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HOMEBREW Digest #0616
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/04/16 03:04:30
HOMEBREW Digest #616 Tue 16 April 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Evanston, Boulder (Dick Dunn)
Wort Chiller Caveat... (Mike Zentner)
Hops and stuff ("N. Zentena")
steam beer (Russ Gelinas)
Barley wine from mash (Bill Crick)
Re: St. Florian (florianb)
Re: Lab Chems in Home Brew (Jon Binkley)
Can I forfeit the deposit and use the Busch keg? (boubez)
EBC, EBU (Ken Johnson)
Florida Brewpubs (C.R. Saikley)
Looking for mail order places... (mbharrington)
EWU and the area ("John E. Lenz")
Claening copper (Bill Crick)
lab grade chemicals (lg562)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmi@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmi@hplabs.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues]
Archives are available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
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Date: 15 Apr 91 01:33:25 MDT (Mon)
From: ico.isc.com!rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: Evanston, Boulder
Don't you folks in Evanston feel too bad...it *is* possible to recover from
being a dry town. The notes said that Evanston had been dry 'til '71,
right? Boulder was dry until '65, I believe (that's +/- a year), and now
look--it's the Center of the Universe for homebrewing (well, c'mon, what
would you call the home of Beer'n'Steer and the AHA?:-), and has two
breweries, which is reasonable for a town of 10^5. People still take the
occasional cheap shot, but you can always overlook that when there's good
fresh local ale!
- ---
Dick Dunn rcd@raven.eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 09:59:54 -0500
From: zentner@ecn.purdue.edu (Mike Zentner)
Subject: Wort Chiller Caveat...
If you consider building a wort chiller, be careful about the oils inside
your copper tubing. I noticed little silvery flecks coming out of mine
after running boiling water through it. These were actually little bits
of grease. I took a cotton swab, soaked in rubbing alcohol, and rubbed the
inside of the tubing....yuck! Black gunk! So I uncoiled the thing, snaked
stiff wire through, and pulled a string with cotton balls tied onto the ends
soaked in soap, rinsed it, and then pulled rubbing alcohol soaked cotton
through. Cold water may not loosen this grease, but hot water did so enough
to let me know it was there, but not enough so as to clean it out. Does anyone
else notice this problem, and/or found an easier way to fix it?
Mike Zentner zentner@ecn.purdue.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1991 09:56:25 -0400
From: "N. Zentena" <zen@utcs.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Hops and stuff
Hi,
I'm looking at ordering some hop rhizomes and would like some
information. The types that are available to me are:
Cascade
Hallertauer
Williamette
Tettnanger
Nugget
I was thinking of ordering Hallertauer,Tettnanger and Nugget. The
thing is I've never seen or used Nugget. So could someone give me an idea
what it is like?[I'm basically looking at has a high alpha bittering hop].
Since I'm supposed to have my order in my the middle of next week I would
appreciate email responses.
The second question I have concerns priming. I don't use corn sugar
so I would like to prime with normal white table sugar. Does anybody know how
they relate in terms of amounts to add?[I've used the fact that cane sugar
is supposedly 45degrees extract/lb versus 35/lb for corn sugar but this gave
me flat beer :-(] Since priming is normally my only sugar addition I'm not
worried about it affecting the taste.
Thanks
Nick
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1991 10:56:00 EDT
From: R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: steam beer
For the next few months, my brew-room will naturally stay at 60 degF,
a little cold for an ale, and too warm for a lager. So how about a
steam beer? Anyone got a recipe for an Anchor Steam-like beer?
Russ r_gelinas%unhh.unh.edu@mitvma.mit.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1991 09:03:31 -0400
From: hplabs!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!crick (Bill Crick)
Subject: Barley wine from mash
I tried to post this last week, but it bounced?
In my post of the other day about all grain barley wine, I suggested
using the first run runoff to get a high gravity 1/2 batch. In that article,
I presented it as if I meant to use no sparge water. This of course would
probably compact the filter bed, and wreck it. This is not what I
meant to say. What I meant was recycle the wort until the runoff is clear,
to set the bed, and then add sparge water slowly to the top, as you runoff the
high gravity wort. By knowing how much wort is in the bed to start, measuring
runoff gravity, or watching for a color change, you can predict/detect when
you hav ranoff all the initial wort, and are starting to get the sparge water
coming through. This is when you will get a fairly sudden drop in the
gravity of the runoff, and should consider your barley wine wort complete, and
save the rest of the runoff for the lower gravity, or extract beer.
