1.umd.edu>
Subject:  Help with first partial mash...

This past weekend, I decided to take the plunge towards mash brewing
with a partial mash recipe from Papazian. "Sayandra Wheat Beer". It
calls for a 3.3 lb can of DME extract and 1 lb of malted wheat.

I followed directions for the mash closely, did several iodine tests
(which showed starch-sugar conversion was taking place). Yet when I
placed the wort in the carboy for primary fermentation, O.G. was a
pityful 1.015 !!! I had to scavenge around to find some corn sugar,
boil down a concentrated solution and top off the carboy.

Papazian writes that Sayandra is a low alcohol wheat, but his is
1.030.

P.S. my wheat was milled at the store, and seemed fine enough.

Any thoughts about what went wrong?

Thanks,

Robert Haddad
rhaddad at bss1.umd.edu

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 08:48 CST
From: Robert Schultz <SCHULTZ at admin1.usask.ca>
Subject: Adjuncts - steep or mash

	Some extract recipes call for one to steep the specialty malts (e.g
crystal malt, toasted malt, choc. malt etc.from a cold water start) whereas
other seem to imply that one should mash the specialty malts prior to adding the
extract & boiling. In all grain I assume that all the grains go through the
mashing process.

	My question relates to extract brew and the addition of specialty malts.
Does one get more goodness from the specialty malts if they follow the mashing
process or do you get enough (for the specific recipe) if you simply steep the
specialty malts to boiling point?

Relaxed and wondering ????

Robert Schultz.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm going off half-cocked? I'm going off half-cocked? ...
Well, Mother was right - You can't argue with a shotgun."	- Gary Larson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Date: 22 September 1992 08:40:13 CDT
From: "Roger Deschner 6-9433" <U52983 at UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Old Peculier without a category

Jeff McCartney wrote concerning his difficulty in getting his Old
Peculier immitation judged correctly. After analyzing his dilemma with
the references I had at hand, I can only conclude the same as he has -
that there is a deficiency in the AHA Contest Style descriptions. This is
not the first time this has happened, but this is one of the best defined
cases of a problem.

Jeff noted that the Zymurgy Special 1991 (Vol 14 No 4) issue listed Old
Peculier as a English Old/Strong Ale - a classification which makes
sense. However, that same article states that color will be 10-16 SRM,
and Old Peculier does not fit that range. Fred Eckhardt, in "Essentials
of Beer Style" states "Color ... 8-13 SRM (but up to 45 in Old ales)."
SRM 45 is the low end of the black range. The AHA Contest descriptions
are said to have been extracted from this issue of Zymurgy, and picked up
this incomplete color range indication.

I hope that future AHA Contest descriptions will note this exception for
Old Ales, something like: "Typically light amber to deep amber/copper,
but Old Ale can range to black."

You could go through a whole rigamarole of negotiating with the contest
coordinator, etc., but why not just try entring it as 8b) Scotch Strong
Ale? It ain't one of those, according to more detailed references, but
the AHA style description for 8b, if that's what the judges are
following, could fit your beer.

(Fit the category to the beer? No. I didn't say that. Wash my mouth out
with Bud Light.)

Roger Deschner, AHA/HWBTA Recognized Beer Judge

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 11:17:46 EDT
From: garti at mrg.xyplex.com (Mark R. Garti)
Subject: solder

I wanted to solder some spacers onto my immersion
wort chiller.  What is safe?  Do I need pure silver,
silver/tin?  Obviously anything with lead is out.
Where can the correct type of solder be purchased?
Thank you.
Mark   mrgarti at xyplex.com

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 11:09 EDT
From: KIERAN O'CONNOR <OCONNOR%SNYCORVA.bitnet at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Headaches and Homebrew?

Hi,

i seem to be gettign a lotof headaches lately-like within the last
year.  My wife seems to think it might be homebrew.  Has anyone had
this similar reactions?

