HOMEBREW Digest #1017 Fri 20 November 1992

Digest #1016 Digest #1018


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


Contents:
  Candy sugar continued (Phillip Seitz)
  Brew Clubs (SynCAccT)
  Homebrew Digest #1016 (November 19, 1992) ("JSDAWS1 at PROFSSR")
  beer & ale (G.A.Cooper)
  Re: Kitchen-aid Grain Mill (Bill Szymczak)
  1992 Anchor Xmas (Richard Stueven)
  Thermometer question (GCoon.LAX1B)
  "Lambik"/Hunter/oxidation (korz)
  SS Air "Stone" Source (Alan Gerhardt)
  fermentation/inconsistent carbonation (korz)
  Jackson's Belgian Book (C.R. Saikley)
  RE: inconsistant carbonation (Paul dArmond)
  Fwd: PA Beer Festival (Stephen Brent Peters)
  Re: Aging Beer (Stephen Brent Peters)
  West Virginia Brew (Bill Ridgely FTS 402-1336)
  Goudenband (Ed Kesicki)
  San Diego Mill Help! (Ed Kesicki)
  Corn Syrup, Oxidation etc. (BMOORE)
  Closure on smoked beer (Frank Tutzauer)

Send articles for __publication__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Articles are published in the order they are received.) Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc., to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Archives are available via anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via mail from listserv at sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a message to that address to receive listserver instructions.) **Please do not send me requests for back issues!** *********(They will be silenty discarded!)********* **For Cat's Meow information, send mail to lutzen at novell.physics.umr.edu**
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 14:43 GMT From: Phillip Seitz <0004531571 at mcimail.com> Subject: Candy sugar continued Hmm. Have I just been flamed? In Thursday's HBD Alan Edwards launched a diatribe concerning the alleged snobism of people who'd like to use candy sugar in Belgian style beers. He wondered if there really was any difference between this and standard sugars such as glucose. While it is not the point I want to make here, he may be right. Having hauled plenty of this stuff back from Belgium (using valuable space I usually reserve for chocolate!), I have to say that the value of candy sugar in comparison with other types is not immediately apparent. While it does offer some color and melts slowly, it tastes pretty much like. . . sugar. It seems to me that what's important is what it contributes to the final fermented product, but I've yet to see or taste any good side-by-side comparisons (my own experimental plans notwithstanding). Herein lies the point. Many contributors to HBD (and myself certainly among them) have a tendency to pontificate on matters they don't fully understand. This isn't as reprehensible as it might seem, because any scientist will tell you that understanding (and the proofs it must be built on) can be quite difficult to come by. Most of us (again, myself included) are too lazy, unskilled, or downright impatient to actually test our claims and assumptions. So we swap folklore and half-understood wisdom instead. I totally agree with Al concerning his skepticism, and suspect that his ideas concerning glucose and candy sugar may be correct. But I suspect that he, like many of us, is expressing an opinion and does not have any more solid ground to stand on than the rest of us. How many of us have the patience and discipline to prove what we're saying, anyway? I do recall reading good, solid reports on HBD. A number of homebrewing clubs have undertaken interesting experiments from time to time, and I've appreciated their reports. (My club, sadly, is less disciplined.) As another example, I think most of us appreciate George Fix's comments because he seems to be one of the few who really know what they're talking about. How can we tighten this up? Can we? Should we? As for candy sugar, some Belgian brewers certainly use it, and it's not the cheapest stuff you can get. Does this mean they know something we don't? The truth is: I don't know (yet). Return to table of contents
