HOMEBREW Digest #3602 Mon 09 April 2001

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  AHA National Homebrew Competition (Ken & Bennett Johnson)
  Here we go again.... ("John Zeller")
  Copper Counterflow Chiller Cleaning (Ken & Bennett Johnson)
  Steeping Specialty Grains & Drying Carboys ("John Zeller")
  Ca/Color ("A. J.")
  End of Boil Wort pH ("Kruska, Russ")
  I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress... ("Marc Gaspard")
  Belgian recipes (Alex MacGillivray)
  Dry Carboys ("Abby, Ellen and Alan")
  Baltic Porters ("Paul Smith")
  Re: Drying Carboys (Ed Jones)
  Wonderful World of Zymico (Ed Jones)
  drying carboys ("elvira toews")
  Cleaning opaque fermenters ("elvira toews")
  Cleaning a CF chiller (The Man From Plaid)
  stuff available ("Louis K. Bonham")
  Re: Steeping Specialty Grains & Drying Carboys (The Man From Plaid)
  HERMS Upgrade, HERMS Question, Pocket PC Brewing Calculator ("bdowell")
  Oz absence (Paul Mahoney)
  Half barrel fermentation (Dan Listermann)
  Switch it up a little ("Casey Cobb")
  Pubcrawler.com gone? ("David G. Humes")
  RE: A Little More Beery Theory... ("Sam Ritchie")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 22:04:32 -0700 From: Ken & Bennett Johnson <fearless1 at abac.com> Subject: AHA National Homebrew Competition This is good information from Mr. Glass at that wonderful American Homebrewers Association. I am sure he intended to give you their toll free phone number which is; (888) 822-6273. Folks are starting to get the impression that our friends in Boulder don't care about us homebrewers any more. But, I am sure Mr. Glass wants to re-assure us and dispell that nastyness...right Gary? So, anyway if you need any info, Gary is your man! And, now you have his number ;-> - ----------------------------------------------------------- From: "Gary Glass" <gary at aob.org> Subject: AHA National Homebrew Competition It's time to get those entries in! The deadline for getting entries into the AHA National Homebrew Competition is April 13. For info, rules & regs, entry forms, etc. see http://beertown.org/AHA/NHC/2001/. Good Luck! Gary Glass, Membership Coordinator American Homebrewers Association Voice: (303) 447-0816 x 121 Email: gary at aob.org Web: http://www.beertown.org - ----------------------------------------------------- Ken Johnson Work like you don't need the money Dance like nobody's watching Love like you've never been hurt - ----John E. Gaddy The FEARLESS Wort chiller is online! Take a look, http://www.fearless1.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2001 22:30:12 -0700 From: "John Zeller" <jwz_sd at hotmail.com> Subject: Here we go again.... Doug, I did look through the archives, but it was quite a while ago. I was under the impression that there IS a general consensus that HSA was not really a big concern. If it was, I would think that any beer made with a RIMS would suffer because of it. The other point would be that there is not much you can do to avoid it other than be as gentle with the hot wort as possible when transferring it from one vessel to another and chillig it as quickly as you can. What else can be done? Papazian himself doesn't seem to be afraid of straining hot wort. That for sure must be a risky procedure. I have not experienced any obvious oxidation related problems, but then my brews get consumed rather quickly so maybe that is the reason. I thought this issue had been put to rest a long time ago. This isn't the first time I have been wrong and probably won't be the last. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 22:45:46 -0700 From: Ken & Bennett Johnson <fearless1 at abac.com> Subject: Copper Counterflow Chiller Cleaning Hello again All, Ken Cada wrote in and asked if a conclusion ever been reached as to the best way to clean and sterilize the inside surface of a copper counterflow chiller. The answer is, I don't think so! You asked about boiling water and bleach. The fact is I have done both of these. More at the request of the skeptical than anything else. I have never done anything past a good rinsing and an occasional (every 15-20 batches) weak mix of water and PBW or TSP on my own equipment. I realize that I will now be pounced upon by the scientists and the engineers. So be it! I still maintain that all you really need to do is rinse thoroughly just before and just after chilling a batch of beer. Cap the ends off between batches. You don't need to brush it unless you let it sit un-cleaned to get moldy and crusty. The same attention you give to your other equipment. Jeez, this is just another urban legend that refuses to die! Counterflow chillers don't ruin beer. Sloppy brewers ruin beer. Funny part is that the sloppy brewer who blames a bad batch on a counterflow chiller, probably added several infections from everything BUT the chiller! Honestly, I'm not trying to be confrontational. But, this, "can't clean a counterflow" thing is ridiculous. OK, start the attack, I'm ready. Ken Johnson Work like you don't need the money Dance like nobody's watching Love like you've never been hurt - ----John E. Gaddy The FEARLESS Wort chiller is online! Take a look, http://www.fearless1.