Thanks,

Kieran O'Connor

oconnor at snycorva.bitnet

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 11:23:56 EDT
From: garti at mrg.xyplex.com (Mark R. Garti)
Subject: London Ale Yeast

I recently made (conditioning in bottles now) an
Old Peculiar type ale.  For fermentables there was
6.6#'s dark extract, 2 #'s brown sugar, and 1/2 #
crystal.  I had an OG of 1.058, which seemed pretty
good.  But I had an FG of 1.008 which seemed way too
low.  Does this yeast have an unusually high tolerance
to alcohol?  Does anyone else have any experience with
this variety of Brewers Choice Yeast?  Just looking for
some data points.
Thank you.
Mark   mrgarti at xyplex.com

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 10:49:42 EDT
From: tmc!david at uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Christmas brews


Jay marshall and rein at stat.berkeley.edu asked for Christmas recipes recently.  I'd like to  
add one more recipe that appeared last year in the HBD, but which I haven't seen in the  
Cat's Meow (It may have made to a recent edition: I have an older copy...)  My hard copy  
of this post is dated 08/02/91.
I am attempting to copy last year's post verbatim, since there is some confusion.  



**** Old post ***
Following is Phil Fleming's recipe for Christmas Ale that I posted last fall in these  
electronic pages.  The recipe is in the latest special issue of Zymurgy.  I judged this beer  
in Oakland at the AHA competition.  All I can say is that after the first sip I was singing  
"Jingle Bells"! It finished runner up in Best Of Show.

Ingredients for 5 gallons

3 1/2 pounds Munton and Fison Stout Kit
3 1/2 Pounds Munton and Fison amber dry malt extract
3     pounds M & F amber dry malt extract } ?? Typo??
1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (60 minutes)
1/2 ounce Hallertauer hops (5 minutes
3/4 pound honey
5 3-inch cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
6 ounces ginger root
6 rinds from medium size oranges (scrape the white insides of the rind away)
  Wyeast 1007 German ale yeast
7 ounces corn sugar for priming
 

 * OG: 1.069
 * TG: 1.030
 Primary fermentation: 14 days  at  61 degrees FG.
 age when judged: six months.
 

 Brewer's specifics:
 

 Simmer spices and honey (45 minutes)  Boil malt and hops (50 minutes)  Add finishing  
hops and boil (5 minutes) Cool, strain and pitch yeast.
 

 MY COMMENTS:
 The second call for 3 pounds of M & F Amber dry is probably a type in the magazine. 7  
pounds of extract + 3/4 lb. of honey should give you around 1.069 OG.
 

 ....
 

 This was THE best Xmas ale I've ever tasted.
 

 ....
 ** END of old post **
 

 I did not save the author of this post when I printed it out, so I don't know to whom the "I"  
refers.
 

 I brewed this recipe in late August last year, and had to exercise tremendous self  
discipline for it to last until Christmas.  It was DELICIOUS.  I compared it to several of the  
microbreweries' offerings, and it was just as good.  This was my 7th batch.  

 

 I made a variation of the same yesterday, so that I'll have a reasonable amount left for  
new years partying. It's a little late to brew it this year, but if anyone is planning to brew  
this coming weekend, I highly recommend this recipe.
 

 Dave Adams
 Monitor Company Information Engineering
 david at monitor.com



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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 9:07:26 PDT
From: Bruce W. Lowther <lowther at silver.cs.uidaho.edu>
Subject: Bottles -n- stuff

> From: Mark Wells Wilson <mw4w+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
> Subject: Re: Questions part II
> 
> Just go to your friendly neighborhood beer distributer (look 'em up in
> the yellow pages) and ask for X cases of returnable bottles.  They'll
> probably charge you a ten cent deposit.  It's not a good idea to use
> twist-offs because a) you can't cap them with a hand capper and b) the
> walls are thinner than on returnables and thus more likely to explode
> under the pressure of over-carbonation if you screw something up in your
> beer.  By the way, I've found Coors light and Stroh's labels to be the
> easiest to get off (It's your beer, remember?) and Miller Lite all but
> impossible.  High Life and Genuine draft come in clear bottles, which
> you don't want, either.
> 
Actually, I've seen no observable / tasteable difference between clear and
dark bottles...In fact clear bottles are easier to fill.  I think if there
not in the sunlight, it doesn't matter what color the bottles are.  

What are the alternatives to using bottles?  I've heard that you can bottle
in Coke (or Pepsi) syrup containers... Is anyone doing that, and how much
would it cost to get the equipment?  (a container, and a co2 system for
it.)

