HOMEBREW Digest #4309 Tue 29 July 2003


[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
        http://www.northernbrewer.com  1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  re: Re: No Spam and beer culture ("-S")
  re:  State Run Liquor/Colour Software/Taxation & S.G. ("-S")
  interesting spam (Jeremy Bergsman)
  RE: Beer Culture in Scandinavia (Jonathan Royce)
  CO2 tanks on Ebay? ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  Betadine (Michael Hartsock)
  Home Grain Roasting with Popper (Alexandre Enkerli)
  Ukrainian beer scene (Robert Marshall)
  First All Grain Batch (croll01)
  Storing Star San solution in CF Chiller (Timothy Burkhart)
  american lager dry malt question (jOsh tAusCheK)

* * The HBD Logo Store is now open! * http://www.hbd.org/store.html * * Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address for the automation - that's your job. HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org. The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit. More information is available by sending the word "info" to req at hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org. JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:08:42 -0400 From: "-S" <-s at adelphia.net> Subject: re: Re: No Spam and beer culture Bill NoSpamWible posts ... << The previous poster stated that Canada doesn't have a problem with binge drinking on their college campuses. First, I'm not sure that's true. He also stated (incorrectly) that England has a problem with binge drinking, but doesn't have heavy taxes or any kind of prohibition. He obviously doesn't know much about the UK. >> I those comments were from two different posters- Alexandre and myself and I think Bill has misinterpreted both. Canadian students aren't getting a general pass as a model of alc use, but Alexandre noted that Quebec college students weren't so avid about drinking to excess as Indiana students. Extrapolate at your own risk Bill. I wrote that Britain has about 3X the beer tax as a typical US state, (30-some pence a pint). My point was NOT that UK beer tax was low (it's not), but that it is not intended to curb drinking in trends that correspond with prohibitionist sentiment. It's been relatively constant aside from wartime increases. In contrast some Scandi countries (you can find details on the web) have attempted to impose prohibitive alc taxes (tho the EU is making such policies difficult). One had a 30 year long prohibition period in the early 20th century. The UK seems to have avoided much of the neo-prohibition (and original prohibition) movement sentiment. (Canada had it's own prohibition in the early 20th century btw. ). I can see on the web that neo-prohibitionist occurs in the US and to some extent in Australia. Why not the UK ? -S Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:13:00 -0400 From: "-S" <-s at adelphia.net> Subject: re: State Run Liquor/Colour Software/Taxation & S.G. Travis writes .... << I find it interesting that people seem to be claiming that the state run liquor stores in Sweden are unique to the area and a part of the problem. There are actually several states where any hard liquor has to be sold through the state run liquor stores (Washington, and New Hampshire come to mind). And the ones in Washington State practically keep bankers hours. >> .I believe that 17 states have all liquor distributed by the state! Some like Ohio permit private stores to retail the liquor, but the distribution is limited in a most ridiculous manner by the state. > Someone also mentioned the fact that English bitters are low in gravity > because of taxation. This was certainly true initially, but since those > taxes went into effect well ove a hundred years ago, I suspect that even > if they were removed, the S.G. would not go up significantly. Taxes ...... they have completely shaped the face of beverage alcohol. The English taxation of beer dates to the crusades, when a 'Saladin Tithe' was imposed in 1188 to pay for the crusades (let's not give our US politicians any ideas). It's said that in 1694 London gin was cheaper than beer due to taxation. Originally malt was taxed on England and Ireland - this is the reason Guinness used unmalted roast barley. It also explains the use of sugar imports from the West Indies in ales. Later in the mid 1800 a hops tax was imposed too. At some point (when?) the English taxed potential alcohol of the wort by a rather obtuse formula. In most of the US this isn't the case. I suspect the strength tax explains why most non-mega brews in the US tend to run around 13-13.5P and vs a plethora of UK ales at or under 11P. IPAs dropped to more drinkable SG(from up around 17-18P as I recall) probably due to marketing reasons, but dropped a bit further due to taxation. Taxes have virtually created both of the planet's great whisk[e]y traditions. Britains beer tax imposed on Scotland circa 1745 and Alexander Hamilton's 1791 whiskey tax ... but that's another forum. -S Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 08:34:13 -0400 From: Jeremy Bergsman <jeremy at bergsman.org> Subject: interesting spam OK, perhaps this is not appropriate, but I think it may be of interest. This morning I received an email from someone I didn't know with the subject "New Page 3.htm". At this point these two criteria usually mean I delete without even looking at it, but I opened it due to a slip of the finger. Before I could delete it my eye caught the word "keg" so I figured maybe it was to me. Here is what it said: > Irene Morris > Sales Manager > morris at hostex.com > > my stout into the new keg and everything is > well and good. > > That night as I lay in bed, my mind wanders. I begin to wonder exactly how > much of the amber I lost in all the times I hooked up empty kegs to the > other side of the line. I wonder. Hmmmmmm. Should I look or leave well > enough alone? Hmmmmm. > > The next morning, before work, I make up my mind. I'm going to open up the > amber's keg and look. I do so and, holy cow, Then there is a MIME attachment which I'm guessing is a virus or something. The interesting thing about this is that everything after the first 3 lines is from a post to the HBD on Jan 31. Is this the new spam--robots harvesting/creating material to appeal to small numbers of recipients? I bet the subject line is from some hbd archive or mirror and the next one will be more on target. Perhaps the author of that bit could sue for copyright infringment. Fight spam! - -- Jeremy Bergsman jeremy at bergsman.org http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 05:56:50 -0700 From: Jonathan Royce <jonathan at woodburybrewingco.com> Subject: RE: Beer Culture in Scandinavia Just catching up after a short vacation and I wanted to comment on some of the recent posts concerning Scandinavia (particularly w.r.t. Sweden) and the drinking habits there: In #4304, David Radwin pointed out the high rate of taxation on alcohol in Sweden. While his tax rate tables are correct, I believe his relative ranking of the Scandinavian countries may be off by one: as I understand it, Norway's tax is even higher, which is why Norwegians make frequent trips to border cities like Stromstad to buy alcohol, tobacco, groceries and anything else that they can fit in their vehicles. In #4305, Steve Alexander accused me of "high-jacking the topic [of beer culture and US adolescents]". (I stand guilty as charged, but in the roughly 2 years that I've been reading HBD I hadn't noticed that there was a strict policy of topic adherance.) In any case, my point was simply to expand upon the reference to 3rd century annual Nordic festivals with some information about the current situation in order to avoid any confusion that might link the two. I apologize if Steve felt it was irrelevant to his post. However, it was great that Steve provided the original reference to Engs' thesis in his reply, although I wish that he had paraphrased her work a bit because the author provides several theories on the causes of binge drinking episodes in Northern Europe, where grain-based alcohol was the drink of choice: "Ales and beers were perishable and needed to be quickly consumed, there were often lean years without much available alcohol, limited supplies were consumed by the elite, and the long dark nasty winters in cramped quarters may have fostered depression and stress resulting in heavy drinking when alcohol was available. With limited alcohol a "feast or famine" situation may have occurred leading to sporadic bouts of heavy drinking whenever any alcohol was obtainable." (This is in contrast to Mediterranean cultures where wine was the beverage of choice and available year-round due to its ability to be stored for extended periods.) -S also provided some information about binge-drinking rates (binge drinking episodes as a percentage of all drinking occasions per year) that indicate that Sweden is #2 behind the UK. Of course, this statistic is somewhat biased, since the total number of drinking occasions per year is not cited. (If I binge drink once a year and that is the only occasion that I drink during the annum, then my rate would be 100%, whereas if I binge drink the same amount but consume alcohol in moderation daily, I'm at less than 1%. ) That said and without additional data, the conclusion that "Obviously there is a considerably more binge drinking in far N.Euro as opposed to Italy, Germany & France." is valid only if pre-conditioned by the phrase "as a percentage". (One should also note that the study defines binge drinking as "5 or more standard drinks in a single occasion", a definition which Steve "wouldn't agree...represents binge drinking.") In my experience, most Swedes are quite aware of their alcohol consumption rates and limit its use to weekends and vacations, which seriously brings into question this particular study's ranking of binge drinking. Two more points from Steve's post. The first is the "Swedish/Finnish ferry trips", and again I must disagree with Steve. In the ferry trips that I've been on, David Radwin's description of "binge buying" is much closer to the reality. The second is his comment that "Taxation and control of alcohol in Scandanavia...have clear prohibitionist overtones". Of course, anyone who's spent significant time in Scandinavia knows that *EVERYTHING* is (relatively) highly taxed, including clothing, income and gasoline. I'm not convinced that the tax on alcohol is as much a reflection of a "prohibitionist" attitude as it is one of a socialist economy which views alcohol as a luxury, rather than an evil. Finally, in #4306, Pete Calinski recounted a tale about Systembolaget and how it closes early on Friday afternoons, thus resulting in binge buying which he concludes "encourages excessive binge drinking". Well, Pete, you'll be happy to know that whoever oversees Systembolaget must have felt the same way, because over the past three years or so the stores have begun opening on Saturdays. They also did away with the "order at the counter" system and went to a self-service format with check-outs, similar to a grocery store. Of course, now people are able to browse the store, rather than purchase what's on their list, and most Swedes I've spoken with feel that this has increased how much they purchase since they can impulse shop, but that's another topic... Happy brewing, Jonathan Woodbury Brewing Co. www.woodburybrewingco.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 10:22:15 -0400 From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <spencer at umich.edu> Subject: CO2 tanks on Ebay? Chip writes: >Don't forget e-Bay as a source for equipment. I've seen CO2 tanks go for less >than half of what you quoted! I just saw two 2.5 lb. tanks go for $24.99. > But watch out for the shipping charge! The "tare weight" on my 5lb tank is 11+lbs. If you end up shipping that cross country, even UPS ground rate, you'll add significantly to the cost of the tank. =Spencer Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 07:31:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Hartsock <xd_haze at yahoo.com> Subject: Betadine Does anyone know if diluted betadine solution can be safely used as a sanitizer? The digest archives reveals many questions about this, but no answers. Anyone with any expertise or experience to this effect? Michael Columbia, MO ===== "May those who love us, love us. And those that don't love us, May God turn their hearts. And if he doesn't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles So we'll know them by their limping." Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 02:56:35 -0400 From: Alexandre Enkerli <aenkerli at indiana.edu> Subject: Home Grain Roasting with Popper Quick query, this time. Did anyone try roasting grain with a popcorn popper? It works with green coffee beans (Maillard reaction and all) so it might work with grain, if the temperatures are appropriate. Alex (so, where's the Rennerian calculator now?) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 10:01:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Marshall <robertjm at hockeyhockeyhockey.com> Subject: Ukrainian beer scene The Kiev Post has ran some articles on the commercial beer scene in Ukraine recently, and figured I would drop a note to the list for those interested. UKRAINIAN BEER: IT TASTES GREAT AND IT'S MORE FULFILLING Quality control and increased varieties lead to a boom in sales http://www.kyivpost.com/dayandnight/feature/17239/ BEST OF BEER PARLORS (brewpubs) http://www.kyivpost.com/dayandnight/bestkyiv/17236/ HOW TO GET MORE OUT OF YOUR BEER There's more to beer than just drinking it... http://www.kyivpost.com/dayandnight/toftw/17235/ BOOD-MO!! (cheers!) Robert Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 19:04:36 +0000 From: croll01 at comcast.net Subject: First All Grain Batch Hi, I have been lurking here for some time but this is my first post, so please bear with me. I made my first attempt at an all grain batch this past weekend, and I think I may have rather botched the job. As of this morning there is absolutely no activity in the fermenter. At the risk of making this an overly long post I will describe my recipe and process, and perhaps someone here may offer some suggestions regarding what I might do to salvage this batch, or next time to achieve better results. Recipe: German Alt 4 lbs 2 Row Pale Malt 4 lbs Vienna Malt 1 lb Wheat 1 oz Spalt Bittering .5 oz Spalt Flavor .25 oz Spalt Aroma Process: Let me begin with a caveat that I know I did several things wrong or halfway or not at all. I was approaching this batch as more of a test run for my equipment and as a means of getting a feel for how all grain brewing works rather than as an attempt at a perfect beer. But I digress... Heated Strike water to 175, doughed in with all the grain, added a little cool water to bring mash temp to 154, mashed for 1 hr. Ending temp was a little low at 146. I did not check the mash pH or water chemistry, I was hoping this would sort of take care of itself, nor did I check for starch conversion. My guess is this is where I went wrong. To be honest I know nothing about the water chemistry here in Richmond, VA (actually south of Richmond, in Chesterfield County). Perhaps there is another brewer from my area on the list who may be able to provide some information regarding water chemistry for this area. In any case I heated the Sparge water to 175, recirculated the mash a half gallon at a time (no fancy RIMS here), lautered, and drew off the wort into the boil kettle. I boiled for 1 hour, with three hop additions, one at the beginning of boil, a second at 30 minutes into the boil, and a third 55 minutes into the boil. I then hooked up my counterflow chiller and drew off the wort into the fermenter. A couple things to note, I did _not_ see coagulated protein, but there was trub at the bottom of the boil kettle, I am not sure if it was just hops or hot break as well. It looked like a little too much junk to just be hops, but I am not sure, never having seen the process before. I let the wort fall from the outlet of the chiller to the fermenter so it should have been at least somewhat aerated. The wort was properly cooled when it exited the chiller, so I pitched the liquid yeast, covered, and put the fermenter in the old fridge I use for temperature control. The controller is set to 60 degrees and the thermometer I have inside the fridge reads between 56 and 60, appropriate for the swing. The stick-on thermometer on the fermenter reads about the same. Unfortunately I have seen no bubbles so far from the air lock and when I pulled it out of the grommet this morning to check for activity I could see no signs of fermentation at all. No foam whatsoever. The wort did smell sweet, pretty much like my extrzact brews have smelled before they fermented. I detected no infected smell. Any ideas as far as where my major stumbling blocks might have been? Would it be worth it to try some dry yeast, just to see if it would work, or did I miss something somewhere and end up with unfermentable wort? I apologize for the length of this post, but any help would be greatly appreciated, I hope to have a better time with the next batch. Private replies are welcome. Thanks, and keep on brewin, Mel Croll Richmond, VA (sorry, don't know my Rennerian Coordinates) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 17:57:59 -0700 From: Timothy Burkhart <tmburk at comcast.net> Subject: Storing Star San solution in CF Chiller All, I know this has been addressed but gave up digging in the archives. Is it ok to store normal strength water/Star San solution insided of the copper tubing in my new counter-flow chiller between uses? I have just purchased and used for the first time. Feeling uptight about keeping any nasties out of it between uses. TIA Tim Burkhart New to Portland, OR Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 22:20:05 -0500 From: jOsh tAusCheK <tauscj55 at vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu> Subject: american lager dry malt question a homebrew supply shop i recently found on the internet (http://www.williamsbrewing.com/) sells a dry maly called american lager, which contains corn. I Was wondering if anyone else knew of another place that sells this kind of product as I never heard of it before. I also never have done all grain or partial mash so i have no experience in producing this myself so products like these would be very helpfully to me, the extract brewer I still am. And if there might exist more kinds of malt extracts ?? Any information is appreciated. Josh Return to table of contents
[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]
HTML-ized on 07/29/03, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL
webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96
/n