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2001 22:58:06 -0700 From: "John Zeller" <jwz_sd at hotmail.com> Subject: Steeping Specialty Grains & Drying Carboys Nils, You may be detecting some astringency in your beer due to the hight temperature steeping of the gains estracting some tanins from the husks. I did the same thing with an early partial grain batch. It was nearly undrinkable at first, but I aged it for about 6 weeks and it turned out fine. Drying carboys-I don't even try to dry them. Instead, I fill them with a water/bleach sanitizing solution and cap them with plastic wrap and a rubber band. Nothing will grow in there with the chlorine present. Then I simply rinse them with hot water when I am ready to use them. So, they either have beer in them or sanitizer. Why would your carboys be any less in the way if they were dry? Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2001 07:01:31 +0000 From: "A. J." <ajdel at mindspring.com> Subject: Ca/Color For Travis: 99.9% of tests for calcium done by home brewers (and probaly up through regionals) detect it by determining how much EDTA is required to chelate it. Presumably an EDTA test would not detect any complex which binds Ca tighter than EDTA. But what fraction of the calcium in normal potable water would you expect this to be? I'd guess a number appreciably less than the inherent accuracy of the test. AAS might give slightly different results but I doubt the differences would be significant in the brewing context. Calcium level's most significant use is in determination of residual alkalinity. Say you had alkalinity of 100 and Ca hardness of 175. This would give you RA = 50. Now suppose the Ca reading to be in error by 10% becasuse of failure to account for complexed calcium (I doubt it's anything like that - in fact I don't remember seeing complexed calcium discussed in Standard Methods but that doesn't mean it isn't there) i.e. its really 192.5. This would mean that the RA is actually 45. Is that a significant difference? For Sean: I think you have answered your own question. The "color" of a malt is the color of a laboratory mash made with it. The little color cards attempt to reproduce the colors of nominal beers at particular SRM levels and should, therefore, be applicable to test worts to the extent that they are accurate for beers. I guess the important point is that you don't hold a test card next to the malt. You hold it next to filtered mash made from the malt. A.J. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2001 00:35:03 -0700 From: "Kruska, Russ" <R.KRUSKA at CGIAR.ORG> Subject: End of Boil Wort pH Something I've been wondering about for a long time now and haven't seen any thread about is the taste effects of wort pH at the end of the boil. Various publications I have read say to try to adjust the final pH to around 5.2 (room temp). But I was wondering if different styles benefit from variations from this value. For example, when I brew stout, my final pH is often <5.0 and I don't adjust it upwards. Having said that, my stouts are not exactly exciting. Also, with salt additions aimed to duplicate classic brewing waters such as Dublin, do brewers get final wort pH of 5.2 or 5.3 for stout or higher values such as 5.5? Another example might be Burton water's effect on getting the pH down to 5.0 adding to that dry taste. Any thoughts? What I'm after is ultimately to refine final flavor effects. Russ Kruska Hoopoe Brewers Nairobi, Kenya Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 18:06:30 -0500 From: "Marc Gaspard" <mgaspard1 at kc.rr.com> Subject: I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress... Well, looks like I got to correct myself. Someone else already mentioned it, but I missed the mark on the Duvel clone yeast suggestion. It was the Wyeast 1388 Strong Ale yeast I meant, not the high gravity Trappist 3787. I've used both, but the post I wrote below WAS 1388. Marc Gaspard Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 19:02:41 -0500 From: "Marc Gaspard" <mgaspard1 at kc.rr.com> Subject: Duvel yeast suggestion > John, > I would recommend the Wyeast 3787 Trappist High gravity > yeast. I once used this on a blond ale starting about 1.084 and > it finished out at 1.004- very highly attenuating. One considera- > tion is this yeast produces fairly high phenolics, so possibly fer- > menting as cold as possible (range is 64-78F) would reduce > those components. > > Marc Gaspard > > From: "John Thompson" <jthomp6 at lsu.edu> > Subject: Duvel yeast, recipe > > Hello all. > > Which of the Wyeasts is closest to the Duvel strain? I haven't brewed a > Belgian strong ale in a while... > > Also, if someone has a good recipe, it would be appreciated. > > Thanks. Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Apr 2001 02:42:29 AKDT From: Alex MacGillivray <brewbeer at usa.net> Subject: Belgian recipes Don Price <dprice1 at tampabay.rr.com> asks for help > I am looking for recipes (extract/specialty grains) to brew a Belgian > double and tripple. As for recipes, this is a good starting place: http://realbeer.com/spencer/Belgian/ > I would like to use the same yeast for both batches (if reasonable) by > pitching the triple onto the double's yeast cake. You have to be careful reusing the yeast from strong beers. I would say that if you stick to your first plan of making wimpy versions you'd be OK if you could really separate the yeast from the double (to avoid darkening your triple). My advice would be to make a wit (yum) and use the yeast from that for both beers. The wit yeasts from Wyeast and White labs are probably the best places to start for Belgian yeast newbies. - -- Jeremy Bergsman jeremy at bergsman.org http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy Don, Jerry is right about not using the yeast from a high gravity beer in a beer with a lower OG. It is much better to go from low to high. I've got a triple still fermenting. I say "still" because it's been around 4 weeks since I brewed it. You'll find that when you do yours. When fermentation slows, as noted by you hydrometer readings, you may need to arouse the yeast off the bottom of you vessel. DOn't shake it. Just move the beer a little bit. You also may want to rack you triple after 12 hours or so after the cold break and before you add your yeast. That helps cut down on your clarity and to some extent the taste. You'll also have to transfer it to a secondary fermenter after your primary fermentation has ended and let it sit in secondary for an additional 4-5 weeks to further clear and ferment. Then you'll need to bottle it and let it age cellar temp for no less than 6 months. But go for a year. You'll also need to use a yeast that can handle the huge task of withstanding alcohol levels of 10%. I like White labs Triple yeast. I had some good luck with it. Wyeast 3787 would be a good bet too. Good luck, Alex Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2001 07:14:09 -0400 From: "Abby, Ellen and Alan" <elal at pei.sympatico.ca> Subject: Dry Carboys Nils Hedglin asked "Does anyone have a faster way to dry carboys out? I don't dry them out at all but leave them full to the lip with a very mild sanitizing solution. Maybe this is a worse idea for reasons I am not aware of but it's my current practice. Alan in PEI Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 05:57:48 -0500 From: "Paul Smith" <pksmith_morin1 at msn.com> Subject: Baltic Porters Pete Czerpak asks of Baltic porters - my wife's family hails from Estonia, Pete (her uncle ran the Tartu olutehas (brewery) referred to by Michael Jackson in Beer Companion) - hail to the Baltics! I am contemplating a Baltic porter - a good amount of rye, carafa, and munich malts, and, as it is native to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a measure of spruce tips (!). I really enjoy Northdown in my imperial stout and robust porter - I find Northdown lends a "baked" fruit, almost plummy note to my bigger dark ales and may hop with this. Curious to hear what you come up with! Paul Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 09:44:53 -0400 (EDT) From: Ed Jones <ejones at sdl.psych.wright.edu> Subject: Re: Drying Carboys > After I wash my carboys, I like to seal them with plastic wrap to keep the > bad stuff out. But, I don't want to do that until all the water has > evaporated out of it since I'd think the water could possibly mildew in the > enclosed carboy. It seems to take about a week for all the water to > evaporate out of them, & during that time, they are in the corner of one our > main rooms with me tripping over them & my wife glaring at them. Does > anyone have a faster way to dry carboys out? Hullo! As a new brewer I don't feel qualified to answer your steeping question, but I can answer the latter. www.morebeer.com (and others) sell carboy drying stands that work great! They invert the carboys and allow them to drip dry without allowing critters to get inside. Bacterias/ molds/dust dont generally float up. I clean my carboys by filling them completely with a strong bleach solution or Straight-A and let them sit for a day. Then I scrub the neck with a brush, rinse them, and let them drip dry. Then, I fill them with an Iodophor solution, cap them, and sit them in their carboard box until I need them - at which time I drain them, and invert them to drip dry. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, Lutzen has a great book called "Brew Ware" in which he describes a means to make your own with a couple of milk crates (or carboy crates from bottled water distributor). - -- Ed Jones "When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness...I am confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery." - written by a wounded officer after Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:26:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Ed Jones <ejones at sdl.psych.wright.edu> Subject: Wonderful World of Zymico Can anyone comment on the relative merits of the various weldless kits on the market? In my wanderings across the net, the Weld-B-Gone conversion kit from Zymico looks like the best. But, since my local homebrew supply weenie :-) doesn't carry any of the 'weldless' kits, I can only go by what I see on the web. While we're on the subject of Zymico products, can anyone comment on the quality of the Kewler Kitz products? I've already built my own valves for my Gott coolers, but I'm very interested in Zymico's Kewler Thermothingy Gott thermometer kit. Anyone used one of these bad boys? And if my local homebrew supply weenie is listening, I think you might be able to sell some of these do-it-yourself equipment kits to new brewer punks like myself :-) As always, thanks for the advice! - -- Ed Jones "When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness...I am confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery." - written by a wounded officer after Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:14:28 -0500 From: "elvira toews" <etoews1 at home.com> Subject: drying carboys Nils is right about avoiding standing water in carboys during storage. Water equals bugs if left for more than a day or two. Nothing that will hurt you, but you could harbour a *Zymomonas* or something that will taste pretty awful. I also don't trust myself to rinse 100% of the organic matter out of a carboy, especially since I don't have a bottle washer set up for carboys. You would not believe how little food it takes for some bacteria to get started. Sealing a carboy with plastic isn't the best approach, which is why Nils is worrying. An easier and more idiot-proof way is to store your carboys upside-down. If you have the boxes your carboys came in, you could put the box over your carboy after cleaning and flip the box/carboy together. If you like to tinker, you could build something. I use a lot of pails, so I invert my carboys in them to drain and dry. Once dry, I don't worry about dust falling in and store them any old how. A quick rinse before sanitizing takes care of that. Getting the carboys dry as quickly as possible is more helpful to your bacterial count. Sean Richens srichens at sprint.ca Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:18:46 -0500 From: "elvira toews" <etoews1 at home.com> Subject: Cleaning opaque fermenters I don't know if Alex has already tried this, and since I've never fermented in a keg I have no idea how big a hole a 15.5 gal keg has, but a dentist's mirror has helped me when I've been unsure of something inside a PE carboy. Hardware stores, particularly ones with an automotive or industrial leaning, should have a range of them. Sean Richens srichens at sprint.ca Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 11:31:53 -0400 (EDT) From: The Man From Plaid <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: Cleaning a CF chiller Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... C'mon! I've been using a CF chiller now for pretty durned close to ten years. Never had an infection I could attribute to it in my brewery (in fact, in that ten years period, I can only recall one infection, and that was due to a hair in a keg poppet...). Most who conume my products classify it between good and excellent. Even after four years, most of my brews have remain stable to infections, and those that haven't can be traced back to being "on line" while I had my Orval clone online, and had no check valves in my gas distribution system (subject for another thread, and also long since rectified in my draught room). Now, you may ask: "What o you do, oh great and wise brewer (that part's for my ego :-), to clean your CF chiller in order to obtian suich results?" wo which, after great consideration spanning no more than a millisecond I reply with the following procedures: After use: 1) Run clean water through chiller. 2) Using compressed air (clean, oil-free is preferred...), blow all the water out of the chiller. 3) Attach inlet to outlet. 4) Store chiller. Prior to use: 1) Attach chiller to boiler outlet. 2) direct chiller outflow into boil kettle. 