Hope this makes more sense??
Bill Crick Brewius, Ergo Summer!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 12:46:10 PDT
From: florianb@chip.cna.tek.com
Subject: Re: St. Florian
Kris Weiss (love that name!) asks:
>Now wait a second here. Is this the same Florian that contributes to this
>journal? Is Florian the Dreamer also Florian the Holy?? I dunno -- the guy
>always struck me as some kind of troublemaker...
I was named after my uncle Florian, who was in turn named after St. Florian.
St. Florian is the Bavarian Patron Saint of the Fire Brigade. A couple of
years ago i was in an outdoor shop in Munich (one of the biggest sport
shops in the world). It was converted from an old grand house, you know,
the kind with the square cedar beams that are about 500 years old. In
this house were examples of the old lamp stands that were built into the
wall. This is a concave notch cut out of the wall where they put a
candle in the old days. The concave acted like a parabolic mirror, to
reflect the light out into the room. In these concave areas, they used
to paint a picture and write something witty, for orneriness. One of
the areas had a painting of St. Florian hovering in the clouds above
a burning building (probably a brewery), and had an inscription written
in Bayerish which translated something like,
"Dear St. Florian, protect this house...burn another..."
Florian is an extremely Bayerish name. In the middle of Garmish-
Partenkirchen is a town square called "Floriansplatz". This is, many
Germans argue, the most beautiful place in all of Germany. I was there
in 1986 on a perfectly clear blue day. With the Zugspitze in the
background, I had a beer in "Florianstuberl", in direct earshot of
the Floriansplatz fountain. The beer was so perfect, it was like
no beer I have ever tasted since. Pity that we home brewers can't
duplicate it exactly. The stuff that memories are made of.
Florian, the not-so-holy.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 14:18:02 -0600
From: Jon Binkley <binkley@beagle.Colorado.EDU>
Subject: Re: Lab Chems in Home Brew
In HBD #615 Dan Graham writes:
>In perusing my new Carolina Biological catalog, I have found some chemicals
>that would be useful in tayloring the mineral profile of my water. My
>question ot any lab types out there: Can I assume that a reagent grade
>chemical will be safe to use in my beer, (providing that the chemical is
>not poisonous in the first place).
>How about the same question for what they call "lab grade"?
The *ONLY* grades suitable are USP (suitable for use as pharmaceuticals)
and FCC (suitable for use as foods). I glanced at an old Carolina
catalog after I read Dan's message: anything that's USP or FCC is
clearly labled as such. For example, they have many grades of Calcium
Chloride. The one Dan should buy is labled Reagent *AND* USP. If
it just says Reagent, or just says Lab grade, STAY AWAY FROM IT.
This is really something you don't want to mess around with-
non USP/FCC grade stuff is frequently purified with some truely
nasty stuff. Some off the shelf Calcium Chloride in our lab
had heavy metals measureing in the parts per million range- the
FDA limit is somewhere in the low parts per BILLION.
Let's be CAREFUL out there!
Jon Binkley
binkley@boulder.colorado.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 17:32:40 EDT
From: boubez@bass.rutgers.edu
Subject: Can I forfeit the deposit and use the Busch keg?
As the Subject line indicates, one of my roommates had a party and got one
of those nifty large Busch kegs with the hand-pump. He had to leave a $40
deposit for it. This got me wondering.... I know this has been discussed in
the past, but I don't remember when, so I'm asking again. I'd appreciate
either direct answers, or references to previous issues in the HBD
archives. So, getting to the question, Can I use this keg for kegging my
beer? If so, are there any modifications, special instructions, etc...
I figure that $40 is not too bad to pay for a kegging system. Any comments/
Thanks in advance.
toufic
R 2 4
|_|_| Toufic Boubez
| | | boubez@caip.rutgers.edu
1 3 5 CAIP Center, Rutgers University
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 14:37:05 PDT
From: kjohnson@argon.berkeley.edu (Ken Johnson)
Subject: EBC, EBU
I've been reading my newly purchased copy of New World Guide to Beer and was
wondering if anybody knows a conversion from Jackson's bittering units to
aau per 5 gal batch. Also, does anyone have the color scale handy?
kj
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 18:19:06 PDT
From: grumpy!cr@uunet.UU.NET (C.R. Saikley)
Subject: Florida Brewpubs
There was a recent request for info on brewpubs in Florida. So once
again I dug into the archives, expecting the brewpub scene in Florida
to be similar to its neighboring states'. WOW - Was I surprised!!!
