HOMEBREW Digest #1334 Wed 26 January 1994

Digest #1333 Digest #1335


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


Contents:
  keeping fingers intact (Jonathan G Knight)
  Re: Beer Bread ("J. Hunter Heinlen")
  Calorie count for diabetes? (Phil Bardsley                       )
  Lovibond Glasses/Heat Shrouds (npyle)
  Mashing with IGLOO Cooler (Kelly Doran)
  Extract storage (GNT_TOX_)
  Sam Adams T-shirt offer (Mark Worwetz)
  Alert! (Mark Garetz)
  WORT AERATION (708) 938-3184" <HANSEN.MICHAEL at igate.abbott.com>
  Re: Minnesota Brewfest (James D Rickard-1)
  Hazelnut Extract Beer (Michael Froehlich)
  Potentail Extract - Who's Right? (dmorey)
  Miscelaneous (Ulick Stafford)
  Sierra Nevada (Richard Nantel)
  hb clubs in chicago area (Thomas A. Nawara)
  It just doesn't get any better... (Glenn Tinseth)
  FLAT beer ("Paul Austin")
  Book review:  "Evaluating Beer" (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  How long to prime??? (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Re: Bitters (Jim Busch)
  The Demise fo the Yeast Culture Kit Co. (Jim Busch)
  Wyeasts (Ulick Stafford)
  Oktoberfest trip and Munich Brewery Tours. (Bob Kosakowski)
  FAQ/Archives???? (WKODAMA)
  shippin brew (BadAssAstronomer)
  Question on flavor ("Bill Knecht")
  Sterilization prior to bottling (gary_krone)
  Rye Malt ??? ("Mark B. Alston")
  lagering (Montgomery_John)
  'conditioning' lager (Ashley Morris)
  Grant's recipe request (Mark Stewart)
  oldenberg, breckenridge, sam's cran (Mark Bunster)
  yeast from trub (sekearns)
  Dry hopping - How to? (George)
  Capital Region Microbrewers Festival (Aaron Morris)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 13:14:13 -0500 (cdt) From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU> Subject: keeping fingers intact My thanks to the MANY folks who e-mailed me to save me from the error of my ways. I was thinking about how to cut a hole in my plastic bucket to install a spigot and naively said something about one of those "retractable razor blade thingies." FOR ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO WAS ABOUT TO MISTAKE MY QUESTION AS ADVICE: DON'T DO IT !!!! Along with many stories of gouging, gashing, slashing and bleeding much too gory to recount here - I am now petrified of using my retractable razor blade thingie on anything stronger than wimpy cardboard - the overwhelming majority of respondents also provided the solution: a 1-inch "hole saw," available at your friendly neighborhood hardware, on a power drill. I do have a drill, I just didn't know what a hole saw was - and now I do! Hope this data point is useful to anyone out there who has the misfortune of being as un-handy as myself. Thanks again, all. Jonathan Knight Grinnell Iowa Keeping signatures short for the benefit of brewkind. Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 1994 14:13:56 -0500 (EST) From: "J. Hunter Heinlen" <STBLEZA at grove.iup.edu> Subject: Re: Beer Bread Greetings, all... In HBD #1332, Zach Fresco (zfresco at helen.bush.edu) asks if anyone has any good recipes for beer bread. Why, yes, I do. (insert trademark evil grin here |> Ingredients: 12 oz bottle of your favorite beer 3 1/2 - 4 cups of self rising flour 4 tablespoons sugar or 3 tablespoons honey other flavorings as per taste (rasins, apples, nuts, gralic, onions, etc.) Procedure: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (not C or K). Put flour, flavorings, and sugar (honey) in mixing bowl. Open beer. Sigh at realizing that you can't drink it now. :) Pour it into bowl. Stir until all of the flour is 'wetted' (it now a dough without lumps). Be careful not to overstir, as this will produce beer brick, not beer bread. Grease a dutch oven, bread mold, or something similar. Pour dough into it, and place in oven. Cook until it sounds hollow when you thump it, or a toothpick thrust into its center returns clean. +*****************************************+***********************************+ | This is only a test of the Emergeny |J. Hunter Heinlen | | Ontology System. Had this been a real |(AKA SCA Jacobus Jager Draake) | | moral delima, you would have been told |(Internet:STBLEZA at GROVE.IUP.EDU) | | what to beleive. - The Government | Ideas Contemplated While You Wait | +=========================================+===================================+ 1,000,000 Lemmings Can't Be Wrong! Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 14:28 EST From: Phil Bardsley <UPHILB at UNCMVS.OIT.UNC.EDU> Subject: Calorie count for diabetes? Hi all, Does anyone know how to calculate the calories of the non-alcohol portion of homebrew (short of hiring a lab)? I have diabetic friends who'd like to try my homebrew. It tends to be sweet, since I mash at a high temp and add crystal and carapils malts. I'm wondering if I can assume the final gravity is all due to unfermentable, but fully digestible, sugars, then somehow figure the amount of sugar that you'd need to add to 12 oz of liquid to equal that specific gravity. Any ideas? Thanks. Phil phil_bardsley at unc.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 12:32:25 MST From: npyle at n33.stortek.com Subject: Lovibond Glasses/Heat Shrouds Thanks to Dr. Fix for explaining the Breiss color test, but he wrote: > The Lovibond reading for these were measured with Lovibond glasses. Are these anything like those 3d glasses from those movies in the 1950s?? ;-) Sorry, sometimes I can't help it... ** Its interesting to see that "heat shrouds" are now being discussed/built out there. My boiler, designed around a 10 gallon SS cream can, has a built-in shroud. My father-in-law designed/built it (what a guy), and I thought that it was unnecessary, especially when we had to modify it (read: drill bunches of holes in it) to allow exhaust to escape. It now works fine and, apparently, is saving me lots of propane. I say "apparently" because it is the first model I've owned, and have no other point of reference. It looks like he was right on this one. Cheers, Norm Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 12:07:18 -0800 (PST) From: Kelly Doran <rrc!earth!kelly at uu.psi.com> Subject: Mashing with IGLOO Cooler I'm new to the HBD, so here is a little information about myself along with my two questions. I have been brewing for 2 years now and have made 4 all-grain batches with a friends equipment. With my own equipment, I'm planning to use a 5 gallon IGLOO cooler for a mash tun. My 2 questions are: 1.) When using a 5 gallon IGLOO cooler, how many pounds of grain will it hold and still be able to maintain an exceptable water to grain ratio for the mash? 2.) How much will the temperature drop in 45 to 60 minutes using a single infusion mash? Thank you for your time, Kelly Loyd Doran Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 15:12 EST From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU> Subject: Extract storage If I buy a can of extract, and use, say half of it. Can I store the other half in the freezer? How long will it keep? Do I need to purge it before storage. I'd probably put it in a small food grade bucket with a snap lid. Andrew Pastuszak Philadelphia, PA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 14:08:35 -0700 (MST) From: Mark_Worwetz at Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz) Subject: Sam Adams T-shirt offer Howdy from Scum Lick City, Utah! A few months ago I received a Sam Adams(tm, of course) propaganda leaflet that contained an irresistable FREE T-SHIRT offer. Being a collector of such drivel I filled it out and mailed it away. I've since heard nothing from them. Has anyone else seen this offer? Has anyone received anything? Is this an attempt by local law-enforcement to capture illegal Utah homebrewers? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!! Mark Worwetz No longer relaxed and getting worried behind the Zion Curtain. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 94 21:54:32 PST From: Mark Garetz <mgaretz at hoptech.com> Subject: Alert! To all, especially homebrew suppliers: I just received a message from a homebrew shop owner who said that someone called him, claiming to work for HopTech, and selling bumper stickers. The caller claimed his name was Mark Rizzo and was based out of San Diego. He was very rude to the shop owner. The shop owner had talked to us before and knew we didn't do business this way, and so suspected something was up. HopTech has no knowledge of this person, he does not work for or represent our company. Be aware that HopTech does not make unsolicited phone calls (or even send literature). IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL OF THIS NATURE, IT IS FRAUDULENT! Please get a number where you can return this person's call and let us know immediately. We will inform the appropriate authorities. If anyone has received similar calls, please contact us with the details. Email is prefered. Leave a number where I can get back to you. If you have received similar calls with offers to sell bumper stickers from other companies, let me know too. If anyone has knowledge of this person, please contact me as well. Please let's not waste further bandwidth with a lot of "oh wow" responses. Let's just get to the bottom of this quickly and quietly so we can nip it in the bud. Thanks in advance for the help of the on-line community. Mark Garetz HopTech Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 1994 16:00:00 -0600 (CST) From: "Michael D. Hansen (708) 938-3184" <HANSEN.MICHAEL at igate.abbott.com> Subject: WORT AERATION Hi All! Short, simple question: Has anyone ever used a small air compressor (the type that drives an airbrush, for example) to aerate their wort? TIA and Brew on My Friends! Mike (HANSENMD at RANDB.ABBOTT.COM) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 16:55:19 -0600 (CST) From: James D Rickard-1 <rick0018 at gold.tc.umn.edu> Subject: Re: Minnesota Brewfest Wow! I posted about a mistake made at the '93 Minnesota Brewfest, how my Haggis Chaser Scotch Ale was judged as a Belgian Trippel. While I was reading the digest in the morning, sipping some hot coffee, my emailbox rattled announcing a new letter. It was Cushing Hamlen, a representative of the MBA. He promised to get to the bottom of the problem, and sure enough called me a few hours later with my entry sheet in hand. I was promised a refund, but opted for a free entry in the next 'fest. I guess my 1 was written a lot like a 2. Fair enough. I am impressed by the speed of his reply, and the fact that he was willing to set everything to right this long after the contest. Too bad that I am out of that batch, he even offered to re-judge it for me. (Ulterior motive?) BTW, I heartily endorse the Minnesota Brewfest. It was a blast! I understand that my plight was a rarity. I can't wait