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HOMEBREW Digest #0037
HOMEBREW Digest Wed 28 December 1988
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: extract diatribe (Dick Dunn)
Mead (BB13093)
Clinging yeast; imported/expensive malts (CRF)
re: extract styles (Darryl Richman)
BOOTS Ale Kits (Mike Fertsch)
Re: hard cider (dw)
malt extract syrups (arthure)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
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Date: 28 Dec 88 02:14:00 MST (Wed)
From: hplabs!utah-cs!cs.utexas.edu!raven!rcd (Dick Dunn)
Subject: Re: extract diatribe
Rob asked:
> ... What do people think of making a beer in
> the style of country X, but attempting to make it more authentic
> tasting by using malt extract *from* country X?
. . .
>...The question is, will I be able to tell a difference here, or am I
> wasting my effort?...
. . .
> Now, I'm the first to admit that there are lots of variables that
> might account for my preference, including plain old power of
> suggestion. I'm aware that the actual malt & water contents vary quite
> a bit (thus producing different starting gravites)...
You should consider that different extracts are made with different types
of water, and since the extract is made by just dehydrating a wort, the
minerals from the water remain in the extract. This IS going to influence
the character of your beer, and may be the reason you prefer the extract
you're using for a lager--i.e., the water it's made from may have lower
mineral content than an extract with similar malt properties but made for
an ale. There's also the matter of what sort of water you're using to
reconstitute the wort for your brewing--obviously it will add minerals of
its own.
Trouble is, I have no idea how you go about finding out the mineral
content of the water used to produce the wort. Certainly it's known to the
manufacturers.
---
Dick Dunn {ncar;ico;stcvax}!raven!rcd (303)494-0965
------------------------------
Date: 28 Dec 88 10:27:09 EDT
From: BB13093%pbn33.prime.com@RELAY.CS.NET
Subject: Mead
Greetings:
In response to several requests, here is the recipe I use for small
mead: bubbly and not high in alcohol.
Things you need:
1 pint honey ( the more raw the better )
8 pints water ( the more pure the better )
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
campden tablets ( or whatever you use for sterilizing must )
champagne yeast
1 gallon bottle, fermentation lock, and cork
1) Boil honey and water for 1/2 to 1 hour, skimming the top fre-
quently, until the must has been boiled down to fit in the bottle
and there is little or nothing left to skim. Also toss in one
crushed campden tablet.
2) Just before removing the must from the stove, add spices to taste.
I prefer 2 Tblspns cinnamon, 1 Tblspn nutmeg, and 6-8 cloves.
3) Allow to cool to about 70 degrees F. (about 2-5 hours)
4) Dissolve appropriate amount of yeast for the must in 1/4 cup
warm water and add.
5) Put fermnetation lock on and let sit for 3-7 days. Don't let bottle
get cooler than about 70 degrees, or the fermentation will stop.
6) When the bubbling settles down, siphon and cork. Ready in three
weeks; turns sour after two or three months.
NOTES: You may wish to prime it with more honey. Take great care where
you put the bottles after corking - they can explode spectacularly.
I have glass embedded in the cement foundation of our house!
- Nicolette Bonhomme
(bb13093%pbn33@en-c06.prime.com)
Boston, Mass.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 88 12:52 EDT
From: <CRF%IFASGNV.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Clinging yeast; imported/expensive malts
Hello, all!
About the yeast sticking to the sides of a bottle: one possibility (apart
from the surface and/or composition of the glass itself) is debris clinging to
the interior surface of the glass. Such is not necessarily a contaminant; it
is possible to kill off a contaminant when sterilizing but still have material
remain (example: dishes which have undergone steam cleaning, but still have
some residue on them). Thus, the beer wouldn't spoil, but the yeast would
have something to cling to. Another manifestation of this same situation is
the way brew or soda will foam up to excess in a dirty glass, or one with some
sort of film inside it.
As to Rob's comments and questions in the Dec. 28th digest: firstly, brands
certainly *can* make a difference. For example, I tried Geordie's products
because literally _everyone_ I met who used them swore by them. Now, I tout
them just as enthusiastically (try their Yorkshire Bitter-- *trust me!*) I
learned very quickly that imported malts are worth purchasing. Their quality
and flavor do tend to be superior. Of course, we all know that one can never
duplicate _exactly_ a given beer; there are too many environmental variables
beyond our control.