Date: 19 Nov 92 15:14:09 GMT From: SynCAccT at slims.attmail.com Subject: Brew Clubs A friend and I are thinking of starting a brew club in our area, since there are none to be found and join today. Is there a FAQ or a file on a listserver or archive (I can't FTP) that outlines what one would do to start and run a brew club. I'm interested in things like the clubs mandate and mission, what kinds of activities the club organizes and sponsors, if and what kinds of events clubs organize etc.... Thanks +----------------------------------+ | Internet: gande at slims.attmail.com| | Glenn Anderson | | Manager, Telecom. Facilities | | Sun Life of Canada | +----------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: 19 Nov 92 08:01:17 PST From: "JSDAWS1 at PROFSSR" <JSDAWS1 at PB1.PacBell.COM> Subject: Homebrew Digest #1016 (November 19, 1992) *** Reply to note of 11/19/92 00:39 I am currently getting two copies of the homebrew digest daily. Please check youir mailing list for duplicates of JSDAWS! at PB1.PACBELL.COM Also, a freind is interested in recieving it: JEMORSE at PB1.PACBELL.COM thx | There's a light at the end of the tunnel.. | | If it gets any brighter, get off the tracks. | |____________ JSDAWS1 - JACK DAWSON - 545-0299 _____________| Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 16:21:58 +0000 From: G.A.Cooper at qmw.ac.uk Subject: beer & ale >Lt. Col. Robert Gayre, who wrote the book "Wassail! In Mazers of >Mead," makes the distinction thusly: beer is a strong (in alcohol), >hopped fermented beverage, while ale is weaker and *not hopped*. In >his opinion, both terms originally applied to a honey-based beverage, >but came to refer to malt-based beverages as mead-brewing declined >from the Middle Ages (and before) to the present. His view would seem >to be in a distinct minority, at least in this country. Any British >readers care to comment? Certainly. Your interpretation of Lt. Col. Robert Gayre was quite right (although I'm not sure about the mead bit, nor the weak/strong link). At the time that hops started to be used the unhopped fermented malt beverage (usually with other herb instead of hops) was called ale. The hopped drink was referred to as beer. Once hops became universal the two words became (almost) synonymous. Now we have ales being different from lagers but both being beers. Geoff - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Geoff Cooper Phone: +44 71 975 5178 Computing Services Fax: +44 71 975 5500 QMW e-mail: G.A.Cooper at uk.ac.qmw Mile End Road London, E1 4NS Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 12:01:28 EST From: bszymcz%ulysses at relay.nswc.navy.mil (Bill Szymczak) Subject: Re: Kitchen-aid Grain Mill In HBD 1015 Connell writes: > Does anyone have any experience using a KitchenAid mixer with a grain mill > attachment to crush malt? I'm not sure it would be appropriate since and in HBD1016 Daniel Roman responded: >Forget about it, it's not suitable for the coarse grinding (cracking >really) needed for beer making. I've considered heavily modifying one >but it does not look to be worth the expense or effort if it can even be >done. For what it costs you are better off getting the Marcato or >something (unless you got one as a gift already and don't mind hacking >it up). Well, I got one as a gift and its been working great for crushing grain. There is a dial on the front of the mill which allows you to adjust the distance between the plates. I've found that loosening the dial about 30 clicks (depending on the size of the grain) works fine. No hacking is necessary. Bill Szymczak - bszymcz at ulysses.nswc.navy.mil Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 09:36:39 PST From: gak at wrs.com (Richard Stueven) Subject: 1992 Anchor Xmas In HBD# 1015, Stephen Hansen writes: > > [On another note. They were brewing this year's Christmas Ale when we > were there. Tim, the head brewer, said that it will be similar to last > years but lighter on the spices. As I remember, last year's was lighter on the spices than the 1990 version. If this is true, this is not an encouraging trend... > Their plan was to have it hit the > stores the day after Thanksgiving, November 27.] Thanks for the tip! gak 107/H/3&4 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 09:49:50 PST From: GCoon.LAX1B at xerox.com Subject: Thermometer question I am planning to do my first full mash soon and I was wondering if anyone has used digital thermometers in their process. Seems like you would want something that you could get a quick reading on. Anyone have any type / brand recommendations? Any good mail order places for thermometers? - Gary Coon GCoon.LAX1B at Xerox.com Xerox Printing Systems Division (310) 333 - 3621 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 11:48 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: "Lambik"/Hunter/oxidation Jake writes: >To whomever warned us about Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic: > >Did you check if it was an old batch? There's a sale going on at a [stuff deleted] >My roommate and I ended up buying a six of Cranberry Lambic for $4. By >the way, it was packaged just like the assortment packs they sold last >Xmas. One Cranberry per six. Hint, hint. The stuff was more sour than >bitter or malty, and tasted nothing like cranberries. It was bad, old >beer. I don't think Smadams has even released this year's Xmas brew >yet. At least not in Chicago. I didn't write the warning, but I think the point of the original poster was that the BBC was being picky about naming of beers and then was incorrectly naming their beer a "Lambic." My point is, that even if the Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic [sic] tasted great, and even if it tasted like a lambik, it would still be only a pseudo-lambik. It's just the same as the appelations "Cognac," "Bordeaux" or "Champagne" (the latter which has lost it's exclusivity). It's like a trademark. Lambik is more of a process than a style since even within the handful of Belgian breweries that still follow the time-honored traditional method, there is much variation in flavors. In short: "You can't brew Lambik without Belgian air!" Sorry -- we all have our causes -- I know one of yours and now you know one of mine. ************* John asks: > Is there a "Hunter Air Stat" thermostat which has a different range >of temperature control? I know the Hunter model is from 40 to 90 degrees >farenheit. Is there any that go from 30 degrees to 60 or something like >that? Nope. Just talked to the Hunter Sales Rep monday. They only make one model which has the remote sensor and has the 117V outlet on the front. It was originally made for window air conditioners. ************** John writes: > I have a paradoxical question for the digest. I have a very experienced >brewing friend (12+ years) who is a self-proclaimed hophead. He uses >a hopback during his brewing procedures. His setup is such that after the >boil is over he has a pump which moves his hot wort into a strainer >containing an ounce or two of fresh leaf hops. As the hot wort filters >through the hops (picking up valuable aroma) it falls about a foot into >his hopback (a 5-gallon soda keg with the top cut off). The bottom of >the hopback has a valve which is attached to a counter-flow wort >chiller. He has won numerous AHA awards over the years for outstanding >pale ales and many other fine beers. > >So the now the question: Everything I've ever read says aerating *hot* >wort is very bad, but aerating cool wort before yeast pitching is good. >So how come his hopback doesn't introduce massive oxidation since the wort >is still hot as it falls into the hopback and then cooled very quickly >as it falls into the fermenter (aerating again)? It sure does, but a lot of the hot-side aeration smell undoubtedly gets covered-up by the wonderful hop nose your friend gets. I'll bet that if he cooled before aeration and then dryhopped in the fermenter, his beers would be even better and would taste good much longer (if they don't get consumed first). Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 9:06:25 CDT From: agerhardt at ttsi.lonestar.org (Alan Gerhardt) Subject: SS Air "Stone" Source I recently found what looks to be an ideal wort aeration "Stone". It is made of stainless steel and looks just like an aquarium air stone, only a little coarser. I have not used it in a batch yet, because I haven't found any air filters, but I tried it in a pan of water and it worked very well. I got it at: American Science & Surplus 601 Linden Place Evanston, IL 60202 (708) 475-8440 Stock number: 21096, Description: Sintered Diffuser price: $2.25 for package of 2 The catch? They have a minumum $10 order, but they do have lots of other toys of interest. I have no connection with them except as a satisfied customer. Note: As was published in an earlier digest, they also have the Hunter airstat for $24.xx including shipping. Cheers, Alan Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 11:49 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: fermentation/inconsistent carbonation Taylor: > Now, my question / story for the day: > > I am an extreme novice. Not for long. > I am following the directions that I have been > given, and what is written in Papazian's book. However, my > fermentation times are only about 1/2 of what they say I should be > getting. On the batch that I am fermenting now, I started it late > Sunday, and it has