til the next one! See you there! Jim Rickard Homebrewer from Heck Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 16:04:02 PST From: froeh at navajo.naa.rockwell.com (Michael Froehlich) Subject: Hazelnut Extract Beer Fellow Brewers, I have found a great source for natural extracts. I tasted the Oregon Nut Brown Ale featured in Zymurgy and found it to be one of my favorite beers tasted this year (and that covers alot of beers). I couldn't find any hazelnut extract in the stores however and I talked with several brewers and couldn't get any info. I found a company near LA that makes baking extracts and extract syrups used for flavoring coffees. I bought a 2 lb jar with a pump dispenser for $19 plus $3 shipping and they gave me a 1 oz sample of the 100% pure extract after I told them what I was brewing beer. So, I brewed 3 batches of Nut Brown Ale (4 gallons each). In one of the batches, I used a Hazelnut Extract (100% pure, 1 oz). In another I used a Hazelnut Syrup (used for flavoring coffee, 4 oz). The 3rd beer was not flavored. These beers were well received by my homebrew clubs as well as other brewers. The pure extract needed more aroma (probably use 2 oz per 5 gallons next time) and the syrup had a very strong hazelnut aroma as well as a drier mouth feel from the additional fermentation. The syrup is made with some form of fructose sugar but it did not impart any odd flavors. I would use about 3 oz per 5 gallon next time. The name of the place is Capriccio and is located in Chatsworth, CA (phone (310) 535-6610 ). They have over 100 different pure extracts and over 50 flavors of the syrups used to flavor coffee. The only problem that I had was buying such a large quantity of the syrup. You can only drink so much of this beer. The pure extract is more expensive but you can buy 1 lb jars. I have nothing to do with this company other than being a happy camper by making odd beers with their product and drinking them. _______ / \ o | Cheers! | o ____ .\_______/ o |o o| . Michael Froehlich |~~~| (| > |) (310) 647-1482 | |)\ |\_/| | | \ \_/ froeh at 129.172.56.36 |___| \ | OOOOO Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 19:23:29 -0600 From: dmorey at iastate.edu Subject: Potentail Extract - Who's Right? Hello my fellow brewes, It seems that I reopened a can of worms when I asked about the extract potential of dark malts last month. I have been reading all responses since that time with interest. First, there seems to be TWO major points of confusion: extract and specific gravity. EXTRACT: The total solids derived from mashing malted barley and sometimes malt adjuncts such as corn or rice. Principally includes maltose, non-fermentable dextrins, and protein. These extracts in solution determine the starting gravity of the wort. (This definition is from BETTER BEER and HOW to BREW IT, M.R. Reese) SPECIFIC GRAVITY: A measure of density of a liquid as compared to water. The ratio of the mass of a given volume of a substance to the mass of an equal volume of water at a temperature of 4 C. (For us brewers, this is the amount of soluble matter, not only sugars, in the wort as compared to an equal volume of water). >From TNCJoHB, Webster's compact dictionary, and me. Now for example, let us look at a hypothetical wort composed of 25% dextrins and 75% maltose (From David Line, TBBoB pg 127) produced by infusion mash 150 F pH 5.1. Lets ASSUME this is a five-gallon batch and we are going to use 8 lbs of pale malt with an expected extraction of 31 pts gals / lb. Also let ASSUME as Reese suggests that dextrins are non-fermentable. Our wort will then have the following predicted characteristics: Projected OG: 1 + ((31 * 8) / 5) / 1000 = 1.050 (This is our potential extract) Projected Fermentables: 0.75 * 50 = 38 pts of fermentables (Projected OG - FG in pts) Projected Dextrins: 1 + ((0.25 * 50) / 1000) = 1.013 (Lowest possible terminal gravity) In this wort, the potential extract IS NOT the expected fermentable soluble matter in the wort. It is a total measure of the mass extracted during the mash process, this matter may contribute to fermentables, non-fermentables, head retension, color, flavor, etc.... My point is don't confuse specific gravity and potential extract as the measure of fermentable products in the wort, if this was the case and yeast where *alcohol tolerant* our final gravities would always be 1.000! This leads me to my next point, extract potential of dark malts. Earlier I had given a value of 27 pts gal / lb, another isputed my numbers and gave 0 (none), while lately you have probably seen a range of 0-3 pts gals /lb given. So who is right? WE ARE BOTH RIGHT. When I use dark malts, I crack them and use them for the WHOLE mash schedule (2 Hrs). If I were to add the dark malts whole during mash out or the final 10 minutes, I could probably expect only 0-3 pts gal / lb extraction. The major factors are malt/grain preparation and time. Longer time give higher extracts. Crushed vs whole will also give higher extract. I hope this helps you understand the difference between potential extract and fermentable products. Also I hope that this will give you an idea of which point value to use when calculating potential extract for your brewing process. Finally, I would like to say that I believe that my value of 27 pts gals /lb for dark malts and grains seems high when we are only expecting 22 pts gals / lb from crystal. This is the reason I posted my original question. Thank you for your time and again I hope the material given justifies the length of this post. I think I'll go have a homebrew now. ========================================================================== Dan A. Morey | Wine is proof that God loves us and wants to dmorey at iastate.edu | see us happy. - B. Franklin Agricultural Process | Engineer | The same is true for BEER! - Me ========================================================================== Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 20:50:32 EST From: ulick at maimonides.