Price/performance ratios, it seems to me, are largely related to personal
satisfaction. If I **REALLY** like a certain malt, then spending extra money
will probably be worth it to me, even unto $20 per can. I might have to make
it an occassional, special treat (and you can bet _no one_ else would get a
bottle...), but it _would_ be worth it to me.
In point of fact, I have put as much as $30.00+ into a single 5-gal batch; and
oh, my! it was a brew beyond compare... So, like one of the famous
philosophers of Rome (I forget which), I counsel "all things in moderation--
including moderation!" This occassionally means financially, too! |-) |-)
Cher Feinstein
"CRF@IFASGNV.BITNET"
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 88 07:52:19 PST
From: Darryl Richman <darryl@ism780c.isc.com>
Subject: re: extract styles
Rob's observation about differences in style resulting from the country
of origin of the extract he's using probably has some basis in fact.
Caveats: I'm not an extract brewer and I haven't used them except for
yeast starters in more than 2.5 years. But as a masher, I know that the
malt used in different countries has different properties and the
mashing style differs as well. English malts tend to be more highly
modified, which suits their single infusion mashing techniques. They
get a better extract and less haze than if they used the continental
malts, which, having been less well modified by the maltster, require a
protien rest and usually several steps or decoctions to obtain a clear
product.
The differences in these ingredients and techniques definitely produce
different tasting results. An export lager doesn't taste like an IPA,
even though they both might have similar starting gravities. (Of
course, the difference in fermentation temperature, water salts, and
hopping have a lot to do with this as well). My experiences using
continental malts (my shop has imported German Pilsener, Munich, and
Vienna malts) is that they produce very different flavors than the
English Pale, Mild, and Scottish malts. I would be surprised to hear
that there were no easily discernable differences.
--Darryl Richman
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 88 16:31 EST
From: Mike Fertsch <hplabs!uiucdcs!meccad.RAY.COM!FERTSCH>
Subject: BOOTS Ale Kits
Recently, a new occupant moved into the office next to mine. He was born
and educated in Scotland, and worked in Cambridge, England before moving to
the States. He loves good British beers, and often reminences about the
commerical cask ales from home.
In addition to the pub beers, he did his share of homebrewing in the UK. He
wants to resume brewing here, and wonders if he can get his favourite
extracts in the US. He is partial to kits make by BOOTS; he claims to make
super ales with just the tin of hopped extract and corn sugar. The Boots
kits apparently come with a vial of liquid yeast, rather than the normal
dry yeast. Sounds interesting to me...
Has anyone out there in netland heard of Boots Ale Kits? Are they
available in the US? He can probably get some from his friends in the UK,
but he would greatly prefer a supplier on this side of the puddle.
Apparently, the airline security people are paranoid about letting
cylindrical metal objects onto international flights. [He says the airport
people once held his extracts for three days in a bunker at Heathrow, waiting
to see if it would blow up...]
Mike Fertsch
------------------------------
Date: 27 Dec 88 12:22:39 EST (Tuesday)
From: dw <Wegeng.Henr@Xerox.COM>
Subject: Re: hard cider
The question is asked about why recipes for hard cider usually call
for adding sugar to the apple cider. The answer is that cider
does not contain sugar so that, when it is fermented, there will be
enough alcohol to prevent it from spoiling. You need somewhere
around 9-10% alcohol, and the added sugar (or honey, or whatever)
provides this. Personally, I add honey rather than straight sugar,
resulting in a drink called 'cyser'.
The next logical question that one may ask is why doesn't beer spoil,
since it isn't usually much more than 5-6% alcohol? The answer is that
the hops serve as a preservative. (This is a generalization; for
beer can and will spoil if you mistreat it).
/Don
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 88 17:28:14 PST
From: sco!arthure@ucscc.UCSC.EDU
Subject: malt extract syrups
There certainly are differences in flavors between
various malt extracts. The way in which the grain
is malted, roasted, and mashed is a big variable in
the overall flavor of your beer, and each malt extract
is made differently in this respect.
I can't make any specific recommendations for lager-type
malt extracts (I've never tried to make lager), but you
might try looking at (extract based) recipes for the
type of beer you're brewing, and see what brands other
people recommend.
-arthur
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End of HOMEBREW Digest
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