almost completely subsided bubbling by this morning. > Also, contrary to opinion, my massive activity does not start in 24/48 > hours, but in a matter of 2 or 3 hours. Dry yeasts tend to start much faster than liquid yeasts. Liquid yeasts are dormant until you give them food (i.e., pop the wort buldge in the case of Wyeast). Dry yeasts are fed lots of oxygen before dehydration and are ready to go when they hit your wort. Liquid yeasts need to respire and build-up their numbers before switching to fermentation. Also, fermentation time is highly dependent on temperature and the yeast strain. The yeast strain I cultured from Orval dregs is VERY slow (3 weeks), whereas some dry yeasts I used in the past would ferment-out in 3 days. > > What am I doing wrong? The instructions that I have been following say > to hydrate the yeast, and then pitch into the carboy. I have also seen > that I should wait until the solution in the carboy has cooled. > Which is correct? (I would suspect since the way I did it (hydrate & > pitch) is not working, the other way must be better). If I should > wait, what temperature should I wait for? Dry yeasts can handle slightly higher pitching temperatures. I've read that they should be rehydrated in 100F water, which would imply that you could pitch them in 100F wort, but you don't want to aerate your wort when it is that hot. Liquid yeasts are much more picky when it comes to temperatures -- you don't want the wort temp to be far away from the starter temperature. I use liquid yeasts and an immersion wort chiller to bring the wort to 70F. I then aerate the wort and pitch the yeast. When using dry yeasts, I recommend that you rehydrate in 100F water before starting brewing. By the time you've completed the boil and cooled the wort to 80F, the yeast will probably hav cooled down to about 80F also. Aerate the wort and pitch the yeast. > > Could someone please describe the event steps (and length of > time) between the time you turn off your burner and put the blowoff > tube onto the carboy? I use a wort chiller, and with Chicago tapwater my chilling time is about 20 minutes for a 5 gallon (full batch) boil. Add to that carrying and handling time and we're talking about 30 minutes from end of boil to ready-to-pitch. However, I've been waiting 1 hour after cooling to allow the cold break to settle, but I think I'll drop this procedure (it seems to take much longer than 1 hour and I don't think my 1 hour wait makes much of a difference). Therefore, my next batch (Sat) will be about 30 minutes from end-of-boil to blowoff-tube-on. > > Finally, I local distributor gave me a taste of his India Pale Ale, and > I _really_ would like to make this. Any suggestions on a recipe (other > than Papazian's) This one works for me, but is a bit underhopped, I think: IRS IPA `92 6.6 lbs Northwestern Gold Extract 1 lb Laaglander Light Dried Malt Extract 1.1 lb Roger's (Canadian) Demerara-Style Brown Sugar 2 oz Bullion Pellets (%AA unknown) -- (90 min boil) 1/2 oz East Kent Goldings Whole (4%AA) (15 min boil) 1 oz East Kent Goldings Whole (4%AA) (dryhop - last 7 days before bottling) 1/3 oz Wines Inc. Burton Water Salts 1/2 lb 6 row Crystal Malt (40L) 5 gallons distilled water 1 gallon Chicago (soft) tapwater yeast recultured from 3 bottles of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale OG: 1071, FG: 1020 Procedure: Nothing special -- crush the crystal (actually, I used a rolling pin and a ziplock bag) and put the crystal into a mesh grain bag. Suspend the bag in the pot from the spoon as the water and Burton Water Salts go from cool to 165F. Remove and let drain. Bring to boil, add malt extracts and hops in hop bags at the proper times. Chill as quickly as possible. Aerate and pitch. Use blowoff method. ***************** Dave writes: >A little over a month ago I bottled a dark ale. I used a scant 3/4 c. >of corn sugar to prime after dissolving the sugar in 2 c. boiling >water. I'm pretty sure that I mixed in the priming sugar well enough. >I capped with a Brev wing capper after boiling the caps for about 10 >minutes. Since bottling the bottles have been stored at about 65-70 deg F. > >The problem is that about half of the bottles have good carbonation and >great head retention while the other half are more-or-less flat. (The >"flat" half do have a little carbonation, but they form only a very >weak head when decanted. The head quickly disappears and the beer >tastes flat when drinking it.) Sounds okay except for the boiling of the caps. I suggest that a minute in boiling water is more than enough. I use simple 200ppm Chlorine Bleach solution. Boiling will ruin SmartCaps(tm) and will soften the seals on regular caps. I've never had inconsistent carbonation and have been pretty relaxed about mixing in the priming sugar. > - I capped some of the bottles wrong. Could be another problem. Does your capper adjust to different bottles well? Mine is a bench capper and adjusts very easily. I had problems with my Jet capper in that it only accepted one type of bottle neck (it relied on the ring of glass at the top to be a particular width). Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 10:25:34 PST From: grumpy!cr at uunet.UU.NET (C.R. Saikley) Subject: Jackson's Belgian Book From: rpeck at pure.com (Ray Peck) >I posted a few months ago about "The Great Beers of Belgium" by MJ, >which I picked up in Brussels. Not surprisingly, many people were >interested. >Flipping through "All ABout Beer" (the magazine) at a bookstore last >night, I spotted a 1/4 page ad for the book, "Available for the first >time in the U.S.". $29.95, or $24,95 pre-publication price. This was >named a "second edition", so I guess I'll have to buy it. . . I have both versions, and they are essentially the same. I wouldn't recommend getting both. (I wouldn't have both myself, except the second copy was a freebie!). The biggest difference is that the US release is of the "quality paperback" variety. $24.95 may seem like alot for a paperback, but then I paid US $42 in Brussels for the hardcover edition. I wrote a short review of this book for the WORLD'S GREATEST BREWSPAPER, which I'll include here. CR ========================================================================== Given the growing fascination for Belgian beers in this country, the introduction of Michael Jackson's The Great Beers of Belgium couldn't come at a more appropriate time. This is a definitive work, and a must have for any fan of Belgian beers. Jackson has long had a passion for this tiny country's beers, and his passion shows in this well researched text. He begins by discussing the unique beer culture that exists in Belgium, and the relationship between food and drink there. There is a description of the ingredients typically used in Belgian beers, and then the bulk of the book focuses the widely varying beer styles that are uniquely Belgian. Jackson proceeds to unravel the mysteries surrounding the major styles as only he can. Lambics, White Beers, Brown Beers, Red Beers, Saisons, Belgian Ales, Abbey Beers, Golden Strong Beers, and Regional Specialties are all included in this unprecedented work. There are stylistic descritions as well as highlights of individual breweries, including all five operating monastery breweries. If you don't know your Faros from your Flanders Browns, this book will definitely set you straight. Finally, Jackson rounds out the book with a discussion of Belgian Cafes. He describes some of the more famous cafes of Brussels, and then lists a few specialty beer cafes around the country. There is even a brief listing of establishments specializing in Belgian beers in other parts of the world, including San Francisco. This masterfully written, 271 page work is filled with over 250 full color photographs. It is sure to occupy a place of pride in the library of any serious beer afficionado. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 10:27:55 -0800 (PST) From: Paul dArmond <paulf at henson.cc.wwu.edu> Subject: RE: inconsistant carbonation Dave Shaver writes that he is having trouble with his bottles not conditioning. I had similar problems until I: 1) Added a small amount of fresh yeast at bottling. 2) Stirred the priming in with a *sanitized* spoon. 3) Kept the bottles above 65F for the first five days. 4) Shook the bottles twice during the first week to resuspend the yeast. 3 and 4 were based on advice from the Cellar in Seattle. They also advised storing the bottles on their sides to expose more surface area for the yeast. 2 was recommended by my friend Perry (Rev. 10X) Mills. He had noticed that SG readings varied between the top and bottom of his secondary. 