- ---
Bruce W. Lowther
University of Idaho
lowther at silver.cs.uidaho.edu

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 11:13:19 CDT
From: gjfix at utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Yield2

Rich Goldstein asked via private e-mail (thanks Rich!) what volume I used
to determine yields, something I neglected to mention in my recent post. 
The one I was referring to was the volume of the chilled wort delivered 
to the fermenter. This is somewhat common since it takes into account the
loss of extract that occurs throughout the wort production process.

When debugging new systems, or trying out new malt, it is sometimes
useful to estimate the total amount of extract present at any
particular point, and hence get a handle on the "yield" that is achieved
at various points. The following is data obtained from a recent brew using
the Belgium pale ale malt in a single step infusion mash.

MASH:
      Vol. of Mash               = 32 l. (8.5 gals.)
      Wt. of Grains              = 10 kg. (22 lbs.)
      % Extract at End           = 19.5 g/100g (measured)
      SG                         = 1.081 (tables) 
      % Extract-vol.             = 19.5*1.081 = 21.08 kg/hl
      Extract at End             = 21.08*32/100 = 6.75 kg (14.8 lbs)
      Effective Yield            = (6.75/10)*100 = 67.5%
                                       (31.2/lb/gal)

START of BOIL:
       Vol. Collected from Sparge = 56 l. (14.8 gals.)
       % Extract                  = 11.3 g/100g (measured)
       SG                         = 1.046 (tables)
       % Extract-vol              = 1.046*11.3 =11.82 kg/hl
       Extract                    = 11.82*56/100 = 6.62 kg (14.6 lbs.)
       Extract loss in Sparge     = 6.75 - 6.62 = .13 kg (~2%)
       Effective Yield            = 66.2 %
                                    (30.9/lb/gal)

WORT in FERMENTER:
       Vol.                       = 50 l (13.3gals)
       % Extract                  = 12.5 g/100g (measured)
       SG                         = 1.051 (tables)
       % Extract-vol              = 12.5*1.051 = 13.13 kg/hl
       Extract                    = 13.13*50/100 = 6.57 kg (14.45 lbs.)
       Extract loss in Boil       = 6.62 - 6.57 = .05 kg (<1%)
          and Cooling
       Final Yield                = 65.7%
                                    (30.8/lb/gal)


This, by the way, is higher than the usual 60-62% yield I get with a
single step infusion. Is anyone else noticing higher yields with the
Belgium malts?

Following a tip from Rodney Morris I obtained a used refractometer
for extract readings. Only a drop of solution is needed to get a reading,
and temperature corrections are not necessary. The model I got was from
Cole-Palmer (l-02940-20; see page 937 of their catelog). They cost $175
new, and 1/3rd that used. The Brix scale used is exactly the same as 
degrees Plato (i.e., % extract by weight). Rodney has one that reads the
equivalent SG. He got new it on sale for about the same price I paid for
the used one.

P.S. Kurt Swanson> Did you get my e-mail? Our mailer sends messages meant
to go the the UK to Mars. I hope those for Sweden stay on this planet.


George Fix


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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 17:45:45 +0000
From: G.A.Cooper at qmw.ac.uk
Subject: Barlet Wine, Styrian hops

Phillip Porch asks about barley wine:

> ... the recipe ...calls for the addition of 1 pound of brown sugar to
> bring the sugar content up. We would like to know from you out there
> who brew barley wine if this is the best thing to add or would something
> else be better.

Experience of making, drinking and judging (both local and UK national)
and of discussions with numerous UK beermakers over many years, the best
all-grain (mashed) barley wines are those that use only grain - no sugar.
(OK, I know a lot of you will have counter-examples. Perhap we might get
some discussion on that point!) So, omit the sugar and increase the pale
malt. To get the high OG, say 1.100, you will have to take only the 'first
runnings' from the sparge (2+x gals where x is the amount of boil-off in
your system). You will also find you need a fairly stiff mash (rather than
runny) and no excess water under or over the grain bed unless you are
prepared to boil for a long time to reduce the volume. Stopping the sparge
early means not all fermentables will find their way into the barley wine,
so your estimate of how much grain you need must be correspondingly higher.
(If you normally expect 30 per lb then guess at 25 or even a bit less).
Of course, you don't waste the fermentables left in the grain, continue
the sparge as normal and use these 'second runnings' as the basis of an 
extract brew. Party gyle re-visited. I frequently make two beers this way.

These suggestions obviously increase your work so if you want a simpler
answer then: if I find I need to increase the OG of a barley wine I do so
by adding extract (EDME DMS usually) into the boil.

All this was IMHO of course. (BTW what does MOMILY mean?)

Also, on barley wines, someone (can't remember who) made comments on the
way they used multiple yeasts. I add two strains at the beginning an ale
yeast (usually Truman's dried) and a high alcohol tolerance wine (usually
a S. Bayanus, 'champagne' yeast) both at the same time. The wine yeast
seems quite capable of 'taking over' and, empirically, I find that I have
no difficulties in getting complete fermentation. But I am aware that the
yeast will probably be all pooped out so I often add a fresh culture at,
or shortly before bottling. I was surprised, though, to find that his
final gravity was 1.004. I think (IMHO of course :-)) that this is a bit
low for a barley wine. I find that plenty of body and high residual
dextrins are needed to balance (that word again!) the high alcohol. That
in turn needing a firm  hop. I would target a final gravity below 1.020 but
not much below.
 

From: Stefan Karlsson, Styrian hops - how are they?

Styrian, aka Styrian Goldings, are an attractive low alpha (the highest I
have had was 4.8% but they are usually nearer 4% and often less) aroma hop.
Not normally used in large quantities in the copper (kettle  tee hee) but
as a late addition (last few minutes) or dry hop. I have used them for
aroma
in a few lager styles and liked them. I have also used them to good effect
in pale ales. They might be a little different but well worth trying.


>From Bart Lipkens

> I was going through David Line's recipe book, and noticed that a lot
> of the recipes call for invert sugar.  
> What is it? 

Invert sugar is sucrose that has been broken down into glucose and
fructose.
You can do this yourself by heating sucrose in solution with an acid such
as citric, but don't bother. Ale yeasts are quite capable of 'inverting'
sucrose by producing the enzyme invertase. So just use some form of
sucrose,
you could try some variety by chosing brown instead of white - have a bit
of fun experimenting. The original idea was that invert sugar would be 
easier for the yeast to work on and less likely to cause fermentation
problems (as in stuck ferments). This is different from 'brewing sugars'
that add flavour, colour and some higher sugars.

From: STROUD <STROUD%GAIA at leia.polaroid.com>

> Looking at  Rajotte's "Belgian Ale" book, it is not clear to me whether
> the line
        
>          Reducing sugar (as maltose): 1-2.5% 

> means that 1-2.5% of the reducing sugars left are maltose or whether the
> final composition of the beer contains 1-2.5% reducing sugars.

This does have a clear meaning. If a beer is said to have 2% reducing sugar
as maltose, it means that it contains (unspecified) reducing sugars that
have the same effect as if 2% maltose were present. Note there need not be
any maltose present. Put another way, the amount of reducing of the cupric
ions that has just occured in my test is the same as if I had done it on a
2% solution of maltose. 

A similar statement occurs in home winemaking where we talk of the amount
of acid present 'as tartaric'. If a wine has 6ppt acid (as tartaric) it 
might not have any tartaric acid in it, but whatever acids they are (citric
or malic for example) they have the same effect as if it contained only
6 ppt of tartaric and no others. This value is approx the same as 4 ppt 'as
sulphuric' which is the measure some people (still) use. This is because
the amount of NaOH needed to neutralise sulphuric acid is about 1.53 times
greater than needed for tartaric. That is 1 part sulphuric is equivalent
to 1.53 parts tartaric.

I hope that is clear rather han confusing. BTW I liked the descriptions of
what a reducing sugar was.

Sorry for the long posting

Geoff


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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 12:10 CDT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com
Subject: Old Peculier

I agree with Jeff that Old Peculier is a strong ale and that the
AHA style description should extend the acceptable colors into
the dark brown region.  I have made a note of it and will propose
the change if I'm asked to be on the 1994 National Homebrew Competition
Committee (the 1993 Style Descriptions have already gone to the
printer).

Al.
AHA/HWBTA BJCP Certified Judge

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 12:51 CDT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com
Subject: Re: the world's greatest beer

First of all, I don't mean to sound argumentative, so I hope this post
doesn't turn out that way.  I just want to express my opinion on the
subjects that Fred brought up.

Fred writes:
>Does it really matter whether you go all-grain, extract, or kit?

