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HOMEBREW Digest #0169
HOMEBREW Digest #169 Tue 06 June 1989
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
homebrew tuning (Dave Sheehy)
Smelly Beer (Russ Pencin)
Vitamin B's in Homebrew (florianb)
Mega stout eruption (man)
Request addition to homebrew list (Ken Kron)
AHA Convention (Edward C. Bronson)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
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Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 11:06:24 PDT
From: Dave Sheehy <dbs@hprnd>
Subject: homebrew tuning
Full-Name: Dave Sheehy
Types of Yeast
I have been brewing for about a year and have been noticing a
funny kind of musty underlying flavor to my homebrew that I do
not find entirely pleasant. It's been a constant over the varieties
of beer I've been making (from pilseners to Doppelbocks) so I know
that it's not a function of the extracts, grains, and hops I've been
using. So it's either my brewing process or another alternative is the
type of yeast I've been using. I read with interest a previous posting
that said that Red Star was not a very good yeast in that author's
opinion. Well as it turns out I've been using Red Star in nearly all
the 10 - 12 batches I've made so far. I have used Edme a couple of times
but I didn't have the presence of mind to write down the brand of yeast
I used for some of my earlier attempts. Coincidentally, I've been thinking
of experimenting with different types of yeasts to see how they affect
the final product. To get to the point of all this, what are people's
preferences in types of yeast? At this point I'm mostly interested in
ale yeasts although I am interested in lagers too (mostly as used in
making Doppelbocks).
Lagering Experimentation
I made a couple of pilseners and doppelbocks just by fermenting at room
temperature (whatever that happens to be at the time) and would like to
experiment with lagering to see how the flavor is affected. I don't have
a second refrigerator to use for the lagering step however. I have thought
that I could experiment next fall and winter by lagering the wort in my
garage. Where I live it doesn't get below freezing at night until January.
Is this a valid experiment? The garage temperature is going to vary somewhat
during the day. How important is it to maintain a constant temperature?
Sweeter Beers
My taste in beer runs towards the sweeter varieties. I have been unable to
duplicate the sweetness of the beer at the microbreweries I've frequented.
I talked to one of the brewers at the Triple Rock microbrewery in Berkeley
and he said that they interrupt primary fermentation prematurely in order
to retain a sweetness in the flavor of their beer. I've now realized that
they must also either pastuerize the wort to kill the yeast of filter the
yeast out to avoid additional fermentation. I suppose that their beer might
be consumed quickly enough for the above steps to be ignored and not
matter much. David Line states in one of his books that homebrew tends to
be drier than commercial breweries. He therefore includes saccharin in
recipes where he is trying to duplicate the sweetness of the brew he is
trying to copy (since saccharin doesn't ferment). I haven't actually tried
any of his recipes that include saccharin yet. Does anybody have any
suggestions on how to control the sweetness of the final brew?
Good Book Past "Papazian".
I have bought and read Papazian's book on home brewing. I also have
David Line's book, Brewing_Beers_Like_Those_You_Buy (mainly because it
has a recipe for John Courage). The question is what is a good book that
takes up where Papazian's book left off?
David Sheehy
------------------------------
Date: 5 June 1989 10:56:59 am
From: parcplace!pencin@Sun.COM (Russ Pencin)
Subject: Smelly Beer
I have brewed a few batches of beer, and I have noticed a strange thing: the
Ales smell like beer while they are fermenting, and the Lagers smell like cat
s--- while they ferment. The lagers I have made all have been fermented with
some hops left in the wort. Could this be the cause of the smell, or is it
the type of yeast? By the way, the lagers tasted OK when they were done, its
just the smell while they are working...
Thanks for a great forum...
Russ
------------------------------
Date: 05 Jun 89 13:42:15 PDT (Mon)
From: florianb%tekred.cna.tek.com@RELAY.CS.NET
Subject: Vitamin B's in Homebrew
Greg Crawford's note:
>the vitamin B as you are using it up. American brewers remove most
>(if not all) of the yeast. Try taking some vitamin B complex the next
>time you over indulge with american beer and see if this is true.
Now that I brew my own and now that I'm not in college anymore, I
will probably never over indulge with American beer again. Thanks
for the suggestion, though. The crazy thing is, I've gotten head-
aches from the Belgian ales which have yeast in the bottle. I've
also gotten headaches from US commercial ales which are naturally
Krausened. ??
Thanks to BROWN for the Ginger beer recipe. This looks like a good
fall drink to me. It's on the "to make" list.