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford) Subject: Miscelaneous In hbd 1332 Wesman burnt Grolsch tops. I don't know about others, but I always remove Grolsch tops prior to satitizing etc. Thank you, Al, for explaining your procedure. I assume a Viniator is some kind of perfume atomizer. However, I fail to understand your reservations about my method of dunking in a laudery tub. The laundery tub is permanently full of sanitizer for equipment, so using so much is not a factor. I top it up by emptying carboys full of sanitizer in (I store with a bleach solution). I submerge them all in less than 5 minutes and rinse with a JET rinser while the beer is racking into the bottling bucket. I don't worry about the outsides because all the chlorine and water evaporates quickly anyway. I find this technique much better than the oven method, which I found energy inefficient, time inefficient (oven couldn't take enough for 1 batch), foil inefficient, but worst of all whenever I racked a well lagered beer, the CO2 woulod come out of solution on nucleation points in the dry bottle and foaming was a real nuisence. I did an infusion mash with Belgian Pilsener malt the other day and got lousy extract (perhaps 6 pt (B) per lb per gallon). A decocted batch from a week earlier got around 8. Anyone have similar experiences? __________________________________________________________________________ 'Heineken!?! ... F#$% that s at &* ... | Ulick Stafford, Dept of Chem. Eng. Pabst Blue Ribbon!' | Notre Dame IN 46556 | ulick at darwin.cc.nd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 94 22:12:32 EST From: Richard Nantel <72704.3003 at CompuServe.COM> Subject: Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada this. Sierra Nevada that. I'm sick and tired of all this talk about Sierra Nevada pale ale. We can't get the stuff up here in Canada so quit rubbing in how great it is. I've read more about this beer on HBD than any other. I'm dying to try it. Anyone out there have a tried and tested all-grain recipe for something similar? TIA Richard Nantel, Montreal, Quebec Canada (the Sierra Nevada-less country) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 03:21:00 -0600 From: Thomas A. Nawara <nirvana at death.eecs.uic.edu> Subject: hb clubs in chicago area hello, i'm new to the digest (and to home brewing), and have therefore perused the archive for information of interest to me. however, almost all of the articles concerning chicago area home brew clubs seem to be over a year old - is there anyone out there who could tell me the current status of the chicago beer society, the headhunters homebrew club, or any other such club in the area? thank you very much. -tom nawara nirvana at death.eecs.uic.edu ideaLABS Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 1:40:55 PST From: tinsethg at ucs.orst.edu (Glenn Tinseth) Subject: It just doesn't get any better... I know, it's a line from a bad beer commercial but it's true. It's late Monday night in Oregon and the rain has stopped for an hour or so. I've spent the evening listening to Pearl(Perle?)Jam/Meatloaf/Indigo Girls and packing 50 pounds of incredibly pungent hops. The girls (wife and 1 yr. old) are asleep and I have a pint of homebrewed Belgian style Double next to the keyboard. To make it even more noteworthy, this is my first post in many months, due to loss of net access. Those of you who have long memories will recall that I was working on some hop utilization studies many months ago. This work continues and has been quite surprising. How does 21% alpha acid utilization sound for a 90 min. boil with whole hops? Lower than you've read? Me too! In addition, the curves I have seen so far do not look at all like the familar and much discussed Rager numbers. The 'S' shape of the Rager curve is not what we are seeing with our numbers. I'll try to show you the general shape we are seeing below. It is the typical 1st order curve for a chemical reaction. Imagine a smooth curve... | **************** | ********** | ***** | *** | ** | * | * | * | * |* |* |________________________________________ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 (min) More will follow as more data is analyzed. Anyway, just wanted to say hi to old friends and new, and to be part of the best digest on the Internet again. Glenn - -- Glenn Tinseth The Hop Source tinsethg at ucs.orst.edu (503) 873-2879 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 08:49:44 EST From: "Paul Austin" <huckfinn at vnet.IBM.COM> Subject: FLAT beer My batch of Steam came out FLAT. Funny thing is, the first bottles I opened nearly exploded! That was the first week after bottling, when I opened some small 'tester' bottles. Recent openings (now two weeks after) have little fiz at all. HELP? I used a