1 was based on reading here in the digest that yeasts get "tired" when fermenting high gravity beers (mine range from 1.060 to 1.075). All of these trick yeilded small improvements, and I am now very pleased with the results. Previously, developing good condition took as long as six weeks. Now my beers are tasteable (for the impatient) in one week, well conditioned in two. I have noticed that the high gravity dark ales improve with time. js may have been a trifle unkind to describe this as "hiding defects." Back in George Washington's day, porter wasn't really considered drinkable if it was less than a year old. I don't know the reason for the conditioning hassles. The above tricks solved the problem and they may help you. paul. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 14:59:46 -0500 (EST) From: Stephen Brent Peters <sp2q+ at andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Fwd: PA Beer Festival For those of you who didn't know, or asked me for the information - here's the message posted before about the Pocono Beer Fest! Hope to see you there! - ---------- Forwarded message begins here ---------- Subject: PA Beer Festival Message-ID: <36270 at cbmvax.commodore.com> Date: 21 Oct 92 14:05:16 GMT Reply-To: weir at cbmvax.UUCP (Robert Weir - Manuals) Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA Lines: 21 Great Brews of America Classic Beer Festival Split Rock Resort, Lake Harmony, PA (in the Poconos) 21 and 22 November 1992 Tickets $10 ($12 at the gate) Call 1-800-255-7625 for advanced sales/info. Proceeds benefit National Multiple Sclerosis Society Live and Dixieland, seminars in beer styles, history, and beer making, homebrew demos. Plenty of grilled/smoked meats (sounds scary!) to nosh on 40 different beers from over 20 different breweries and microbreweries, including Dock Street, Sam Adams, Stoudt's, and Yuengling. (info from the Ritz Theatre Guide Oct/Nov 92) RSW Steve Peters = sp2q at andrew.cmu.edu Oxnar demands a *Sacrifice!* Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 15:26:20 -0500 (EST) From: Stephen Brent Peters <sp2q+ at andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Re: Aging Beer > The following is excerpted from THE NEW BREWER, May/Jun 1992. The article is > by Fred Scheer, Frankenmuth Brewery. > .................. > "In my research of draft beer, I found that one of the biggest problems is > the age of the beer. As with bottled beer, draft beer does not improve with > age!" > "Draft beer is at the peak of freshness and taste the day it is put into the > keg. Ideally, a brewer would be able to fill his kegs in the morning and get > them back empty at night. But because this is not the case, the beer loses > quality each day after it is kegged." > ................... > This view seems at odds with the conventional wisdom of hombrewers and I see > two possiblities: > 1. His "research" is seriously flawed. > 2. People who claim that their beer improves with age are > simply confused by the fact that the defects in their beer sometimes mellow out or become less obvious with time. JS- I think in this case the author was refering to kegging the light american beers. In my experience only the darker, heavier beers improve with age. I've had terrific american style ales really go down hill after only a few weeks. On the other hand, I've had some stouts aged up to a year and they've only gotten better. I don't know the Frankenmuth Brewery, but as Americans drink very little dark beer on tap, I'd say the author just assumed that one only kegs lighter beers. -Steve Steve Peters = sp2q at andrew.cmu.edu Oxnar demands a *Sacrifice!* Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 15:13:00 EST From: Bill Ridgely FTS 402-1336 <RIDGELY at A1.CBER.FDA.GOV> Subject: West Virginia Brew Guy McConnell writes: > I asked this on the Brewe... er, that "other" homebrewing >forum, and got exactly no response. My brother's job is >relocating him from Tallahassee FL. to the Charleston West >Virginia area at the end of this month. What is the >beer/brewing climate there? Any micros, brewpubs, or places >with decent selections of good beer? I gotta know this so that >I can properly prioritize a visit after he moves. Thanks for >any info, posted or emailed! The reason no one responded is that your brother likely will be the first person in living memory actually moving to Charleston rather than away from it. As an ex-patriot Charleston home boy, I have the sad duty to inform you that this town gives the term "beer wasteland" a whole new meaning. I spent some time there recently because of a death in the family, and I found the situation worse than ever. Thank goodness I remembered to take along lots of homebrew. There are no brewpubs, mini, micro, or mega breweries within 200 miles of