HOMEBREW Digest #987 Fri 09 October 1992

Digest #986 Digest #988


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


Contents:
  Yeast (Michael Galloway)
  GABF '92/Winners (Robin Garr)
  Article on Zip City Brewery (matth)
  Brewpubs in Boston (John Badger)
  Wyeast California and Belgian (Rob Bradley)
  sugar starter, nitrosamines (Russ Gelinas)
  wort coolers. ("Jim N. Deakin")
  Potato Beer ("Rick Ringel - HNS/DCN project")
  Re: McAndrew's Addendum (Richard Stueven)
  Yeast Starter (Thomas D. Feller)
  Re: cider (Andy Kurtz)
  Re: Quick-n-Easy Spiced Brown Ale (Jeff Benjamin)
  Boston Stock Altbier?/Seabr (Chris McDermott)
  Re:  #986 Plastic Bottles (Greg Wageman)
   (AAAF000)
  temperature correction (Rob Bradley)
  Phosgene from Clorox + Ammonia--NOT! (Bruce Mueller)
  Pellet Hops vs. Whole Flowers (HULTINP)
  Re: Boston Brewpubs (David Van Iderstine)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 07:46:34 -0400 From: mgx at solid.ssd.ornl.gov (Michael Galloway) Subject: Yeast Is not WYeast #2112 'California Lager' yeast the high temperature lager yeast that everyone is asking about?? I have used it two or three times with good success making steam beers ( about all that seems possible at times, in east tennessee). Also, it appears that WYeast uses 2000 series numbers for their lager yeasts and the 1000 series for ale yeasts and 3000 series for some others (Wheat beer yeast, I think). Anyway, thats my dimes worth! Michael D. Galloway (mgx at solid.ssd.ornl.gov) v-(615)574-5785 f-(615)574-4143 Living in the WasteLand (of Beer, that is) Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Oct 92 07:55:54 EDT From: Robin Garr <76702.764 at compuserve.com> Subject: GABF '92/Winners Dan Strahs asks: > Since I haven't seen it posted here yet, and it is Wednesday... > Would someone who has the answer please post the winners list > from the Great American Beer Festival? Sure! Wrote these down with my own hot little hands Saturday afternoon, and posted then on the CompuServe Beer Forum. It's unofficial, but it should be 99.44% accurate. (I also compared my notes with the AHA's list.) GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL WINNERS, OCT. 3, 1992 CLASSIC PALE ALE Gold: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. INDIA PALE ALE Gold: Solstice Ale, Hubcap Brewery & Kitchen, Vail, Colo. Silver: Banty Rooster India Pale Ale, Starbright Brewery, Santa Cruz, Calif. Bronze: Commodore Perry India Pale, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland. AMERICAN PALE/AMBER ALE Gold: McTarnahau's Ale, Portland Brewing Co., Portland, Ore. Silver: Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale, North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, Calif. Bronze: Abemarle Ale, Dilworth Brewing Co., Charlotte, N.C. TRADITIONAL BITTER Gold: Moon Dog Ale, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland. Silver: Atlas Amber, Big Time Brewing Co., Seattle. SCOTTISH ALES Gold: Sonoma Irish Ale, Sonoma Brewing Co., Petaluma, Calif. Silver: Kidder's Scottish Ale, Kidders Brewpub, Fort Myers, Fla. BLONDE ALE Gold: Prime Time, Big Time Brewing Co., Seattle. Silver: Alpine Pearl Pale, Tied House Cafe & Brewery, Alameda, Calif. Bronze: Bicentennial Ale, The Mountain Brewers, Bridgewater, Vt. PORTER Gold: Boulder Porter, Boiulder Beer, Boulder, Colo. Silver: Pleasure Point Porter, Seabright Brewery, Santa Cruz, Calif. Bronze: Parleys Porter, Squatters Pub Brewery, Salt Lake City. DRY STOUT Gold: Stout, Butterfield Brewing Co., Fresno, Calif. Silver: Rainbow Trout Stout, Hubcap Brewery, Vail, Colo. Bronze: Old No. 38 Stout, North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif. SWEET STOUT Gold: Seabright Oatmeal Stout, Seabright Brewery, Santa Cruz, Calif. Silver: Zoser Stout, Oasis Brewery, Boulder, Colo. Bronze: Oatmeal Stout, Goose Island Brewing Co., Chicago. STRONG ALE Silver: Imperial Stout, Pacific Coast Brewing Co., Oakland, Calif. Bronze: Eye of the Hawk Select Ale, Mendocino Brewing Co., Hopland, Calif. BARLEY WINE Gold: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. Silver: Old Crustacean, Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore. Bronze: Old Bawdy Barleywine, Pike Place Brewery, Seattle. FRUIT, VEGETABLE Gold: Passion Pale, Tied House Cafe, Alameda, Calif. Silver: Woodruff Ale, San Andreas Brewing, Hollister, Calif. Bronze: Sangre de Frambuesa, Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, N.M. HERB, SPICE Gold: Celis White, Celis Brewery, Austin, Texas. Silver: Our