standard Steam recipe, 6-7lbs malt, crystal malt, northern brewer and cascade hops. Why did the first few bottles almost explode and have GREAT heads but subsequent openings have no fizz? The stuff tastes great, but I want some head! Private replies welcome. Thanks, Paul Austin, Brewer of Malcolm's Catskill Amber since 1993 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 09:23:30 EST From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: Book review: "Evaluating Beer" A strong second to that recommendation. I just finished it (having received it a couple of months ago). The book consists of reprinted articles from a variety of sources (Zymurgy, New Brewer, etc.), some of which would be difficult for the average homebrewer to find. I used to have a folder full of reprints that I had gleaned from various sources. All the stuff in that folder, and more, is in this book. The most valuable stuff, IMHO, for me now (especially as I'm studying for the BJCP): * Expanded flavor categories table. The original table on which the "Beer Flavor Wheel" was based. * Troubleshooting table. A fantastic table, reprinted from the New Brewer, listing various flavor/aroma components, and their sources in ingredients, process, or packaging & handling. * Several "Dr. Beer" charts. The one I hadn't seen before comes from the Siebel Institute, and gives recipes for creating most of the flavors you'll find in beer -- NOT just the off-flavors, but things like "rose", "pear", and other "normal" flavors. Also, almost all the recipes use stuff that's easily accessible to the homebrewer (e.g., not .003g acetaldehyde -- where am I going to find acetaldehyde, anyway?) * The G. Fix beer color article. There is some repetition, as you would expect given the variety of sources, and there are a few chapters I could do without, but on the whole, it's a good piece of work. If you're a serious brewer, and especially if you're considering becoming a beer judge, this is a book you should have on your shelf (or at least on a shelf you can easily borrow it from). Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 09:31:16 EST From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: How long to prime??? You should mix VERY GENTLY. Here's what I do: I boil up a cup or so of water with the priming sugar. Then, after I've siphoned a bit of beer into the bottling container (I use a carboy, not having a plastic bucket I trust near my beer), I gently pour in the sugar solution, and continue siphoning. I figure the currents from siphoning mix in the priming solution pretty well. Boiling the sugar solution reduces the chance of infection and deoxygenates it. =S Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:51:40 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: Re: Bitters Someone asked about bitters: OG: 1.034-1.042, roughly. FG: 1.010 ish, sometimes lower, sometimes a bit higher. Additions of Caramel malts are most common, some brewers add sugar, many brew a 1.055 ale, and dilute it down. Hops: Styrian Goldings (just tried this for the first time, real nice flavor and aroma hop, seems very goldings to me, even if the stock is Fuggles). East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Willamette (in a pinch). IBUs: 30-40. Yeast: Wyeast London, Youngs, Fullers cultures. Dry hopping at 1/2 - 1 oz per 5 gallons is almost mandatory. Cask conditioning is the authentic way to go, kegging and serving with low CO2 levels is close. My latest bitter: CaraVienna, CaraMunich, Munich, Aromatic in 5,2,7,1 percent of mash grist. OG: 15P, watered down in kettle, then watered down 2/5ths in carboy, resulting in a 9P (1.036) bitter. Hopped with Perle/S. Goldings in kettle, all S. Gol in flavor, finish, dry hopping. FG 2P (1.008). For extract brewers: as in any extract brewing, use the lightest dry malt extract available, steep the caramel malts in water, for the flavoring of the beer, use the DME for raw OG. Good brewing, Jim Busch "DE HOPPEDUIVEL DRINKT MET ZWIER 'T GEZONDE BLOND HOPPEBIER!" Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 10:00:32 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: The Demise fo the Yeast Culture Kit Co. It is with great sadness that I am announcing the demise of the Yeast Culture Kit Co. My friend, Dr. Martin Schiller, has decided to liquidate the remaining inventory and concentrate on other endeavours. Those of you who have supported this labour of love are thanked. The liquidation of inventory will continue through the end of March. If you are interested in restocking any supplies, yeast banks, etc, call or write to Martin, 301-231-8211. It is interesting to note that when this company began, there was one dominant yeast vendor in the marketplace, and one yeast bank supplier. Now the market has numerous alternative suppliers, who are carried by large distributers. Never before have so many high quality strains of yeast been available to homebrewers, at an affordable price. Best, Jim Busch Flames to /dev/NULL, I have absolutely no financial interest in this matter, I am merely providing an announcement service. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 10:01:10 EST From: ulick at socrates.helios.