HOMEBREW Digest #778 Tue 10 December 1991

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


Contents:
  re: Family discord (TSAMSEL)
  shipping homebrew revisited (dave ballard)
  boilover & thermodynamics (Michael Zentner)
  Re: Family Discord  (gkushmer)
  Pasteurized imports (STROUD)
  What would you wish for? (Greg J. Pryzby)
  Re: Evil Incarnate (Kevin L. McBride)
  Family Odor Problems ("Justin A. Aborn")
  To decoct or not (Dave Wiley)
  Edmund Scientific ("Tom Childers")
  odors of brewing (krweiss)
  re: family discord (mcnally)
  Mill Power (Bob Jones)
  pH meters (mcnally)
  Re:  STUFF (Brew Free or Die!  09-Dec-1991 1423)
  STUFF (Jack Schmidling)
  Re:  soda kegs (Brew Free or Die!  09-Dec-1991 1428)
  soda kegs (Ken Key)
  Re: Brewery Smells at Home (John DeCarlo)
  Re:  GRAINMILL (Brew Free or Die!  09-Dec-1991 1430)
  Re: GRAINMILL
  re: Kitchen Aid grain mill (Greg Roody)
  import pasteurization?? (Dave Rose)
  Re: Family discord ! (Rick Larson)
  STUFF (Jack Schmidling)
  new homebrew club in NJ (adietz)
  Delaying your boil (Jay Hersh)
  Legal beer imports II; Coke mix vs premix; Foul odors (Scott Welker) (S94WELKE)
  New brews (to me...) (John Pierce)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1991 7:01:24 -0500 (EST) From: TSAMSEL at ISDRES.ER.USGS.GOV Subject: re: Family discord Well, Saturday I got home and found the house empty and I assumed that I had enough time to brew up an extract batch, since my family was off at the library, shopping, etc. I decided to do a partial mash of a pound of Munich, ground the grain (slightly ) in a coffee grinder (yup, I'll get a Corona), tied it off in cheesecloth and began to do what i term "instinctual mashing". As luck would have it, the family came home WITH a new puppy. Thus the kitchen was turned into chaos. I wasn't able to doc my steps and rests and after I added the extract and completed the hopping and the boil, I find the laundry/brewery downstairs full of (laundry). So I must wait 45 minutes to decant the wort into the carboy which has been in the freezer,partially filled with H2O. I finally get the carboy loaded and lo and behold, there is a rather impressive cold break AND the wort is at a pitchable temp. So I pitched..... Notes: How does one brew all-grain with out interruption and still have a familial unit? I hope this batch turns out OK... Ted Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Dec 1991 8:26 EST From: dab at pyuxe.cc.bellcore.com (dave ballard) Subject: shipping homebrew revisited Hey now- Well, I haven't received any answers to my question about shipping homebrew to other states. You've all been very naughty ;-). Let me try again, this time I'll be a little more specific. I wanna ship some homebrew across the country from right to left. I assume some heavy duty foamage and other packing materials will do the trick to avoid breakage. My main question is this- do I need to specify surface delivery? If I send it air-mail, will a) they agree to ship it and b) will the pressure do something bad like burst the bottles? As usual, I would greatly appreciate any info.... iko- dab ================================================ dave ballard dab at pyuxe.cc.bellcore.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 08:53:10 -0500 From: zentner at ecn.purdue.edu (Michael Zentner) Subject: boilover & thermodynamics Early in the Stuff post, Jack writes: > I used your favorite reference and added a little common ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > sense and came up with a much simpler method that seems to ^^^^^ Uh oh! And later writes: > The most obvious reason for the boil over is that the liquid > is too hot. > > If one simply turns the flame down when nearing the boil > point, a most amazing thing happens..... > > I too, skim the foam but given enough heat, nothing will > stop a boil over. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Boiling water is boiling water, and, except in the case of either high pressure or serious, fast overheating (you know, Jack, the kind of heat that melts a pot?), boiling water will be at whatever temperature atmospheric pressure by you will allow (which may be a pretty low temperature indeed, if you brew where your head is (in the clouds)). Changing the flame on your stove will not change the temperature of boiling water. Now, that said, the rest of your post on this subject has some validity, but not for the reason you state. I can maintain a very vigorous boil without boilover after the initial rise in foam has subsided. I wish I could explain why sometimes wort will foam again after the initial foam up, but I can't. While changing your flame intensity, you may increase or decrease the rate of boiling, the temperature remains the same. It is true that a lower rate of boiling will make less foam less quickly, and you may avoid boilover this way, but it has almost nothing to do with temperature. Solution: I don't worry about boilover anymore, becaue I boil 5 gallon batches in a 10 gallon pot. Plenty of time to catch the mess before it oozes over the edge. Mike Zentner zentner at ecn.purdue.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 9:09:29 EST From: gkushmer at Jade.Tufts.EDU Subject: Re: Family Discord > Needless to say, I sensed a pattern. It also brought to mind how much > the family also dislikes the smell of boiling hops. During the summer I > can open the house to the environs, but during the winter we struggle > to maintain a dramatic temperature differential betwixt the inside and > outside, so opening windows is not always prudent. This, of course, > exacerabates family disunity as the pungent hop odor is trapped within. > Now, I happen to like the smells of roasting barley, boiling hops, and > fermenting beer. However, I stand alone against a united family in this > respect. Anyone else have this problem? Me. Except that I'm in a slightly different position where I still live at home and nobody else can STAND brewing beer. I'd wanted to brew more this weekend, but good old Mom said "no way, your father will be home." So, after saying "seig heil," I found something else to keep me busy. Funny though, Mom would gladly DRINK the stuff (dad's a tee-totaller). They used to go away on weekends, but now that it is colder, they're staying home. I've considered boiling the wort on the gas grill on the back porch - I've also considered waiting until spring when they won't be around as much. It's frustrating, but they charge me very little for rent leaving me with few options. > I have been toying w/the idea of installing a cheap stove, and sink in the > basement so I cab brew sans harrassment. Just another home brewing expense > that I, currently, find difficult to justify. Here's another reason why not to do so: It probably won't help. My cousin Tom had to give up brewing for a variety of reasons - one being that his wife and kids could not stand the smell coming from the basement. The only good thing to come from all that is that I got another carboy and a box of bottles for free. -gk =============================================================================== We're not hitchiking anymore - we're riding! -Ren - ---------------------------- gkushmer at jade2.tufts.edu - ---------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1991 10:05 EST From: STROUD%GAIA at leia.polaroid.com Subject: Pasteurized imports In HBD 775, Rich Steuven writes: >Truth, Fiction, or Urban Legend: All beers imported into the US are required to be pasteurized and/or to have chemicals such as _formaldehyde_ added to them. Well, I don't have any hard knowledge on this, but my gut feeling is that it is total fiction. We all know that beers don't have to be pasteurized. As proof, consider the bottle conditioned Bavarian Weizens or Belgian trappists (Chimay & Orval) that have live yeast in them. Would anyone here suggest that either of these have formaldehyde added? Not me. The Weizens adhere to the same Reinheitsgebot as the rest of the German beers and I am HIGHLY sceptical that the monks are adding formaldehyde to any of their beers. As far as I know or can tell, the Orval and Chimay ales that we get in the US are the exact same beers that are sold in Europe. Steve Stroud Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 8:48:08 EST From: virtech!gjp at uunet.UU.NET (Greg J. Pryzby) Subject: What would you wish for? I am ready to start expanding my "brewery" and thought I would ask the group for some suggestions. I am interested in starting all-grain brewing and being able to brew without having to use the kitchen. Why you may ask? Well, I am trying to sell my house in Chesapeake, VA (close to Norfolk, anyone interested? ;^) Anyway I am staying with family until the house is sold and I can afford a new place (two payments a month is alot, even for consultants ;^) and would like to be able to brew without taking over the kitchen for the day... So what equipment do I need? What can I make and what should I buy? And while your brain is searching for these answers, what keg set-up would you reccommend? Thanks for your input and I will post a summary... - -- Greg Pryzby uunet!virtech!gjp Virtual Technologies, Inc. gjp at virtech Herbivores ate well cause their food didn't never run. -- Jonathan Fishman Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 10:37:46 EST From: klm at gozer.MV.COM (Kevin L. McBride) Subject: Re: Evil Incarnate (With apologies to Charlie Pap, er, Professor Surfeit for a lame ripoff of one of his commentaries.) In Homebrew Digest #777 (not nearly as exciting as #666 :-) Rob Nelson <70206.1316 at compuserve.com> writes about his interesting experiences brewing a Barley Wine From Hell: > The resulting concoction had a starting gravity of (hang onto your seats > folks) 1.148! That's right. One point one four eight! Comments from ... > Phase three will involve another starter of similar hopping and gravity but > with liquid champagne yeast. With luck, we hope to chew this down to 1.030 > or so for a strength of 14% or so. > > So, the questions: Anybody out there ever tried something like this? Will > hopping the starters help? What is the max alcohol tolerance of champagne > yeast? Wow, another recipe most likely worthy of being named BrainDeath! Must you? Must you have done this? Must you have done this and live so far away from me so that I will probably never get to taste this potion? Seriously though, the Champagne yeast should have no problems standing up to an alcohol content of 14%. If I were to create such a potent brew I might just have started with that. I find your ideas quite interesting however. It sounds rather intriguing to use a London Ale yeast first to establish some of the character that that strain provides. The high alcohol content will, of course, eventually kill off the beer yeasts as the alcohol rises above 8 to 10 percent. > Does the light in the refrigerator really go out when you close the > door? Have we lost our minds? Yes and No. Not necessarily in that order. :-) If I ever get off my butt and build a Mash-Tun From Hell (not [TM] Dan Hall and Mike Sharp, but probably should be :-) then I would LOVE to attempt a barleywine. Maybe for next year's Christmas Brew! Yeah, that's the ticket! "Olde Saint Nick Barleywine" One bottle and you'll be slidin' down the chimney! - -- Kevin McBride (AHA, BFD, BWP, RTFM) klm at gozer.mv.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 10:26:17 EST From: "Justin A. Aborn" <jaborn at BBN.COM> Subject: Family Odor Problems I have the same problem with my wife. She complains bitterly about the smell of brewing. When I brew she shuts herself in the bedroom with the TV and the cats. She does redeem herself however by raving about the resulting beer and complaining whenever she has to drink anything else. Clearly a wonderful woman. I don't understand it. I think brewing smells wonderful. Especially hops. I think the families should just be told that they are wrong. It does not smell bad. If they don't believe it, you must not be telling them loudly enough for them to understand. Justin Brewer and Patriot Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 11:11:58 CST From: wiley at wiley.b11.ingr.com (Dave Wiley) Subject: To decoct or not In every other mashing technique I've read about, letting the grains boil for any length of time is considered major bad news. However, in decoction mashing large fractions of the mash (1/3 - 1/2) get boiled. It seems like this would lead to a major astringency problem. Not to ramble on and on, but I know from two experiences (one intentional and the other, er, otherwise) that boiling grains does lead to obvious and disastrous off-flavors. On the other hand, Noonan is a fairly on-the-ball kind of guy and he recommends decoction mashing - not to mention several hundred years of German tradition. What's the deal? - -- david wiley "The American passion for hygiene and dark Intergraph Corporation restaurants had made me start my meal with 205-730-6390 an hors-d'oeuvre of hot face towel." wiley at wiley.b11.ingr.com - Rumpole Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 08:38:44 PST From: "Tom Childers" <TCHILDER at us.oracle.com> Subject: Edmund Scientific Russ Wigglesworth asked for address/phone info for Edmund Scientific: Edmund Scientific Company 101 East Gloucester Pike Barrington, NJ 08007-1380 Customer Service: 609-573-6260 My catalog is two years old, but they had a digital pH meter for $88, a 22-lb balance beam (accurate to 1/16 oz) for $50, a digital lab thermometer for $40, and a variety of