Homebrewer newsletter #1

Released on October, 1986

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in

homebrewer newsletter

· 9 Apr 2024

Hello, fellow homebrewers. You're probably wondering what this "newsletter" is all about. Well, it's something I decided would be a good format for what I wanted to do: tell you about things I've read about or discovered, and to encourage sharing our ideas with each other. What kind of "things" am I talking about? Anything: Books you recommend, brewing techniques and "tips", useful equipment, useless equipment, ingredients of interest (ie, new or exotic malts, hops, etc), homebrew shops in the area, or anything else you think might be of interest to other homebrewers, including questions or problems that other homebrewers might be able to help you with. Gossip on good (commercial) beer might also appear occasionally.

I have many things on my mind, and I'll discuss a few of them in this first issue. If you have anything to add, or want to contribute an article, just send them to me and I'll include them, unedited, in the next issue. If you want to, you can simply send your ideas to everybody on the mailing list, but I would prefer to keep the newsletter centralized so we can have orderly and organized discussions. Another reason is that not everybody will be receiving the newsletters via electronic mail. If you don't want to be on the mailing list for this letter, or know somebody else who would, drop me a line.

- Rob Gardner
hpfcla!rdg

This issue

Some random little things
Michael Jackson's New Pocket Guide to Beer
The Bottle Washer
The Rotokeg - an alternative to bottles

Random stuff

Here's something that might make homebrewing just a bit easier: it's a plastic covered metal handle that slips over the neck of a carboy (5g glass bottle). This makes lifting and moving the carboy much easier - those things get quite heavy with 5 gallons of beer in them.

Another handy thing to have is a curved siphon tube. The siphon equipment that most of us are using consists of a length of flexible plastic tubing, and two straight, hard plastic tubes for inserting into a bucket or carboy. Well, a small problem I've run into is that when I'm siphoning, the flexible plastic tubing has to flex about 180 degrees, and sometimes, it bends a bit too much and this restricts the flow of beer. The solution is to get rid of the first stage hard plastic tube and replace it with one with a bend at the top. It ends up looking somewhat like a cane. With this device, you don't have to worry about the flow slowing down.

The Brew-it Shop now stocks "Genuine Bavarian Malt Extract" which Al claims is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's expensive ($20 for a 3 kg can) but it looks kind of generic - no fancy label, no yeast, no hop extract. I'm happy to see it though, since it's difficult to make an authentic tasting German beer with British or American malt extract. I hope to report on it in a future issue, but I thought you might be interested in knowing about it. I will be using another German malt, Bierkeller (or something like that) for my next batch, and will report on that as well.

I happened to be in Denver several weekends ago and checked out the Oktoberfest at Larimer Square. For $2 you could get a half liter of Paulaner Oktoberfest, which is a great deal on a great beer. However, that's about the only reason for going - it was basically a very large beer bust, but nothing like the *real* Oktoberfest. I really wanted to go to the GABF (Great American Beer Fest) but I didn't get the chance. Judging from what I saw of it on the 10:00 news, it looked like a lot of fun. Can anyone who went report on it?

The following is from Bob Niland (hpfcla!rjn), who is not a homebrewer, but does appreciate good imported beer, and has consumed plenty of Hackerbrau.

Hello home brewers,
Target is selling a glossy hardcover book called "Beers of North America" for $12.95. It's mostly about breweries, actually, but it seems pretty thorough, and as they say, is "lavishly illustrated". Check it out.
Bob "doesn't list HackerBrau, tho" Niland

This from Jim Haselmaier (hpfcla!jimh):

I was in Boulder on Saturday and stopped in at the Boulder Brewery to pick up some Beer paraphernalia. On their chalk board in the tasting room they had a beer listed called 'Special Brew'.
"What's that?" -- I ask the proprietor
"Its a special batch we brewed up for the GABF; it took second place."
-- Comes the reply
"Let me try one."
This taster proceeds to rest his weary bones and enjoy a wonderful beer!
If you get the chance, pick up a six pack of Boulder Brewing Co.'s Special Brew. The best way to describe it is as a cross between their Pale Ale and Porter.
I'm not sure if its in the stores around here. They made about 600 cases.
Jim H.