3) Begin pumping boiling wort (with the coolant flow off) through the chiller 15 minutes before knock out. Now, a CF chiller can obviously be used in a siphon situation, however, the pumping of wort BACK into the kettle becomes a bit of a challenge. I strongly advocate the sanitation of your chiller via boiling temperatures just prior to use, rather than by chemicals. Perhaps a separate pot of water can be boiled, and its outflow directed through the chiller for a period of time prior to using it - that's the option I'd choose. SHort of buying a pump, that is... BTW, through the above, I am not saying that chemical sanitatation is not the answer. Nor am I saying that I have no faith in chemical sanitizers! Quite the contrary! However, (1) I don't like using chemicals where simple boiling water can easily be applied and (2) where I cannot see the result of contact. My dollar-two-fifty! - -- - See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock "The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged from my yeast lab Saturday Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:45:45 -0500 From: "Louis K. Bonham" <lkbonham at hypercon.com> Subject: stuff available Hi folks: Well, I'm at the point where I've gotta make room in my lab/brewery by getting rid of some extra stuff. Check out the Home Brew Flea Market (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi) for a couple of ads for some of the stuff (including a heavy duty peristaltic pump and a nice 0-32 Brix handheld refractometer). There's lots more I need to get rid of, so if you've been looking for a particular piece of lab equipment, drop me a line: I may have what you're after. Louis K. Bonham lkbonham at hbd.org Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 12:04:16 -0400 (EDT) From: The Man From Plaid <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: Re: Steeping Specialty Grains & Drying Carboys Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... > You may be detecting some astringency in your beer due to the hight > temperature steeping of the gains estracting some tanins from the > husks. Hmmmm... Isn't tannin extraction a function of pH? About all high temperature will do is to release starches which will never be converted, resulting in hazy beer. It is the inability of the relatively low quantity of malt to affect the high pH of water that causes the tannins to be extracted into your beer... - -- - See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock "The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged from my yeast lab Saturday Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 09:47:07 -0700 From: "bdowell" <brent_dowell at yahoo.com> Subject: HERMS Upgrade, HERMS Question, Pocket PC Brewing Calculator Herms Upgrade Well, I finally made the step up from single infusion mashing to a HERMS type system and was it easy. I was already using a pump for moving liquids around in the brewery and I had an old small wort chiller laying around. When I was brewing yesterday, I undershot my target temp on the mash, and instead of pulling some out for a decoction or adding boiling water, I thought, hmm, Let's see If I can get this working. About 10 minutes later I had the outflow of the mash tun hooked up to the pump, the pump hooked up to the old wort chiller, and the wort chiller to the top of the mash tun. (I ran some boiling water I had laying around through the wort chiller first). I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner. I did learn that on Mash out I should probably overshoot the temperature by a bit, as I was measuring temperature at the top of the grain bed, where it heats up faster than at the bottom. Can't wait to brew again with it as an actual part of the plan. Herms Question The question is, for you HERMS users out there, do you usually do multiple steps or do you just use it for recirculation for clarity and mash out? If so, what steps do you usually use and why? Pocket PC Brewing Calculator In the spirit of giving back, if anyone is interested, I use a pocket PC device for working out my recipes and collecting data. I've worked up a little Pocket Excel spreadsheet that uses multiple sheets for the different brewing activities. There's no documentation, but it's pretty simple. You enter data in the shaded boxes and not where there are formulas. Don't enter data on the print sheet, because it pulls all of it's info from the other sheets. There are formulas in it for calculating hop utilization, dough in, mash out, efficiency, predicted gravity, etc... I've collected most of the formulas from either zymurgy, brewing techniques, or this cool brewing poster I have that is chock full of useful information. If you find any gross errors in it, let me know. It can be downloaded from http://www.geocities.com/brent_dowell/Brewing.html Brent Dowell Antioch CA Lone Unknown Brewery Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 