You can brew great beer both ways, but some styles need all-grain
to have all the apropriate characteristics (specifically malt nose
and flavor).  To brew an excellent Munich Helles, I (personally) feel
you need to go all-grain.

>Does it really matter whether you use liquid or dry yeast?

I really think so -- for my beers I would not use dry again.  You
should try liquid yeast and see if you like it.  I did and never went
back.

>Does it really matter whether you bottle or keg?

No.

>Does it really matter whether your beer is enough of a clone of a defined
>     style to win a prestigious competition?

No, but I enter competitions for two reasons: 1) to get feedback on my beers
so I can make them better and 2) awards make me feel good -- I consider them
an honor and a reward for the work I put in to my beers.  Note that you
don't need to win 1st, 2nd or 3rd at the Nationals to win something -- if
you brew a beer that doesn't have an infection, you will probably get at
least a Bronze Certificate no matter what category you enter your beer in
- -- call it a pat-on-the-back.

>Clearly to some it does matter, but to me and my more relaxed bretheren,
>what matters is:
>   1.) Do you enjoy making the beer?

Yes.

>   2.) Do you and your friends enjoy drinking the beer?

Yes.

>If you can answer yes to both, then why worry?

Agreed.
>
>Every homebrewer can honestly say   "I BREW THE WORLD'S GREATEST BEER".

Yes, but I want to continue to improve my beers and I know that I'm not
objective about my own beers -- I tend to be too critical and miss areas
of improvement -- one needs to push oneself for excellence and listen to
experts' advice for a reality check.
>
>Fred

All in all Fred brings up some good points, but perhaps the most important
one is that homebrewing is different things to different people.  To me,
it is: 1) a source for great beer, 2) fun, 3) pride in workmanship, 4)
75% of my waking hours ;^), 5) a topic for hours of conversation at homebrew
club meetings, and 6) safer than skydiving.

Finally, judging at this years' Nationals, I confirmed my theory that the
best beers in the world are found at homebrew competitions -- no doubt!
We all have the added benefit of seeing the recipes for the National
Homebrew Competition winners for the price of a Zymurgy subscription.
I'm not positive, but I'll bet that you can get the recipes for the
winning beers in this years' Dixie Cup with a subscription to the appropriate
club's newsletter...

  ...and the IBU competitions and CBS and Maltose Falcons and Foam Rangers
and Wort Processors and BOSS and Beerocrats and Hop, Barley and the Alers...

Al.

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 13:03 CDT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com
Subject: Glogg

Erik asks about adding glogg essence.

Since nothing will live in 65% alcohol, you can safely add it at bottling
time, with the added benefit of being able to know exactly how much is
enough.  This idea, as far as I know, was introduced by Randy Mosher,
CBS member, Hoppenings Newsletter editor, brewer of some very weird beers
(mushroom beer???? -- yes, soaked Chantrell (sp?) mushrooms in vodka, added
liquid at bottling) and all-around good guy.

Al.

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 13:53:17 EDT
From: chuck at synchro.com (Chuck Cox)
Subject: Best of Show

Howdy-

Over on JudgeNet we are having a lively discussion about the validity of
Best of Show competitions. 

To paraphrase the arguments:

Con:
 Best of Show tries to compare apples to oranges, so the results
 are meaningless.

Pro:
 The competitors know Best of Show is highly subjective, but they
 like it anyway.

I'd like to hear from the competitors.  Should homebrew competitions
include a Best of Show judging? I am particularly interested in the
opinions of homebrewers who have entered at least one competition and
are not beer judges. 

I recommend sending your opinions directly to me instead of cluttering
the digest. 

- -- 
Chuck Cox <chuck at synchro.com>
In de hemel is geen bier, daarom drinken wij het hier.

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 09:42:09 PDT
From: Darryl Richman <darrylri at microsoft.com>
Subject: Carboys and plastic water jugs

The plastic 5 gallon water jugs now in use are made from polycarbonate, 
are impervious to ethanol, reasonably unbreakable, and of course, are 
very light.  You can sanitize them with boiling water if you like, 
eliminating wor^H^H^Hconcerns about rinsing, as well as being far more 
effective at getting bugs that may be hiding in scratches.  They are 
slightly permeable to air, so they may not make the best lagering vessels.