MJ's new book

I picked up a copy of Michael Jackson's *new* Pocket Guide to Beer yesterday. I wasn't planning on buying it, as I assumed Old Chicago would give me one when I went on the World Beer Tour the second time. But after taking a look at it in a book store, I decided it was worth it. It is quite a bit smaller than the old one (shirt pocket size, as opposed to overcoat pocket size), but in spite of this, appears to be superior in many respects. It has a semi-hard cover, so should be more durable, and as was well advertised, it is not a revised edition of the old one, but a totally rewritten version with a new publisher (Simon & Schuster). I suspect that he had to change and rewrite many things to avoid any possible copyright problems.

I found his reviews to be quite a bit more critical, and he provides some very interesting commentary. He has gone to a 4 star system (as opposed to 5 in the old book), though I really cannot understand his reasoning: if he had to use a different rating system in order to prevent problems with the old publisher, why not use one with a broader range of ratings? He frequently used "half" stars for intermediate ratings in the old book, and in the new, he frequently gives "** --> ***" which I guess is the "different" way of doing the same thing. I think it would be better to go to 10 star system, for example.

In addition to simple beer reviews, he also details "where to drink" for each important geographical location. Denver and the Old Chicago Restaurants were mentioned prominently. The general format of the reviews is clearer, with ratings in bold face interspersed with the text. In the old book, the ratings were all at the bottom of each brewery discussion. I found the new format easier to read with its more "user friendly" look. More beers are covered in the new book; I noticed many that I had not read about in the old one. Overall, I really like the new book- check it out.

The Bottle Washer

I've read several times in books and magazines that a bottle washer can save lots of time and trouble and is well worth the money. I've also read several times that after you buy one, you can't figure out how you got along without one for so long. Well, even after reading all this, I still didn't get one. I simply didn't believe it. I finally succumbed after seeing a live demonstration at the Wine & Hop Shop in Denver. At a cost of about $10, I really don't know how I got along without one for so long.

The washer consists of a small section of metal tubing that attaches to a garden-hose type connector (kitchen sink adaptor available.) The tube curves up and has a valve that is actuated by placing a bottle over it and pressing down. This causes a strong stream of water to be injected into the bottle. Since the bottle is inverted, the water runs out the hole, and in a few seconds you have a well rinsed bottle. The recommended use is to clean the bottle first with your sanitizing solution, then rinse it with the bottle washer. This cuts down time spent washing bottles by a factor of 3 at least.

It is also reliable: the primary reason I didn't buy one sooner is my experience with (making attempts at) filling a waterbed. The accessories that come with waterbeds are usually plastic, and I had a good deal of trouble getting them to "mate" properly with the metal faucet. So, I did not expect a bottle washer, which must also take plenty of force on it, to function. But, the bottle washer and accessories are all quite solid metal, and mate with the faucet perfectly. I highly recommend this device to all serious homebrewers.

The Rotokeg

The Rotokeg is a strong plastic container shaped nothing like a beer keg, and is meant to be an alternative to bottles. It comes in 1 gallon and 5 gallon sizes, and has a simple tap system to dispense your beer. At bottling time, you prime the beer and fill the Rotokeg just as if you were bottling. After carbonation occurs, you just put the whole thing in the fridge, and presto, you have instant draft beer, anytime. If the fizz runs out (due to your incredibly slow drinking) you can use a CO₂ capsule to charge it up via the valve at the top. Sounds good doesn't it? It sounded good to me too, and I bought a 1 gallon size to try it out.

It didn't come with any instructions, but I thought nothing of it, since it seemed so obvious. Well, several months and several gallons of wasted beer later, it doesn't seem so obvious anymore. The first gallon came out quite flat, presumably due to insufficient priming sugar. So, I tried out the CO₂ capsule. What resulted when I opened the tap was the most powerful geyser of foam I've seen since Old Faithful. I accidentally had my finger near the stream, and it stung! Needless to say, it made quite a mess (but then again, so does everything.) After consulting with the local expert, I was advised that the CO₂ should not really ever be necessary if the proper amount of priming sugar is used. So, off I went, quite happy that I now knew what was wrong. I tried again, this time with the proper amount of sugar. About a week later, when I went to check it out, I had quite a shock. The Rotokeg was completely empty! All that remained was a little foam on the bottom. Where did it go? Your guess is as good as mine, but I suspect it was absorbed by the wood of the cabinet it was in, and by the nearby carpeting. (What the hell? I'm just renting this place.)

As you might have suspected, I am not quite satisfied with the Rotokeg. If you have been thinking about buying one, don't do it - at least not until I try again and get it right. And if you have bought one already, may I pleeeeease make a copy of the instructions?

In future issues and perhaps in next issue: