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HOMEBREW Digest #0487
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 90/09/03 03:11:26
HOMEBREW Digest #487 Mon 03 September 1990
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
WBBY; "Beer Hunter" ("FEINSTEIN")
Portland breweries & procedural comment (Kenneth R. van Wyk)
How to order "The Beer Hunter" videotape (Dan Hall 31-Aug-1990 1016)
I'm interested (Tom Leone)
Beechwood Aging (Guy D. McConnell)
Re: Homebrew Digest #485 (August 30, 1990) (Mark E. Freeman)
labels with percentages and diet soda (Ihor W. Slabicky)
Re: Additives and Preservatives (Mike Fertsch)
Crud on enamelled pots - a hint from Heloise (Mike Fertsch)
Pronunciations (Martin A. Lodahl)
Well hey, this really works! ("Gary F. Mason - Image Systems - MKO2-2/K03 - 603884[DTN264]-1503 01-Sep-1990 2144")
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Archives available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
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Date: 31 Aug 90 07:55:00 EDT
From: "FEINSTEIN" <crf@pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: WBBY; "Beer Hunter"
Hi, all!
About the problem with "Wine and Brew By You": while not doubting word for a
moment, especially since I also received some outdated Wyeast not too long
ago, I am still flabbergasted by the account!
For the information of all and sundry, Craig (the owner of WBBY) has often
seen hard copy of the HB digest, I discovered, but the SCA digest as well.
He's apparently been well acquainted with both fora for some time. I know
this from his sending me hand-written notes whenever I get a new catalog, and
on the box my recent order was in. He's also been very nice to my dad, who
went into WBBY to get my stuff for me and have it shipped. According to my
father, Craig seemed to enjoy what he had read of this digest.
So: I *really* wonder what this was all about! I'll be going down to Miami
at the end of November for some special dental work, and have been hoping to
go to WBBY. Maybe I'll hear something then. Certainly, I'll post what I
think after actually meeting those people.
On another topic: I'm *greatly* enjoying "The Beer Hunter", but have to agree
that it suffers terribly from the half-hour format; an hour really would have
worked well. And how many others besides me headed straight for the 'phone to
order their copy as soon as the closing credits rolled? :-) (NOTE: I've
*never* done that before! Normally I just tape a show myself, but decided
that I want commercial-quality copies of this.)
Yours in Carbonation,
Cher
"With one tuckus, you can't dance at two weddings." -- Yiddish proverb
=============================================================================
Cheryl Feinstein INTERNET: CRF@PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU
Univ. of Fla. BITNET: CRF@UFPINE
Gainesville, FL
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 08:22:59 EDT
From: Kenneth R. van Wyk <krvw@cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Subject: Portland breweries & procedural comment
I just had the fortunate opportunity to visit Portland, Oregon on
business - Usenix Security Workshop - and was able to visit a few of
the microbreweries in the area. We had some superb ales (very few
lagers in the places that we visited) which were beautifully hopped
with mostly Oregon hops (Willamette, Cascade, Nugget, etc.). Portland
is, after all, on the Willamette river... Anyway, a beautiful place
to be and to drink ale!
My favorite (WARNING: INCOMING OPINION!) brewery was the Portland
Brewing Company. They made a full-bodied ale called Timerline Ale
which was IMHO one of the nicest ales that I've had in a long time.
The brewmaster at PBC was kind enough to take us through his
facilities. I saw a couple interesting things which I thought that
I'd pass along to you all. First, they have been using the same yeast
culture for some 5 years. They continuously re-cycle the yeast slurry
from batch to batch. My thoughts were that sanitation, etc., was
critical in doing this, particularly over that long a time. The
brewmaster was surprisingly careless (bad choice of words! - but he
wasn't as sanitary as I would have expected) in the process.
Nonetheless, his ales speak for themselves.
Another thing was that his fermenting room was refrigerated at about
33F. He pitches the yeast at about 70F, and then the wort goes into
an insulated fermenting tun. In there, the metabolic energy of the
ferment maintains a wort temperature of about 74F throughout the
primary fermentation. After primary is done, the temperature slowly
falls to roughly ambient. At that point, they drain the yeast slurry
out of the bottom of the tun and continue on to the next batch. Has
anyone else out there ever tried this, or even heard of such a thing
before? I thought that it was fascinating. I also thought that the
thickness and type of insulation on the tun would be crucial - too
little and the temperature would fall, too much and it would rise too
much. This would seem, to this engineer (by education, if not by
trade), to be a diverging situation that could result in a lot of
"oops" batches.
I should also add that he uses a whirlpool affect to separate the wort
from the trub before pitching the trub.
So, if you're ever in Portland, stop in at PBC and tell the Brewmaster
that a bunch of UNIX weenies that he was kind to say hello and thanks
for the hospitality! :-) Oh, and try the Timerline Ale. The
freshness of the hops will jump right out at you!
Ken van Wyk
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 07:19:04 PDT
From: Dan Hall 31-Aug-1990 1016 <hall@buffa.enet.dec.com>
Subject: How to order "The Beer Hunter" videotape
The 3 hour videotape of The Beer Hunter can be purchased by
calling 1-800-262-4800, or by writing to:
Beer Hunter
PO Box 68618
Indianapolis, IN 46268
The cost is $34.95, plus $3.95 shipping and handling
IN. and MD. residents add 5% sales tax
Check, money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express accepted
Comes with a free copy of Michael Jackson's _Pocket Guide To Beer_
Enjoy!
-Dan
=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=
Dan Hall | Telecommunications & Networks/EIC
Digital Equipment Corporation | ARPAnet: hall@state.enet.dec.com
Continental Blvd. | EASYnet: STATE::HALL
MKO1-2/H10, PO Box 430 | Usenet : ....!decwrl!state.dec.com!hall
Merrimack, NH 03054-0430 | N.E.T. : (603) 884-5879
=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 10:40:24 EDT
From: tgl@slee01 (Tom Leone)
Subject: I'm interested
I'm interested in your homebrewing mail. I heard about you from my brother
Mark in Pittsburgh. I've brewed a few batches of beer and I'd like to
hear your tips, etc.
Thanks,
Tom Leone <tgl@slee01.srl.ford.com>
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 8:13:30 CDT
From: Guy D. McConnell <mspe5!guy@uunet.UU.NET>
Subject: Beechwood Aging
From: freeman@idaho.Inference.Com (Mark E. Freeman)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #485 (August 30, 1990)
>Another problem with listing alcoholic content on the
>label is the debate over whether one should describe the
>content by volume or by % of the weight.
>
>>A lab analysis of Miller showed that it contained preservatives, head-
>>retention agents (this can be demonstrated by adding a drop of milk to the
>>beer, and observing that the head survives, which it shouldn't), anti-
>>oxidants, and something to prevent the formation of ice crystals.
>>Remarkably, an analysis of Bud came up pretty pure.
>Actually, AB does list the ingredients on the Budweiser
>label if you look closely; malt, hops, rice, etc... Most
>people are surprised to learn that they use rice as one
>of the grains, it's an easy way to win a bar bet. I
>understand that the "beechwood aging" is actually done by
>inserting beechwood slats in the conditioning tanks and
>actually has something to do with fining or carbonation,
>i.e. not necessarily for the flavor.
How's this for "beechwod aging"? AB is the second largest user of tannic
acid in the industrial world. While I don't remember who the largest user
is, I do remember that they do not produce anything for human consumption.
No wonder several Clydesdales produce such a rotten headache the morning
after.
- --
============================================================================
Guy D. McConnell | | "I'd like to be
Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL. | Opinions expressed | under the sea
Mass Storage Peripheral Evaluation | are mine and do not | In an octopus'
Tape Products | necessarily reflect | garden in the
uunet!ingr!b11!mspe5!guy | Intergraph's. | shade..."
(205)730-6289 | | --The Beatles--
============================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 09:55:08 -0400
From: hplabs!ames!gatech!sgfb.ssd.ray.com!iws (Ihor W. Slabicky)
Subject: labels with percentages and diet soda
As someone forgot to mention, our neighbor to the north
already has percentages of alcohol per volume on their
in-country beer labels. That's how you know to get the
Molson Brador and not the Export for that extra oomph!
I suppose you could make diet soda by substituting your
favorite artificial sweetener for the sugar, but the sugar
is also used to carbonate the beverage, besides give it
taste. So, you can have flat diet soda, or you can have
diet soda that's carbonated if you attach a carbonator
to the dispenser or carbonate before bottling, or you could
make a semi-diet soda with enough sugar in it to carbonate
and then add artificial sweetener to suit your taste.
Let us know which one works...
Ihor
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 09:06 EDT
From: Mike Fertsch <FERTSCH@adc1.adc.ray.com>
Subject: Re: Additives and Preservatives
Regarding recent discussion regarding Miller/Bud preservatives:
My understanding is that Miller can get away with their "no additives or
preservatives " (read my lips) claim is that there is no crap in _the
finished product_. Miller uses fining agents and chemicals to treat their
beer - they get the right sugars, proteins, etc, and remove staling agents
with chemicals. They claim that all these chemicals are separated from the
beer before bottling, so the finished product contains "no additiives or
preservatives".
I think that A-B uses a significantly more natural brewing process, and
uses fewer chemicals to produce their product.
Mike Fertsch fertsch
@adc1.adc.ray.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 09:21 EDT
From: Mike Fertsch <FERTSCH@adc1.adc.ray.com>
Subject: Crud on enamelled pots - a hint from Heloise
JOHN T. LOHR comments on enamel pots:
> I use an enamel pot. They're big, they're cheap, but they're also thin.
> When using these stir, stir, stir or you'll get crud baked onto the bottom.
> 'nuff said.
True. I always get crud baked onto the bottom of my enamelled pots. I
guess I don't stir enough. I have an electric range which inherently gives
hot spots; the burned-on malt forms in an oval pattern, matching that of
the electric cooking element!
The crud is a real pain to remove - scouring pads work, but require a lot
of elbow grease. I've found that a little vinegar loosens the crud and
makes cleaning the a lot easier. After rinsing, I use baking soda to
remove any residual vinegar.
Mike Fertsch
fertsch@adc1.adc.ray.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 12:06:48 PDT
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!malodah@PacBell.COM>
Subject: Pronunciations
In HOMEBREW Digest #485, Mark Bradakis asked:
> What I am wondering is how other folks pronounce these two names:
I pronounce them:
klages - (German-style) KLAH-ges (the "g" is hard, the "e" really
a schwa, the "s" lightly touched and sibilant)
eroica - err-OH-i-ka
= Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff =
= malodah@pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 916.972.4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) =
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 90 14:29:14 PDT
From: aimla!diamond!ken@suntzu.West.Sun.COM (Ken Ellinwood)
Mark E. Freeman writes:
> I understand that the "beechwood aging" is actually done by
> inserting beechwood slats in the conditioning tanks and
> actually has something to do with fining or carbonation,
> i.e. not necessarily for the flavor.
I read somewhere (Miller, or maybe Jackson ??) that the term "beechwood
aging" refers to the technique of using aluminum slats to condition the
beer. In the old days, the slats were made of beechwood, hence the name.
- Ken Ellinwood -
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 90 19:03:08 PDT
From: "Gary F. Mason - Image Systems - MKO2-2/K03 - 603884[DTN264]-1503 01-Sep-1990 2144" <mason@habs11.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Well hey, this really works!
I am pleased in this, the last (well, perhaps penultimate) chapter of my tome
on entering the homebrew fray, to announce the birth of Mason's own version of
Schehrer's Carp. In the keg a week, I sampled it tonight, and declare it a
tentative success - I'll wait at least another week to be sure. It is a
little cloudy (very possibly yeast sediment, as I have not shortened the
pickup tube yet); has an bit of unusual background nose (not like any I have
seen described, which surprises me given the temp during the whole process);
and lacks a little body (though at .016 or so, perhaps I mean mouth feel, if
that is different). My goal was something better than the Watney's Red Barrel
I have been drinking from bottles. I may have succeeded. It is definitely
more potable than some Young's I have had in cans, hand imported for me from
the source. I will be getting some local homebrewers' comments in a couple of
weeks - I have had VERY little experience drinking homebrew, so I have no
calibration to deal with.
My thanks to all on the Digest for their hints, tips, suggestions, and other
comments during my loss of zymurgistic virginity. Particular thanks to Pete
Soper, who has also contributed substantially offline. And, of course, to all
readers of the Digest for putting up with the assault on the bandwidth. It has
been very exciting and rewarding, and I must say that now I have seen it work,
I am hooked for the duration...just like my baby Carp 8').
Cheers...Gary (who is R'ed, now understands DW, and is H'ingAHB!)
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #487, 09/03/90
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