		--Darryl Richman


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Date:         Tue, 22 Sep 92 16:39:30 EDT
From: "Mark Rich-mpr8a at acadvm1.uottawa.ca" <MPR8A at acadvm1.uottawa.ca>
Subject:      Mead Forum


Hey there hopslinging buddies,

 I seem to recall hearing of a digest dedicated to mead-making; I am
really interested in this. Anyone know about this??


                            Merci

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 17:17:43 EDT
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu>
Subject: All about Beer, Hoegarten wheat

Paul AndersEn writes:
 >      Side note:  If you haven't tried a beer called Hoegarten from Belgium
 > I highly recommend it.  If you live in the Los Angeles area, the only
 > place where you can get it is at The Wine House on Cotner st. just north
 > of Pico in West L.A.

There is a close facsimile of this available from Austin Texas, called
"Celis White".  The brewmaster at the Celis brewery is Peter Celis,
who revived the "Wit" style in Hoegarten a few years back.  He (had
to) sell his brewery to a conglomerate, so he moved to Texas and
started over.  It's a real nice beer; a little watered down "for
American tastes", but definitely not to be mistaken for BudMilLob.

=S

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 14:40:21 PDT
From: b_turnbaugh at csc32.enet.dec.com
Subject: Reusing plastic petri dishes

I have a question for all of you knowledgeable "streakers" out there.
Can we reuse the plastic petri dishes?? Does anyone have a process they
would like to share on sterilizing and reusing?? Also can we reuse the
plastic slants??  Thanks: Bob T.


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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 19:15:14 -0500
From: dbreiden at dsuvax.dsu.edu
Subject: All About Beer

I do subscribe to All About Beer.  It was a gift, and I plan to
renew soon.  I find the magazine interesting, fun, informative.
My biggest trouble is to read about all sorts of fabulous beers,
and then realize that none are available to me.  Arg.

Insert for favorite disclaimer here.  The only interest I have in
the Bostics (they do the magazine) is that they live long, prosperr,
and continue to put forth their product.

- --Danny

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Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 17:30 CDT
From: akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli)
Subject: mead forum (?)

After my recent request for the addresses of the mead and cider forum
I've been SWAMPED with requests for the addres of the mead forum.  BTW,
special thanks to Mike Hall.  Ironically there is no address for the mead
forum as there is no mead forum (as far as I can tell).

Due to the overwhelming number of people looking for a mead forum, maybe
its time to start one.  Afterall, there is a forum for lambics.  Lambics?

What this calls for is a mead-making, honey-lovin', sticky-fingered,
beehive-robbin' take-it-upon-yourself type of Unix geek.  I'm all of the
above except for the Unix part.  Well, and maybe the
take-it-upon-yourself part as well.

Anyone up to answering the call to start a mead forum?

chris campanelli

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Date: 23 Sep 92 00:49:00 GMT
From: gak at gakhaus.attmail.com
Subject: Second Annual Brewmaster Oktoberfest

(Probably of interest only to brewers in the SF Bay Area...)

Second Annual Brewmaster Oktoberfest

Homebrew Competition - HWBTA Sanctioned

Entry Deadline:  Saturday, October 10, 1992 (NLT 5pm)

Entry Fee: $5.00 (payable to Brewmaster)

Entry Requirements:  3 bottles; 12-14oz brown or green with caps
	blacked out with a marker.  No labels.  Attach to each bottle
	(with a rubber band) the following information:  name,
	address, phone number, and category.  One entry per category.

Categories:  Ales - Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Porter, Stout, Barleywine
	     Lagers - Pilsner, Amber/Oktoberfest, Bock
	     Mixed - Wheat Beer, Fruit Beer, Mead

Refer to AHA/HWBTA Guidelines for Category Descriptions

Closed session judging takes place on October 18, 1992.

Prizes for 1st Place winners and best of show.

Send or deliver entries to:  Brewmaster
			     2315 Verna Court
			     San Leandro CA 94577

For entry information call Brewmaster - 510-351-8920

FEST DAY Beer tasting, open house, and competition awards ceremony
Saturday October 24, 12 noon to 5pm at Brewmaster
Come and enjoy sauerkraut ans sausages along with your home-brewed
beers!

(The above was copied from Brewmaster's flyer.  No commercial
endorsement blah blah etc.)

have fun
gak


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End of HOMEBREW Digest #975, 09/23/92