10:00:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Mahoney <pmmaho at yahoo.com> Subject: Oz absence Brewers: Eureka! The truth is out! I have discovered the source of the unusual Oz silence! See the latest issue of "Sports Illustrated" (April 9, 2001), page 34: "This week's sign of the Apocalypse Australia's National Rugby League suspended John Hopoate for 12 games for inserting his fingers into opponents' rectums during scrambles for the ball." It is all clear now. Paul Mahoney Roanoke, Virginia StarCity Homebrewers Guild http://hbd.org/starcity Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 16:48:08 -0500 From: Dan Listermann <72723.1707 at compuserve.com> Subject: Half barrel fermentation Date: 6 Apr 2001 03:50:35 AKDT <From: Alex MacGillivray <brewbeer at usa.net> Subject: fermentor cleaning I use a 15.5 gal AB keg to ferment in. I haven't had any known troubles with infection but it's a nagging possibility. I'm wondering how those of you that ferment the same way I do are able to clean the insides after bottling. It's almost impossible to visually assess for cleanliness. I use betadine to sanitize before I add the wort.> I did this for a while. I still do 10 and 15 gallon batch sizes, but Ilike to ferment 5 gallons at a time with different yeasts. You can see everything below the top ring through the hole. To view the areas above that ring I would put a Christmas tree light in the keg and use a dental mirror. The only problem was that If the air in the keg was moist and warm, the mirror would fog. I cleaned the kegs with very hot water and Red Devil Lye left over night. I never had to use a brush. I suppose a small flash light on a string would work well to illuminate the inside as well. Auto part stores have a nice selection of dental mirrors. Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail store at www.listermann.com Participate in the anti-telemarketing forum. It is my new hobby! Thanks, Alex Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 19:50:50 -0700 From: "Casey Cobb" <acez at mindspring.com> Subject: Switch it up a little Hey all, As my roommate and I drilled our fridge and assembled our newwwwwwww cornelius keg system, we speculated on the effect of putting a lager yeast in a recipie calling for ale yeast. What would happen if you put a lager yeast in say, a london porter, and fermented at lager temps...or even ale temps for that matter. Also, when we added the faucets to the front of our fridge, the hole in the insulation became quit large from the wobbly drilling. What kind of insulation should I use to fill it so as to not lose any precious cold air. I appreciate all your help. You guys are great. Later, Casey Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 11:28:05 -0400 From: "David G. Humes" <humesdg1 at earthlink.net> Subject: Pubcrawler.com gone? Greetings, pubcrawler.com is no longer responding. Does anyone know if they have shut down? Pardon the .com lingo here, but this may help. The site is still registered with Network Solutions, but there's no address registered in the DNS for it. This could mean that it's in the process of being moved to another server, but more than likely it has been shut down. Anyone know? I have used pubcrawler.com a lot and would hate to see it go. Thanks. - --Dave Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 08:47:46 +0800 From: "Sam Ritchie" <sritchie at e-comm.com.au> Subject: RE: A Little More Beery Theory... Alan in PEI writes: >Here, then, an example of the tension between commercial pressure and >excellence in brewing occurring right now. We should be all careful in >considering what we like commercially in beer as well as in homebrewing >supplies (as has been recently discussed.) If you like Unibroue products, >vote with your purchases. I'll second Alan on this one for Australian drinkers as well. A few hbds ago it was reported that the excise on tap beer was to be reduced in line with the pre-GST promises - it turns out that this is only going to apply to kegs over 48L. The micros, who mostly use 30L kegs to ensure freshness, will not receive any reduction in excise at all, widening the already hefty price gap between micro and mass-market beers. You'd think that CUB and Lion Nathan would be happy with 95% of the market... Jim Larsen asks about beer maturing faster in smaller containers. I was always under the impression that beer matures faster when kept in larger quantities. Graham Wheeler's books suggest this is the case, and the fact that breweries mature beer in large vats would also support it. I suppose the O2 factor would mean that you'd get porty flavours in strong ales a bit faster - perhaps this is what your colleague meant. Sam Perth, Western Australia Return to table of contents
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