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford) Subject: Wyeasts Someone asks about Wyeast Irish ale. I find it to be a good general ale yeast. I presume it is suitable for Irish ales, similar ot bitters from its name (but then Wyeast names often have no relation to the source). I can say that it is not a Guinness strain. The latter is a wonderful top cropper, while the wyeast seems to act alot lower in the beer. Al mentions W34/70 as being the Wyeast Bohemian strain - could be true - isn't the pilsener yeast a St. Louis strain, i.e. Wyeast names bear no relation to the source. However, I did read somewhere that the Wyeast Bavarian yeast is used by many Munich breweries, although my source for this could well be Wyeast propaganda to be taken with a grain of salt. I must go check the yeast FAQ to see if the 'Urquell' for the Wueast strains is listed. If not it would be useful additional information. P.S. As far as I know Falstaff is still available in this locale. It comes in cheap cases of returnables - although not the cheapest (Rhinelander, Wisconsin club, etc.). Many of their other products are available Balantine IPA, some mlat liquor brand.... Haffenreffer. It is easy to tell a Falstaff beer by the riddle inside the cap. They have a brewery in Fort Wayne, although they seem to have more abandoned breweries than most companies, e.g. right beside the Skyway on I-90. __________________________________________________________________________ 'Heineken!?! ... F#$% that s at &* ... | Ulick Stafford, Dept of Chem. Eng. Pabst Blue Ribbon!' | Notre Dame IN 46556 | ulick at darwin.cc.nd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 10:10:55 EST From: Bob Kosakowski <bkos at hpwarf.wal.hp.com> Subject: Oktoberfest trip and Munich Brewery Tours. Munich brewery touring and Oktoberfest Trip The subject of having problems getting brewery tours in Munich during Oktoberfest was brought up by in yesterdays HBD. I've gone with a group that has a very slight workaround to that problem. We go on yearly Munich Brewery tours/beer haus crawl/Oktoberfest visit. (I missed this year due to changing jobs) The trip consists of getting to Munich the week prior to Oktoberfest and hitting 1 or 2 prearranged brewery tours per day until Friday. On Saturday, you either watch/follow the parade to Thereisenwies, or hang out elsewhere to avoid the first day crowds. The trip usually consists of from 4 to 8 brewery tours and several days of Oktoberfest (and/or sightseeing). We get the tours because we are there slightly ahead of the Fest. If anyone is interested in more info on the trip let me know. We are always looking to make the group larger since the companies that we have worked with give bigger discounts for bigger groups. (We're trying to get 40 people this year then we save another $100 each) The basic info is: 10 days total, with the majority of the trip being based in Munich. (Options for side trips to Austria and other places also available.) Transportation from Boston - Munich. (However, since HBD is a much larger audience, I'm sure the travel agent/organizer will have no problem with other cities of origin. Hotel transportation to/from Airport and Oktoberfest campgrounds. Plenty of options for side trips, etc. Cost: Approx. $2000 range including Air/Room/Transport all included except lunch/dinner and of course beer. We have had a big "feast" usually the night before departure which has in the past been included in the price. Dates: (To be finalized within the next two weeks) Usually starts Mon/Tue of week before opening ceremonies and runs from 9-11 days. USUAL DISCLAIMER: I don't profit from this other than having a great time. The more the merrier (and bigger discount to all). Some of us will be getting together over the next few weeks with a travel agent to finalize all details and book reservations. Usually, all reservations must be made by March to assure space. - --- Hopefully this note doesn't conflict with HBD policy. I simply trying to extend info possible of interest to the Brewing Community. - --- Bob Kosakowski bkos at hpwarf.wal.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 10:27:22 -0500 From: WKODAMA at aba.com Subject: FAQ/Archives???? I myself have received the yeast and hops FAQs by sending the following command to <listproc at sierra.stanford.edu> : get pub/homebrew yeast.faq (or hop.faq, etc.) I put that one line in both the subject and message fields of my post. That's all. I got the files in, at most, five minutes. Wesman Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 9:55:02 -0600 (CST) From: BadAssAstronomer <STOREY at fender.msfc.nasa.gov> Subject: shippin brew joe said: >A friend of mine once wanted to send his dad two bottles of particularly >nice wine he had gotten a good deal on via his buddy the wine merchant. >He shipped them via UPS, insured, and put down "wine" as the contents. >They took his money, took the box, and his dad got ... a box which had >been torn open. Empty box, no wine. Other folks that belong to mail-order brew clubs may have similar comments to mine, but here goes. I belong to Beer Across America. It is shipped to me by RPS (sorry forgot the acronym meaning). These guys know *exactly* what is in the box. When I happen to be home to greet the delivery, he/she says "here's your beer!" scott Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 10:12:04 CST From: "Bill Knecht" <knecht at mind.psych.umn.edu> Subject: Question on flavor I recently tasted a beer by the Celis Brewery, Austin TX (pron'd "See-liss") called Celis White. The brew was very very pale, and