Special Ale, Anchor Brewing Co., San Francisco. Bronze: Sigda's Green Chili Beer, CooperSmith's Pub, Ft. Collins, Colo. SPECIALTY Gold: Trippel Threat, Cambridge Brewing Co., Cambridge, Mass. Silver: Greyhound Honey Ale, Flying Dog BrewPub, Aspen, Colo. Bronze: HefeRyzen, Big Time Brewing Co., Seattle. SMOKE FLAVORED Gold: Alaskan Smoked Porter, Alaskan Brewing & Bottling Co., Douglas, Alaska. Silver: Welcommen, Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore. Bronze: Vermont Smoked Porter, Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington, Vt. BOCK Gold: Frankenmuth German Style Bock, Frankenmuth Brewery, Frankenmuth, Wis. Silver: Mai Bock, Stoudt Brewing Co., Adamstown, Pa. Bronze: Blue River Bock, Breckinridge Brewery & Pub, Breckenridge, Colo. DARK LAGER Gold: Schwarz Hacker, Rock Bottom Brewery, Denver. Silver: Lowenbrau Dark, Miller Brands, Denver. Bronze: Neuweiler Black & Tan, Neuweiler Brewing Co., Allentown, Pa. MUNCHNER HELLES & DORTMUNDER EXPORT Gold: Export Gold, Stoudt Brewing Co., Adamstown, Pa. Silver: Golden Lager, Stoudt Brewing Co., Adamstown, Pa. Bronze: Hard Times Select, Old Dominion Brewing Co., Ashburn, Va. EUROPEAN PILSNER Gold: Legacy Lager, Chicago Brewing Co., Chicago. Silver: Garten Brau Special, Capital Brewery Co., Middleton, Wis. AMERICAN LAGER Gold: Schlitz, The Stroh Brewery Co., Detroit. Silver: Hamm's, Pabst Brewing Co., Milwaukee. Bronze: Stoney's Beer, Jones Brewing Co., Smithton, Pa. AMERICAN LIGHT LAGER Gold: Michelob Light, Anheuser-Busch, Denver. Silver: Busch Light, Anheuser-Busch, Denver. Bronze: Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch, Denver. AMERICAN PREMIUM LAGER Gold: Lowenbrau Regular, Miller Brands, Denver. Silver: Genuine Draft Regular, Miller Brands, Denver. Bronze: Signature, Stroh Brewery Co., Detroit. AMERICAN DRY LAGER Gold: Keystone Dry, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, Colo. Silver: Olympia Dry, Pabst Brewing, Milwaukee. Bronze: Coors Dry, Coors Brewing Co., Golden, Colo. AMERICAN MALT LIQUOR Gold: Olde English 800 Malt Liquor, Pabst Brewing, Milwaukee. Silver: Silver Thunder Malt Liquor, Stroh Brewery Co., Detroit. Bronze: Colt 45 Malt Liquor, G. Heileman Brewing Co., La Crosse, Wis. DUSSELDORF ALTBIER Gold: Samuel Adams Boston Stock Ale, Boston Beer Co., Boston. AMERICAN LAGER/ALE CREAM ALE Gold: Scrimshaw Beer, North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif. Silver: Dock Street Cream Ale, Dock Street Brewing Co., Philadelphia. Bronze: Little King's Cream Ale, Hudepohl-Schoenling, Cincinnati. GERMAN WHEAT Gold: Hops! Hefe-Weizen, HOPS! Bistro & Brewery, Scottsdale, Ariz. Silver: Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen, Boston Beer Co., Boston. Bronze: Heartland Weiss, Chicago Brewing Co., Chicago. AMERICAN WHEAT Gold: Marin Hefe Weiss, Marin Brewing Co., Larkspur, Calif. MAERZEN/OKTOBERFEST Gold: Fest, Stoudt Brewing Co., Adamstown, Pa. Silver: Landmark Octoberfest, Minnesota Brewing Co., St. Paul. VIENNA Gold: Brooklyn Lager, The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y. Silver: Golden Rail, Cherryland Brewery, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Bronze: Anchor Steam Beer, Anchor Brewing Co., San Francisco. ENGLISH BROWN ALE Gold: PMD Mild Ale, Goose Island Brewing Co., Chicago. Silver: Steelhead Nut Brown Ale, Pizza Deli & Brewery, Cate Junction, Ore. Bronze: Bond Street Brown Ale, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore. AMERICAN BROWN ALE Gold: Pete's Wicked Ale, Pete's Brewing Co., Palo Alto, Calif. Silver: Oktoberfest Ale, North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif. Bronze: Brooklyn Brown, The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y. Robin Garr | "I have enjoyed great health at a great age because Associate Sysop | every day since I can remember I have consumed a bottle CompuServe | of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have Wine/Beer Forum | consumed two bottles." -- A Bishop of Seville 76702.764 at compuserve.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 92 08:06:59 -0400 From: matth at bedford.progress.com Subject: Article on Zip City Brewery I just wanted to let other HBD'ers know about an article in the months Popular Mechanics. It's a brief two page'r about Homebrewing, micro-brews, and (mostly) the new Zip City brewery in NY City. It's worth a 5 - 10 minute stop at the magazine rack in your nearest drug store. :-) They do a nice job of summarizing how Zip City makes and dispenses their brews, which is not in the usual fashion. Check it out. Later, -Matth Matthew J. Harper ! Progress Software Corp. ! {disclaimer.i} God created heaven and earth to grow barley and hops. Now he homebrews !-) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 07:13:27 CDT From: jhb at aspen.cray.com (John Badger) Subject: Brewpubs in Boston Karl Bloss: I was in Boston recently and happen to wander into the Commonwealth Brewpub. I don't have the exact addrss but It's between the Boston Garden and North Station. I had a couple of brews and a bowl of chowder. Check out their Porter. John Badger Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 10:40:16 -0400 From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley) Subject: Wyeast California and Belgian I posted in HBD 985 about Wyeast 1214 & Wyeast California. In HBD 986, Phil Hultin suggested that they are not one in the same. Phil is right. California is 1212 Belgian is 1214 Both are newer Wyeast strains, so there is no corrresponding check-off box for either on the package. The number is written on the package in pen without a name for cross-reference. So, when I visited Kedco on Saturday, I was given the wrong package by mistake. An honest mistake by the folks at Kedco which I had know way of knowing about. Many thanks to Phil for pointing out the problem; I would have been mighty surprised (and confused) if I'd made steam beer with Belgian yeast! Ken at Kedco says that California, despite having a 1000-series number, is a bottom-fermenting yeast. It works well at temperatures up to 68 Fahrenheit. Sounds like Steam Beer to me. Cheers, Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 11:04:58 -0400 (EDT) From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas) Subject: sugar starter, nitrosamines So, Micah, are you saying that homebrewers should make a yeast starter out of a plain ol' powdered sugar solution? I think we might be in for a discussion.... Jack S.: You're concerned about nitrosamines which are found in malt which has come from gas-fired kilning. Do you have any numbers wrt. the amount of these chemicals in such malt, as opposed to the amount found in say, a grilled hamburger, or toast? Russ Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Oct 92 17:12:40 GMT From: "Jim N. Deakin" <J.Deakin at sheffield-city-poly.ac.uk> Subject: wort coolers. I've been ploughing through back numbers of the HBD, thinking about making a cooler from 3/8 tubing as most notes seem to recommend, and I noted how many people were concerned about saving water, or whose tap water came too warm to use. Here's an idea, (it might have been suggested before though) Make TWO coolers, and connect them in series. Put the first in a bucket of ice-water. Fill the complete system with water from the tap, then connect the inlet and outlet to each side of a drill-powered pump (Pump outlet to the ice- bucket). Bingo! a cooler, with minimal water usage. It even keeps the wort on the outside where the tubing can be cleaned! and if the drill is a variable speed job, you can optimise the flow rate! Any comments? any criticisms? Happy brewing ......................................................................... From: Jim Deakin, | 33 Honeywell Street, | Magicien was noon That koude expounde Barnsley, | what this lettre mente. -Chaucer. S. Yorks. | S71 1PU | England. | ......................................................................... Email on: JANET : J.DEAKIN at uk.ac.scp INTERNET or UUCP : J.DEAKIN%scp.ac.uk at nsfnet-relay.ac.uk ......................................................................... Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 92 12:24:48 EDT From: "Rick Ringel - HNS/DCN project" <rringel at hns.com> Subject: Potato Beer Can any of you experimental brewers help out Christine? I have no idea how to ferment a potato. -Rick - ------- Forwarded Message Return-Path: CDEMKO at LANDO.HNS.COM Hey Rick, I have a question... do you know anyone who can answer this or can you post it on the BB for me? I need specific directions and receipe for Potato Beer. thanks christine. - ------- End of Forwarded Message Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 09:44:33 PDT From: gak at wrs.com (Richard Stueven) Subject: Re: McAndrew's Addendum Al. writes in #986: >As I was sipping my McAndrew's Scotch Ale this afternoon... > [...] >And now, back to my honeymoon, already in progress... At least we know Al's got his priorities straight! have fun gak Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 09:41:53 