Florida is blessed with 12 brewpubs (ahhh, the joyous decadence of
Spring Break). It ranks third behind California and Oregon in total
number of brewpubs, and is tied for fourth in number of microbreweries
and brewpubs combined.
Here's what I found:
Clearwater - Hops Grill and Bar #1
Ft. Meyers - Kidder's Ale House
Ft. Lauderdale - River Walk Brewery
Gainesville - Mill Bakery, Brewery and Eatery #1
- Market Street Pub
Miami - Florida Brewing Co.
Pensacola - McGuire's Irish Pub and Brewery
Sarasota - Sarasota Brewing Co.
Tallahassee - Mill Bakery, Brewery and Eatery #2
Tampa - Hops Grill and Bar #2
- Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
Winter Park - Mill Bakery, Brewery and Eatery #3
Interested parties can email me for addresses. If anyone knows of
new openings or closures :--<, please let me know.
Cheers,
CR uunet!grumpy!cr
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 19:44:10 PDT
From: mbharrington@UCSD.EDU
Subject: Looking for mail order places...
My local homebrew store isn't that local, and the selection and prices
are pretty poor. People have mentioned ordering through the mail.
I'd be interested in finding out the numbers/addresses of some places.
Much thanks!
- --Matt
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 22:43:54 EDT
From: "John E. Lenz" <JELJ@CORNELLA.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: EWU and the area
Rob Bradley (bradley@math.nwu.edu) slipped in a shot at Eastern Washington
U. in #615.
Well Rob, having moved from WSU (in Pullman, WA) just a year and a half ago
I can tell you that there are be worse places to be employed than Cheney.
Pullman for one, though it does have a good pub called Rico's. Cheney
is close to Spokane, where Jim's Homebrew Supply is located. In my limited
experience with homebrew shops this is quite a good establishment. Tom (the
current owner) stocks quite a wide variety of extracts, grains, hops, yeasts,
and wine stuff, as well as all the usual brewing equipment. His prices are
quite competitive and he is a good guy, always willing to talk homebrew and
give advice when asked for it. In addition he has a liquor license and stocks
an incredible selection of micro and import brews. I noticed recently that he
is advertising as a mail order supplier now and would encourage those of you
who are looking for such to contact him for a catalog. By the way, he is the
sponsor of the Rauchbier catagory for the AHA national competition. If anyone
needs the address he has an ad in the 1990 special Hops issue of Zymurgy, or
you can e-mail directly to me and I will supply the information.
Ein Prosit,
Dr. John
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1991 18:03:57 -0400
From: hplabs!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!crick (Bill Crick)
Subject: Claening copper
This talk of pots to span two elements made me think of a copper
"boiler" I have in the basement that would span two burners, and should
hold 10- 15 gallons. The only problem is that it is fairly oxidized from
about 20 years of sitting in basements. Any idaes on an easy way to clean
it? I seem to remember you could remove the axide off of copper with an
acid, but forget which one? Nitric? Muriatic? any ideas?
Thanks Bill Crick Brewius, Oxide, Sum!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 91 22:24:15 PDT
From: lg562@koshland.pnl.gov
Subject: lab grade chemicals
Date: 12 Apr 91 13:49:00 EDT
>From: "DRCV06::GRAHAM" <graham%drcv06.decnet@drcvax.af.mil>
In perusing my new Carolina Biological catalog, I have found some chemicals
that would be useful in tayloring the mineral profile of my water. My
question ot any lab types out there: Can I assume that a reagent grade
chemical will be safe to use in my beer, (providing that the chemical is
not poisonous in the first place).
STOP! I would suggest not using lab grade or reagent grade chemicals.
Although they may be pure, you don't know what the trace elements are.
If you can, select pharmaceutical grade or USP-grade. Lab/reagent/ACS
grades are good for lab work where one is not consuming them. A prime
example is 100% ethanol. This stuff is pure, but to get it to 100%,
they use benzene (or something like that), so there is a trace of
benzene left in the ethanol. (It turns out that 95% ethanol is safer,
since simple distillation will get you to 95% from ethanol-water
mixtures.)
Michael Bass
Molecular Science Research Center, K2-18
Battelle - Pacific Northwest Laboratory
Richland, Washington 99352
lg562@pnl.gov
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #616, 04/16/91
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