the name apparently comes from an uncorrected chill haze. My question is this: this beer has a piquant, fruity aroma, and what seems to me a very acidic, fruity bite to it. Could anyone comment on what this taste might be? I find it quite disturbing and unpleasant, and would like to know what it is so that I could avoid it. I once tasted a batch of beer that a friend had made, that had gone bad, and this exact taste was in evidence, only stronger. He told me that it was pyruvic acid. Anybody got any ideas? This beer tasted so bad I couldn't finish it. The bartender told me it always tastes that way, so it wasn't just a fluke. Thanks 10^6. Bill Knecht Computational Vision Lab University of Minnesota Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 10:26:12 From: gary_krone at mercer.com Subject: Sterilization prior to bottling I've seen a lot lately about sterilization of bottles and kegs, but How can I start sterilizing my bottles well in advance of bottling so I don't spend half a day in just sterilizing? I would like to take a small batch of bottles, sterilize them and then store them until I am ready to bottle. Possibly starting to work on the first batch about a week before I start to bottle. Any suggestions welcome. This is my first batch and it looks great so far. Gary Krone gary_krone at mercer.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 10:23:54 MST From: "Mark B. Alston" <c-amb at math.utah.edu> Subject: Rye Malt ??? I would like to brew a rye beer much like the one described in Michael Jackson's _Beer_Companion_ however I could use some more information on rye malts. 1) What extraction should I expect. In lieu of any other info I plan on assuming that it will be similar to wheat malt. 2) What kind on enzymatic power does malted rye have. Does it need 6-row to help it convert. 3) Finally, does anyone have any EBC or Lovibond values for rye malt. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated. Certainly someone else on the digest has tried this before, eh? My recipie will be based on the following ratio's: 50 - 60% rye malt 25 - 30% pale malt 25 - 30% crystal malt and enough chocolate malt to bring me to 40 EBC I am shooting for 1.045-1.050 O.G Any and all pointers on working with rye malt are welcome. If their is sufficient interest I will post the results of my experience. Perhaps after a few brews we could have a rye faq :) Thanks, Mark Alston (c-amb at math.utah.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 94 14:30:00 CST From: Montgomery_John at lanmail.ncsc.navy.mil Subject: lagering Sorry if this is a FAQ. I have finally made another small step in the quest for the complete brewery - a spare refrigerator - and am ready to make my first true lager. One aspect of the lagering process that I seem to be having trouble finding an answer on is: when should the refrigeration of the wort commence (living in the "deep south" prevents me from just setting this stuff on my back porch)? Do I pitch the yeast, then immediately refrigerate or should I pitch, wait for fermentation to kick off and then refrigerate? A post to the digest in response is fine if this is of general interest or E-mail me directly. Thanks for the help. john montgomery_john at lanmail.ncsc.navy.mil Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 9:42:02 -0800 (PST) From: Ashley Morris <"DENALI::MORRIS" at baker.nwest.mccaw.com> Subject: 'conditioning' lager I recently made a 'lagered' lager, where I used Cooper's lager kit, added Wyeast lager yeast, and let it lager outside in the cold of Seattle for 2 months. When I finished bottling, I kept all but a 6 pack inside the apartment, and left a 6 pack outside in the cold. Upon tasting, the 'indoor' beer was fantastic with a great head and good head retention. The 'outdoor' beer had a feeble 'poof' when opened, and had no head even upon agitation. Could this be the 'conditioning' that Papazian talks about? What are the reasons for this? Finally, I assume that storing the 'indoor' beer in the cold would not affect carbonation at this point. Am I correct? Ashley morrisa at baker.nwest.mccaw.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 09:47:14 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Stewart <mstewart at scs.unr.edu> Subject: Grant's recipe request Anyone out there had any luck trying to replicate the Grant's Scottish Ale? Tried one last weekend and reaaaaallly enjoyed it! Getting ready to make a Scotch and would reaaaaallly appreciate any/all insight/recipes. Check the Cat's Meow and didn't reaaaaallly find anything of interest. Please e-mail me direct (i.e., save bandwidth). ********************************************************************** ** Mark Stewart "Called my lawyer the other day and ** ** Dept. of Psych. asked, 'Can I ask you a coupla questions?' ** ** Univ. of Nevada He says, 'What's the second question?'" ** ** mstewart at shadow -Henny Youngman ** ********************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 12:47:32 EST From: mbunster at hibbs.vcu.edu (Mark Bunster) Subject: oldenberg, breckenridge, sam's cran * Dave asked about using an auto radiator as a chiller. This is not who I'm responding to, but the fella who asked if one NEEDED a chiller. One needs to quickly cool the wort to keep nasties from getting at it during the trip from boiling to 70F, but as long as you're able to heft the boiling pot to