glassware, plastic squirt bottles, and petri dishes. Plus lots of other fun stuff! The catalog is free, last time I checked. -tdc Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1991 08:42:29 -0800 From: krweiss at ucdavis.edu Subject: odors of brewing Jim White writes: >Now, I happen to like the smells of roasting barley, boiling hops, and >fermenting beer. Well, of course you do. All that stuff smells great. >However, I stand alone against a united family in this >respect. Anyone else have this problem? Yes. I found that three or four cold beer compresses, applied internally, reduce the perceived volume of complaints to a very tolerable level. - ------------------------------------------- Ken Weiss krweiss at ucdavis.edu Computing Services 916/752-5554 U.C. Davis 916/752-9154 (fax) Davis, CA 95616 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 91 08:53:39 -0800 From: mcnally at Pa.dec.com Subject: re: family discord Brewing in the basement to control brewing aroma seems a bit extreme. It would be much easier, and somewhat morally satisfying, to simply lock your family in the basement while you brew in the kitchen. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Mike McNally mcnally at wsl.dec.com Digital Equipment Corporation Western Software Lab Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1991 09:08 PDT From: Bob Jones <BJONES at NOVA.llnl.gov> Subject: Mill Power In response to Greg Roody on his problems with using a drill motor to power a Corona I use a Makita 1/2 inch drill motor to power mine. It is mounted and supported on a stand that has four legs high enough to fit a standard 5 gal bucket under. I increased that hopper size buy taping two coffe cans together. Hold about 3-4 pounds of grain. The drill is adjustable in speed and you can lock the trigger on and walk away. The drill cost about $100 and can crack many many pounds and never get warm . You can even use the drill for drilling holes, that how I justified it to my wife. I hesitated to put together a grinder type mill for fear it would cause all types of stuck mash problems. It works much better than I ever would have guessed. In fact I think I get better extract from my grinder than the roller mill I use to get my grain cracked with. You can tune the grinder while it is running to optimize the grind. Works for me. Bob Jones Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 91 09:49:53 -0800 From: mcnally at Pa.dec.com Subject: pH meters I recently took delivery on a new pH meter from Cole-Parmer. It's quite nice, with automatic temperature correction from 0-50 dC. It is billed as having "simple one-point calibration" in the catalog, but it has two potentiometers, one to set and one to adjust the slope. I calibrated it with pH 4 and 7 solutions. It seems quite accurate. It's called pHep+, catalog # L-05941-20, $49.50. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Mike McNally mcnally at wsl.dec.com Digital Equipment Corporation Western Software Lab Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 11:28:23 PST From: Brew Free or Die! 09-Dec-1991 1423 <hall at buffa.enet.dec.com> Subject: Re: STUFF In HOMEBREW Digest #777, Jack Schmidling wrote: From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: STUFF First off: Jack, could you please use more descriptive subject lines for your posts? Rob Gardner asked that this be done way back in the beginning of HBD. It makes searching for previous posts, and archiving by subject, much easier. You've used "STUFF" for a subject line about 15 times now, and when I'm looking for something you wrote in the past, I don't know which "STUFF" it was. >> >Jack Schmidling, in #764, in your second "Stuff" posting, >> you claim that if the boiling of the liquid under the false >> bottom in a direct-fired mash tun could be controlled, then >> you would be gaining the benefits of a decoction mash. Then >> in #771 you talk about boiling puny little quart-sized >> portions of the mash as though this is decoction mashing. > > If you took the trouble to understand the article instead of > looking for something to flame, you would note that the > number of quart-sized portions actually brought to a boil, > represent a significant proportion of the total mash volume. You advocate boiling the liquid under the false bottom as a means of achieving decoction mash. I only skimmed through Noonan's book, but I recall him writing that one must boil what he referred to as the thickest part of the mash each time. Do you know why he claims that