PDT From: thomasf at deschutes.ico.tek.com (Thomas D. Feller) Subject: Yeast Starter Ok Micah tell us the "rest of the story." I have been using unhopped DME starters since I started brewing, no real problems but if there is a better way to get larger yeasts populations then I would like to know more. So your you describe in more detail how you make and use yeast starters. Thanks, Tom Feller Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 13:29:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Andy Kurtz <ak35+ at andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Re: cider Thanks for the recipe!! One question... >In any case, bottle aging gives a mellower drink. Have you ever had problems with secondary fermentations of residual sugars (that is, any exploding bottles)? Since you gave no priming info, I assume this will produce still cider. Have you ever made carbonated cider? andy Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 11:58:27 MDT From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com> Subject: Re: Quick-n-Easy Spiced Brown Ale In answer to the questions about my post of Quick-n-Easy Spiced Brown Ale (in digest #985, in case you missed it). > 1) What type of yeast to use... I'm assuming it'll be an ale yeast, > but is there a specific brand/type that I should use? Just use your favorite ale yeast. I used dry before, but will probably use liquid this time around. The spices will help mask any mild infections, if you get one. I suppose you could make this beer as a lager as well, but the fuitiness and esters in an ale seem to go well with the spices. > 2) I'm inclined to think that this recipe might benefit from a > single-staged method, allowing for a maximum attenuation (?) of > the spices. If this is the case, then wouldn't pelletized hops > be better than leaf? As it was supposed to be Quick-n-Easy, I did do a single stage ferment. I don't think, though, that racking after 5 days or a week would hurt the spice characteristic. Remember, the recipe calls for simmering the spices beforehand to "extract" the flavors. The hop addition to the simmer was just an afterthought, and the beer turned out well enough that I didn't want to mess with the recipe. The small amount used wasn't enough to cause any clogging problems, either in the airlock or at bottling time. > The pouch of ingrediants contained a variety of dried > spices, almonds, rasins, and I think even orange rinds, but I can't > remember. So my question is, can I substitute and/or add these > ingrediants to the recipe? Of course! My recipe certainly isn't the only one out there. I just happened onto a combination of beer and spices that balanced very nicely. Other good spices might include corriander, allspice, cardamom, ginger.... Just go easy on them so you don't overpower the beer. You can also vary the base beer to get different effects (use a different kit, hop your own, or brew all-grain. Of course, it gets less Quick-n-Easy the more involved you get). - -- Jeff Benjamin benji at hpfcla.fc.hp.com Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado "Midnight shakes the memory as a madman shakes a dead geranium." - T.S. Eliot Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Oct 1992 15:32:06 -0500 From: Chris McDermott <mcdermott at draper.com> Subject: Boston Stock Altbier?/Seabr Boston Stock Altbier?/Seabright Brewery Hidy ho neighbors, I was on vaction last week (honeymoon actually) so its taken me a while to catch up on my digest reading, and consequently I am a little late catching on to the Altbier thread. When I returned, I found the results of the '92 GABF in my mailbox and saw that Samuel Adams Boston Stock Ale had won a gold in the Dusseldorf Altbier catagory. No silver or bronze was awarded. Now my question is: Is Boston Stock Ale really representitive of the Dusseldorf Alt style? Or did the The Boston Beer Company enter it in a catagory with no other entries so that they could win the gold medal necessary for their tried and true marketing campaign? "Samuel Adams has won a gold medal at the Great American Brew Festival N years in a row." On an other note. While I was on my honeymoon, I happened upon the Seabright Brewery in Santa Cruz CA. One of their special brews was call Century Red and my wife, not being much of a hop-head, loved it's dark, sweet maltiness. Has anyone out in HbD land tried this and if so could you help me make a guess at an all-grain recipe for it? I tried to talk to the brewer, but he was at the GABF picking up his