Charleston (the nearest would be Cincinnati or Pittsburgh). The best beer store in town is the Cold Spot on Washington St West. It has a reasonable selection of imports. Next best is Campbell's Kwik Shop in Kanawha City. Last I remember, it actually carried Guinness and Bass Ale. One measure of the situation - There are exactly as many beer retailers listed in the phone book as there are bible retailers. Don't even bother with the bars or taverns - nothing served but Budmillob and, occasionally, Bass Ale. If you can get past all of that, Charleston does have a fairly good cultural and music scene. Check out Mountain Stage, recorded each Sunday at the WV Cultural Center at the Capitol. Also, spend some time at Trans Allegheny Books on Capitol St, one of my all-time favorite used book stores. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 13:24:54 -0800 From: ek at chem.UCSD.EDU (Ed Kesicki) Subject: Goudenband I have gotten a request from a friend of mine to find out if anyone out there has tried to reproduce a beer called Goudenband (Belgian, O I believe). If so, or if anyone has any suggestions as to recipe ideas, what yeast to use, etc, please let me know. I have never tasted the beer so I really don't even know what style it is. He says you can't get it here in San Diego. Thanks. Ed Kesicki ek at chem.ucsd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 13:34:24 -0800 From: ek at chem.UCSD.EDU (Ed Kesicki) Subject: San Diego Mill Help! Help! Anyone in San Diego with a grain mill willing to let me grind 8 lb of malt on Friday or Saturday? Please call me, I'm in kind of a bind-- I don't know anyone with a mill, I've just started all-grain, just bought a sack of uncrushed malt, and don't yet have a mill, and...have yeast getting ready to go. Reward offered. Thanks. Ed Kesicki (619) 558-1123 home 534-1893, 534-7936 work ek at chem.ucsd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 16:29 From: sherpa2!BMOORE.UNIX11%mailsrv2 at sunup.West.Sun.COM (BMOORE) Subject: Corn Syrup, Oxidation etc. >Then as technology progressed they (corn syrup manufacturers) became >able to use enzymes to break >down the starch virtually 100% of the way to a simple (monomer) sugar. >This became "dextrose" even though chemically dextrose and glucose >are the same. Thus dextrose syrup and crystalline dextrose. Agricultural product manufacturers offer a variety of "corn syrup" products to commercial brewers. They can control the types and quantities of sugars to a remarkable degree, even approximating the sugar distribution in a "typical" wort. This development has been met with enthusiasm by many commercial brewers. One needs only to count the railroad tank cars bearing the name of a midwest corn processor in front of the Rainier brewery here in Seattle. >The problem is that about half of the bottles have good carbonation and >great head retention while the other half are more-or-less flat. (The >"flat" half do have a little carbonation, but they form only a very >weak head when decanted. The head quickly disappears and the beer >tastes flat when drinking it.) >I'm wondering if: >- I need to relax and hope the batch carbonates more evenly. >- I capped some of the bottles wrong. >- I didn't mix in the priming sugar well enough. >- I did something else wrong. I had uneven carbonation problems for quite a while and finally traced it to inadequate mixing of the beer and the priming sugar. I was so afraid of getting oxygen into the beer that it wasn't getting mixed. I finally started using a carboy for a priming vessel so I could throw a cork on top and gently rouse the beer without splashing it. The trick is to >quietly< siphon the beer into the carboy with the priming solution already in it, shake lightly to cause the beer to foam a bit, thus filling the airspace in the carboy with CO2. Warm priming solution in the bottom the the carboy helps this process A neat trick for underprimed beer is to pour 2 to 4 oz of "commercial" beer (i.e. bland and overcarbonated) in the glass first. There seems to be enough carbonation to go around and the flavor change isn't too drastic. Better than throwing flat homebrew away, anyhow >I was wondering if anyone can recommend any commercial >holiday brews that I should sample. Jubelale from Deschutes brewery in Bend, Ore and (I forgot the name of the beer) from Feinloffel (sp?)somewhere in California >Are the copper wort chillers that many of us are using are in fact >compromising the quality of our brews? I Think the guy peddling stainless wort chillers is pulling your chain. > Everything I've ever read says aerating *hot* >wort is very bad, but aerating cool wort before yeast pitching is good. >So how come his hopback doesn't introduce massive oxidation since the >wort is still hot as it falls into the hopback and then cooled very quickly >as it falls into the fermenter (aerating again)? The key here is that the wort is cooled >immediately< after the oxygen is introduced from aeration. If the wort was splashed around and then let sit around hot for a while , then trouble would occur. My understanding is that many commercial brewers introduce oxygen into the wort at the >HOT< end of their wort chillers without problems! Something about mixing in better. I imagine just as many introduce oxygen at the cold end too. Hope this helps... Cheers Barry Moore "Umsonst ist alle Kunst, ELDEC Corp Wenn ein Angel in den Zundloch prunst" Bothell, Washington (sherpa2!bmoore at sunup.west.sun.com) Return to table of contents
Date: 19 Nov 1992 22:36:59 -0500 (EST) From: Frank Tutzauer <COMFRANK at ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu> Subject: Closure on smoked beer Hey, now. Last summer, I asked for hints about making smoked beers. The published literature is pretty scanty, but the help from the HBD was great. Thanks to everyone. Here is what I did and how it turned out. (I'm going to try to put the recipe in the format used in the Cat's Meow. If we all did that, maybe it'll save Karl and Mark a little effort down the road.) Mongrel Ale (Smoked) Source: Frank Tutzauer (comfrank at ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu) Issue #????, 11/??/92 Ingredients: 1 lb smoked crystal (60 L) 1/2 lb smoked pale English 2-row 1 lb Munich malt 3 lbs amber M&F dried malt extract 2 lbs light M&F dried malt extract 1/2 oz. Galena pellets (alpha = 12.0; 60 min.) 1/2 oz. Hallertauer pellets (alpha = 4.5; 15 min.) 1/2 teaspoon, Irish Moss (15 min.) 1/2 oz. Hallertauer pellets (alpha = 4.5; 1 min.) Wyeast 1007: German Ale Heavy handed 3/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Procedure: Using a water smoker, I smoked the crystal and pale malt at about 170F over hickory wood for 3-4 hours using heavy smoke. When finished, the malt smelled smokey, but didn't taste smokey, so I took half the crystal and gave it another 3-4 hours. This smelled REALLY smokey, but still didn't taste smokey. On brew day, I cracked all grains and steeped them in 3 qts. of water for 45 minutes at 150-155F. I sparged with 1 (US) gallon of 170F water, recirculating twice (I wanted that smoke, and was willing to get a few more tannins). I added the runoff and extracts to the kettle, and topped up to 5 and 1/2 to 6 gallons of water. I boiled 65 minutes adding the hops and Irish Moss as shown. I calculated the IBUs to be about 30, but the finished product doesn't taste 30 IBUs worth of bitter (maybe my calculations were off; also my crude measuring instruments mean that those quantities on the hops are, er, approximate). Cooled with an immersion chiller and pitched the yeast from a starter. Comments: This beer was a big hit at my homebrew club. It is a beautiful amber, but has low head retention. The first taste sensation is a light sweetness at the front of the mouth; then a light bitterness, with a mild smokey finish at the back sides of the tongue. I personally think that it could use a little more smoke, but my wife thinks it's perfect. Also, I believe that the popularity of it at my homebrew club is partly due to the fact that the smoke is not overwhelming--most people just aren't used to heavily smoked foods. (But I am, which is why I think it can use more.) The consensus at the homebrew club was that if one did want to increase the smokiness, you should smoke more grains, rather than apply more smoke to the original 1 and 1/2 pound quantity. About the name--I know that smoked beer is a German tradition, so I threw in some Munich and used German yeast. But, geez, I had all this English malt and extract laying around, hence "mongrel." Also, I decided to make an ale instead of a lager since it was the end of the summer and I hadn't yet gotten a refridgerator. Finally, I made a low gravity beer because I wanted to see how the smoke played out, and therefore didn't want a lot of other flavors, etc., to get in the way. Specifics: O.G.: 1.042 F.G.: 1.010 Primary Ferment: 13 days Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1017, 11/20/92