------------------------------
Date: 5 Jun 1989 10:00 EDT
From: man@granjon.att.com
Subject: Mega stout eruption
I had been intrigued by the Mega Stout recipe in the winter issue of
Zymurgy, so I decided to brew up a batch last thursday. The recipe
comes with a warning that initial fermentation tends to be EXTREMELY
vigorous and a lot of brew could be blown off. They ain't kidding !!
First of all, I don't employ a blow-off tube. I just ferment in the
standard 7 1/2 gallon plastic bucket with lid and airlock. I pitched
a packet of M&F ale yeast on Friday morning (71 degrees) and went to
work. When I got home, I went to see if fermentation had started.
Well, the foam was rising out of the airlock (it had just started).
I cracked the lid open to let pressure out and took off the airlock
to clean, refill and sanitize. When I got back (5 minutes) the volcano
was spewing out lava over the side at an good clip with the lava messing up
the counter pretty good. I decided to seal it up and let the stuff
come through the airlock. That way I could lay paper towels all around
on the lid and pick up the excess. I came back to check on it about an
hour later and just as I approached it, the lid blew off the container,
traveling (no exaggeration, here) 2 feet in the air before landing behind
the cabinet. After I cleaned the lid, I left it cracked a bit and let the
lava spew out. This continued to at least 1:00 AM (I went to bed). At 7:00
AM it had stopped and I quickly sanitized my carboy and racked. It's bubbling
slowly now.
I'm not worried. Just thought I'd let you know he meant it when he said
extremely vigorous. I'll let you know how it turned out, though it won't
last long: I'm bringing the entire batch camping in the middle of July.
Should make an interesting substitute for beans around the campfire!!
Mark N.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 15:17:50 PDT
From: kron@Sun.COM (Ken Kron)
Subject: Request addition to homebrew list
Also I am interested in any homebrew group in the area that gets together
regularly.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 89 23:51:04 -0500
From: bronson@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Edward C. Bronson)
Subject: AHA Convention
For information and as an invitation, I thought I'd mention an upcoming
Beer Trek. In a few days I will be heading to Fort Mitchell, KY to attend
the Eleventh Annual American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National
Conference on Quality Beer and Brewing. This is the first year that the
conference is being held outside of Colorado. The conference site is the
Drawbridge Inn at the Oldenberg Brewery located just south of Cincinnati,
OH. Along with a large beer hall called the Great Hall of Oldenberg, the
conference location features health facilities, five restaurants, six bars,
and the world's largest breweriana collection.
The conference will consist of four days of presentations and
demonstrations on such topics as brewing techniques, microbreweries and
brewpubs, quality control, and beer judging certification. The activities
get rolling on Wednesday, June 7th, with a Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery tour,
an Oldenberg Brewery tour, and a Kickoff Beer Reception. The days of the
conference are filled with special luncheons, homebrew club activities,
national homebrew judging, an awards banquet, beer tasting, beer drinking,
beer discussions, beer drinking, ... On Saturday, a special luncheon will
be prepared by Micheal Jackson, renowned beer authority. Each course of
this extraordinary eating experience will be prepared with beer and served
with selected beers. The conference ends with an International Beer Tasting
on Saturday evening. Unlike previous years, the AHA has separated the
conference from the Great American Beer Festival (October). This should
permit beer tasting and beer discussions in a pleasant atmosphere devoid of
the 3-ring circus advertising gimics that have marred the festival in recent
years.
I know that this sounds like an advertisement, but having attended
this conference in the past, I am very excited about getting together again
with the AHA. (This is the only conference that I attend on a regular
basis that serves beer DURING the presentations!) I am certain that other
readers of this FORUM will also be attending the conference and I invite
you to contact me, have a beer, and discuss homebrewing. I will certainly
be at the Homebrew Club Night activities representing our local homebrew
club, the Tippecanoe Hombrewers' Circle.
On the way to the conference from Lafayette, IN, I will be stopping at
the NapTown Brewing Company in Indianapolis, IN. This is Indiana's FIRST
microbrewery. Their first product is a full-bodied all-malt hoppy beer
called Main Street Lager. They have been brewing for about four months
and bottling for about six weeks. I will also be visiting Wallaby Bob's
Australian Restaurant and Brewery in Fairfield, OH for a tour and a beer.
This brewpub is located just north of Cincinnati, OH. On my return, I
will be attending the monthly meeting of the St. Gambrinas Benevolence
Society. This is the homebrew club of Bloomington, IN.
Well, that's the Beer Trek Plan. Hopefully I will meet some of you
at the conference. Cheers and Beers,
Ed Bronson
bronson@ecn.purdue.edu
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #169, 06/06/89