the thickest mash portion be boiled, and what would be the difference in boiling just the thin mash under the false bottom? > > - After collecting the extract, get it boiling as soon as > possible when using the step mash or decotation mash > methods. > > This one has possibilities of being true, I just don't > happen to know what they are. I have often contemplated > putting off the boil till the next day. What is the > problem? ... particularly in the case of decoction, where > the wort would be pretty well sterlilzed/pasturized. This is one I've wondered about too. I did this to my last batch. A friend wanted to watch me do an all-grain session, and he was supposed to be at my house at or before noon. He didn't arrive until 2:30, and left at 4. So much for learning all-grain. Anyway, I left the runnings covered overnight in my kitchen, and boiled, cooled, and pitched the next day. I've called this batch Procrastination Porter, and I taste no obvious defects. There's a letter to Professor Surfeit in the latest Zymurgy asking the very same thing, and Surfeit recommends against doing it, claiming nasties will take up residence in the wort. I believe that's true, but how many of those nasty will survive a 90 minute boil? -Dan - -- Dan Hall Digital Equipment Corporation MKO1-2/H10 Merrimack, NH 03054 hall at buffa.enet.dec.com ....!decwrl!buffa.dec.com!hall "Persons intoxicated with wine pass out lying on their faces, while those drunk with beer invariably lie on their backs" --Aristotle Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 11:31:31 PST From: Brew Free or Die! 09-Dec-1991 1428 <hall at buffa.enet.dec.com> Subject: Re: soda kegs In HOMEBREW Digest #777, Ken Key wrote: From: key at cs.utk.edu (Ken Key) Subject: soda kegs >I heard this from one other source so I called my local Coca-Cola >distributor. He said they're going to continue to use the 5 gallon >kegs for post mix (whatever that means exactly - I have guesses) >with the bags being premix. Anyways, nope, he didn't expect See if your guess and mine coincide. I figured premix meant that the syrup and carbonated water are together in the bag or keg, i.e. it's already soda. And I figured post mix means the bag or keg contains only soda syrup, and the carbonated water is added at the soda dispenser. -Dan - -- Dan Hall Digital Equipment Corporation MKO1-2/H10 Merrimack, NH 03054 hall at buffa.enet.dec.com ....!decwrl!buffa.dec.com!hall "Persons intoxicated with wine pass out lying on their faces, while those drunk with beer invariably lie on their backs" --Aristotle Return to table of contents
Date: Monday, 9 Dec 1991 14:41:37 EST From: m14051 at mwvm.mitre.org (John DeCarlo) Subject: Re: Brewery Smells at Home >From: Jim White <JWHITE at maine.maine.edu> >Subject: Family discord ! >Now, I happen to like the smells of roasting barley, boiling >hops, and fermenting beer. However, I stand alone against a >united family in this respect. Anyone else have this problem? Yes. Primarily my wife objects to the smell of malt, which pervades the house during a vigorous wort boil. What do I do? 1) Boil when my wife isn't there. 2) Turn on all exhaust fans near stove. 3) Put a bunch of spices in a small amount of water and gently simmer (cinnamon and cloves are good). This is an old trick used to mask odors and masks the malt fairly well. Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org (or John.DeCarlo at f131.n109.z1.fidonet.org) Fidonet: 1:109/131 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 11:49:56 PST From: Brew Free or Die! 09-Dec-1991 1430 <hall at buffa.enet.dec.com> Subject: Re: GRAINMILL In HOMEBREW Digest #777, Peter Glen Berger wrote: Peter Glen Berger <pb1p+ at andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Re: GRAINMILL >However, since the whole purpose of this forum is for amateur brewers >to exchange information, could you maybe post schematics or >instructions on how we could build our own grainmill? Homebrewers >everywhere would be grateful. I was going to express the same sentiment about this the last time Jack posted information about his grain mill. Two hundred dollars is a lot of money for a grain mill, and if it's like other real grain mills, it's heavy, therefore shipping it from Chicago would add significantly more dollars to the cost. How about it Jack? You shared info about your mash/lauter tun idea. Tell us how we can make our own. Maybe we might still want to buy some of the parts from you, if we can't find them locally. Also in HBD #777, Greg Roody wrote: From: Greg Roody <roody at necsc.enet.dec.com> Subject: re: Kitchen Aid grain mill >The problem with using a drill is that it's hard on the drill to turn that >slowly under load (at least mine gets real hot) and hard on me controlling >the speed. I use the hand crank at the moment. Works fine. I've had both problems. I first tried using a cordless variable speed drill, but it gave up (overheated and shut down) after about 4 pounds of grain were milled. I now use a fixed speed corded drill, and it works fine, but goes like a raped ape. I don't see any problems from this though. The grain is cracked properly, and fast! I once read that sustained high speed does bad things to the Corona grain mill's bearing surfaces (such as they are). However, at light speed (or is that Lite speed?) the process is over just like that (it takes longer to stop and reload the high-hopper). -Dan - -- Dan Hall Digital Equipment Corporation MKO1-2/H10 Merrimack, NH 03054 hall at buffa.enet.dec.com ....!decwrl!buffa.dec.com!hall "Persons intoxicated with wine pass out lying on their faces, while those drunk with beer invariably lie on their backs" --Aristotle Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1991 15:15 EST From: Dave Rose <CHOLM at HUBIO2.HARVARD.EDU> Subject: import pasteurization?? In HBD 775, Rich Steuven writes: >Truth, Fiction, or Urban Legend: All beers imported into the US are required to be pasteurized and/or to have chemicals such as _formaldehyde_ added to them. Since many people have cultured yeast from imported beer bottles (Chimay, for example), I vote for fiction. Certainly no yeast would survive pasteurization or formaldehyde treatment. Dave Rose. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 14:47:46 -0600 From: melkor!rick at uunet.UU.NET (Rick Larson) Subject: Re: Family discord ! I too suffer from the family whining about the lovely smell of boiling wort and hops. I just make beer when they are out for the afternoon ("Why don't you visit your mother? The kids would love to see Grandma."). If that doesn't work suggest something on TV. "I am going to watch a 4 hour NASCAR race today." Now if I could get that old stove setup in the basement... rick Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 14:04 CST From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: STUFF To: Homebrew Digest Fm: Jack Schmidling >The sterile (all grain) wort was pulled out of the original brew just prior to pitching. I kept it in a sterile jar in the fridge for the 3 weeks between brewing and bottling. Unfortunately, I lost the attribution to the above but it really is a slick idea. One of the problems I have found with dry extract is that there is always some undisolved residue in the bottom of the primer making me wonder what is in the last few bottles. From: simmon at eeel.nist.gov (Eric Simmon) Subject: Re: GRAINMILL >Since this forum is a place for sharing (knowledge, ideas, experience...) why don't you just tell us how you made it. Past experience says that a long posting would have been received with little enthusiasm, by enough readers, that the whole objective would have been lost in endless flames. If you took the trouble to send for the information offered through email, you would now know how it was made. However, as I happen to have a foundry and machine shop in my basement, it is a little like asking a brain surgeon how he fixed that tumor. js Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Dec 1991 17:23 EST From: afd at hera.cc.bellcore.com (adietz) Subject: new homebrew club in NJ We're here! A homebrew club for those in central/northern NJ. The Bell Hops We had our organizational meeting last Thursday where we elected Dave Ballard as Primary Fermentor, Gary Walther and Alex Dietz to be Secondary Fermentors. After much relaxing, about half adjourned to Old Bay for sampling of the freshest beer in New Jersey, Clements Ale. Contact: Dave Ballard 50 Winans Ave. Piscataway, NJ 08854 908-752-7347 (h) 908-699-6475 (w) dab at pyuxe.cc.bellcore.com Next meeting: Late Jan/early Feb. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 91 19:21:41 EST From: Jay Hersh <hersh at expo.lcs.mit.edu> Subject: Delaying your boil Jack asks > I have often contemplated > putting off the boil till the next day. What is the > problem? ... particularly in the case of decoction, where > the wort would be pretty well sterlilzed/pasturized. Well someone (forget the name) spoke about making sour mashes at the AHA conference this summer. One of the techniques was to let the mash sit before boiling. Tines were greater than 1 day, but I expect that even 1 day could produce some souring, depending on temperature and storage conditions. - JaH - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalts Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 23:28 EST From: <S94WELKE%USUHSB.bitnet at VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU> Subject: Legal beer imports II; Coke mix vs premix; Foul odors (Scott Welker) In HBD 771, I asked for examples of beer imorted from Germany that did not conform to the Reiheitsgebott. Thanks to John DeCarlo and Chip Hitchcock, who pointed out MOST beers are modified before being sent from Germany (by adding noxious chemicals). Their sources were Miller and a Sam Adams ad, respectively. You learn something every day. I think the filtration of Japanese beer leaves the issue open, because the beer could be unnecessarily pasteurized to comply with US law. Now I'm even more curious. Also in HBD 771, Ken Key writes: >He said they're going to continue to use the 5 gallon >kegs for post mix (whatever that means exactly - I have guesses) >with the bags being premix. Doesn't "premix" refer to the fact that soda fountains just add the sweetened syrup base of the various soft drinks to a single supply of carbonated H2O? If so, it follows that "postmix" would be _complete_ Coke, with no need for mixing. Cheaper for small joints to set up that way, I'm sure. And, Jim White writes: >Now, I happen to like the smells of roasting barley, boiling hops, and fermenting beer. However, I stand alone against a united family in this respect. Anyone else have this problem? Not me! And my wife (lucky me) loves these smells too. The only person who ever said otherwise dislikes beer altogether. Could it be that we like to smell what we like to taste? I read that the biochemical workings of smell and taste are very similar (and we smell most of what we taste, too), which seems to support this theory. Anyone out there love the smell of something they hate the taste of or vice versa? More from Jim: >I have been toying w/the idea of installing a cheap stove, and sink in the basement so I can brew sans harrassment. Just another home brewing expense that I, currently, find difficult to justify. Jim, to quote Heinlein: "In a family argument, if it turns out you are right-- apologize immediately!" - --Scott Welker "I have take more out of alcohol than it has taken out of me." --Churchill Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 20:02:04 PST From: pierce at chips.com (John Pierce) Subject: New brews (to me...) While not exactly homebrew, I thought I'd comment on a couple of new microbrews I gotta chance to try recently... I was back east over Turkey-day, and got a hold of a couple of brews I've never seen out west here. (back east means N.H. and Vermont to me). First was a 6-pak of "Frank Jones India Pale Ale" from {New-Hampshire | Vermont}. Tasted like it had sat on the shelf too long, but wasn't bad. Kinda reminded me of Sam Adams the way it tastes out here... (S.A. always tastes better in Boston to me than it does in California). Second was Catamount Amber from White River Junction, VT. Had it on draught in Hanover N.H. and it was great. Got a 6-er in a small town in the middle of nowhere, VT. and it was OK. Very much reminded me of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Santa Cruz Brewing Co. Lighthouse Amber (my two regular favorites). Thirdly, we stopped by the Centennial Brewery in Boston for lunch one day and had their Stout and their Bitter. The stout was pretty good but had traces of an offtaste that ruined the bitter. These off tastes were similar to those from numerous short-lived extract-brewing micros out thisaway that seemed to have contamination problems. Finally, after getting back to the left coast, I discovered my favorite brew-pub (aforementioned S.C. Brewing Co / Front Street Pub) has released their annual holiday brew, "Hoppy Holiday". Darker than previous years, and closer to Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale in style, very nice spicy characteristic to the hopping. Barmaid said something about lotsa Chinook hops contributing to the spiciness. Bay area readers note: They told me they are running low on this only one week after release! Cheers! (no, we didn't stop there, just drove by ;-) Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #778, 12/10/91 ************************************* -------
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