the bathroom, a tub of water and ice will do it fairly quickly. * *great microbrews* as products from Oldenberg. If that stuff * showed up, I would have asked for a refund. Anyway, they I rather enjoyed their Oktoberfest. I probably wouldn't had it not been sale priced by $2 plus, but it was a nicely colored, head retaining Muenchner Helles, I though. Two other review notes-- Sam's Cran Lambic is quite good. The fruit taste is extremely well blended--you know it's there, but the drying of your palate that the tart berries provide sneaks up on you. How much did they produce? Breckenridge seems to be a new micro (12,500 barrels a year--what's the limit at which a place becomes a mini?) that's contract brewed in Denver, and the IPA is ugly. Thin color, some off smell (sour, almost rancid but not in a spoiled kind of way, if that makes sense), and strange taste. No head either, but I seem to recall that's hard for an IPA. If it was spoiled I might feel better, but I don't think it was--it was just not good. Any other experiences with other styles from this brewer? - -- Mark Bunster |Exchange conversation if you dare-- Survey Research Lab--VCU |Share an empty thought or a laugh. Richmond, VA 23220 | mbunster at hibbs.vcu.edu | (804) 367-8813/353-1731 | -edFROM Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 09:40:46 -0800 From: sekearns at ucdavis.edu Subject: yeast from trub I will be racking a dopplebock soon into a secondary carboy. What is the best way to save some of the dormant yeast from the trub at the bottom of the primary fermenter? Can this be saved and cultured for future brews? This would be a great savings. Thanks for any and all comments! Matt Rademacher Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 13:23:07 -0500 From: George <george at taca.ece.cmu.edu> Subject: Dry hopping - How to? Hello all, My brewing partner and I would like to dry hopping our next batch and we are curious as to what one does when you dry hop. In brief, we are brewing ales at this point using mostly DME, with whole grains for flavor, color etc. We also use a secondary fermenter. What we were planning on doing with our next batch, was boil in the bittering hops, boil the last 5 minutes with finishing hops and let them steep for another 5 minutes. We would then like to use a third hop. Now, onto my questions. 1) Are some hops better than others for dry hopping or is it a matter of tase. When dry hopping, do you: 1) Dump loose hops in the primary and xfer them over to the secondary? 2) Dump loose hops in the secondary 3) put the hops in a mesh bag of some sort and put in the primary and seconday 4) bag 'em and put only in the secondary. If using a mesh bag, would a nylon stocking work? Or must We use the expensive (to us ) white mesh bag from the brew supply shop? If I get a enough replies, I'd be happy to post a summary, if people what me to. Thanks in advance for any input. George. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 13:19:25 EST From: Aaron Morris <SYSAM at ALBANY.ALBANY.EDU> Subject: Capital Region Microbrewers Festival RADAMSON at delphi.com queries about the upcoming microbrewers fesitival: The second Annual Capital Region Microbrewers Festival is to be held 2/18 in Saratoga Springs at the City Center from 6 to 10 PM and 2/19 in Albany at the New Scotland Ave. Armory from 2 to 6 PM. It's the same show at both places vendor wise, they just pack up the show in Saratoga and move it 25 miles south to Albany. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door if available. Be assured, there will be NO tickets at the door. Not even if you hang out all afternoon at the pub across the street trying to scalp one or two, not even if you are willing to pay twice the amount or more, not even if you happen to meet the promoter of the show and offer him your highly attractive wife in exchange for admission, not even if you happen to know someone who works at the place where the show is being held. Get your tickets in advance or don't bother. I am in no way affiliated with the show and I was very disappointed to miss it at Saratoga last year. Fortunately I was able to get tickets to the show in Albany and can attest that it was well worth the price. The reason for the limits is the fire marshall's limit on the number of people allowed in the buildings. The show has moved from the Saratoga Armory to the Saratoga City Center which can accommodate more people. The people limit made for quite an enjoyable event vs a madhouse and the plethora of vendors made it a beer tasters heaven! Tickets include a souvenir beer glass to sample beer from 30 microbreweries and brewpubs from across the United States. Does it sound like I have a promotional flyer in my lap as I type this? ;-) Also included in the price of admission are fun and educational seminars and an opportunity to win a collection of the countries finest brews. For information or tickets by mail contact U.S. brewing supply at 815 Madison Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12208 (518) 449-2420 Ext. 5 (again, no affiliation). There are other contacts, but I don't care to type any more. A great show with great selections! Seminars were very informative - I'm still dreaming about "From Homebrewing to Microbrewing". Which show to attend? Why bother with that decision? Attend both! Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1334, 01/26/94