three, count 'em, (1 gold, 2 silver) medals. While I only tried the Red, it sounds like they brew a good deal of quality ale there. _ Christopher K. McDermott Internet: mcdermott at draper.com C.S. Draper Laboratory, Inc. Voice: (617) 258-2362 555 Technology Square FAX: (617) 258-1131 Cambridge, MA 02149 (USA) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 13:39:38 PDT From: greg at cemax.com (Greg Wageman) Subject: Re: #986 Plastic Bottles Don Levey questions: >First, that the plastic is [said to be] slightly porous, and so the brew will >slightly oxidize. Second, and more important, I have been told that >the alcohol will tend to dissolve the polymers, introducing a small bit >of poisonous plastic into the brew. I'm not a chemist, and can't directly answer your question, but here's a data point and more speculation. Plastic soda bottles are usually made of PETE, polyethylene terephthalate. When hard liquor (e.g. 100-proof vodka) is packaged in "plastic" bottles, the material used is almost always clear polycarbonate ("Lexan"). Since I'm pretty sure PETE is cheaper, there must be another reason they don't use it. -Greg Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 92 18:14:32 EST From: AAAF000 <AAAF%CATCC.BITNET at VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU> Subject: I LIVE IN THE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON AREA AND AM NOT REAL AWARE OF ANY QUALITY BREWPUBS. IF ANYONE KNOWS ANY COULD YOU PLEASE POST AS MANY AS POSSIBLE OR CONTACT ME DIRECTLY. THANKS.RICK SMITH (AAAF at CATCC) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 19:02:18 -0400 From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley) Subject: temperature correction My previous post concerning Wyeast 1212 contained a small error. What Ken in fact said was that 1212 works at temperatures up to 62 F. Apologies for any confusion caused. == Cheers, Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 18:08:40 PDT From: Bruce Mueller <mueller at sdd.hp.com> Subject: Phosgene from Clorox + Ammonia--NOT! The former message about mixing bleach and ammonia was incorrect. Phosgene contains carbon, bleach does not. There is no way to form phosgene from this mixture. However, (mono)chloramine IS formed and is nasty. Incidentally, this is now commonly used as the sanitizer in municipal water supplies, since it is longer acting than chlorine gas (and unable to form chlorinated organic compounds at the use level). Just had to clear up the chemistry a bit. Bruce Mueller Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 20:01 EDT From: HULTINP at QUCDN.QueensU.CA Subject: Pellet Hops vs. Whole Flowers In HBD #986, ZLPAJGN asked: > If this is the case, then wouldn't pelletized hops be better than leaf? Offhand, I can't think of ANY situation in which pelletized hops would be better than whole flower (NB: it is the flower, not the leaf, that we use!). This is, of course IMHO. Perhaps some of you out there can suggest advantages for pellets I am unaware of? BTW, The best hops I currently know of are packaged in 1/2 oz "bungs", which consist of, you guessed it, 1/2 oz of fresh whole flowers compressed (not minced and packed) into a plug. On addition to the boil, the bung expands and releases the whole flowers into the brew. I have got mine via my brother in Vancouver, but they come from Morris Hanbury International Hop Merchants (USA) Inc., in Washington State. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 13:37:51 EDT From: localhost!davevi at uunet.UU.NET (David Van Iderstine) Subject: Re: Boston Brewpubs At the risk of this post being duplicated by every other Boston beer drinker, here goes: Boston Beer Works-back bay, very near Fenway Park (Boston) John Harvard's-formerly 33 Dunster St, in "The Garage" on Harvard Square (Cambridge) The Cambridge Brewing Company Hours: Mon-Fri 12:00 to 11:00 1 Kendall Square Sat 12:00 to 1:00 Cambridge, MA Sun 12:00 to 12:00 (617) 494-1994 The Commonwealth Brewing Company Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30 to 12:00 138 Portland Street Sat 11:20 to 12:30 Boston, MA Sun 1:00 to 9:00 (617) 523-8383 Tours: Sat-Sun 3:30 Breweries - --------- The Boston Beer Company Tours: Thu,Sat 2:00 30 Germania Street Boston, MA 02130 (617) 522-9080 Mass Bay Brewing Company Tours: Fri-Sat 1:00 306 Northern Avenue Boston, MA (617) 574-9551 The list of beer bars is too numerous to mention. Private e-mail me for that list. dave davevi at pharlap.com Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #987, 10/09/92