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HOMEBREW Digest #0682
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/07/18 03:07:35
HOMEBREW Digest #682 Thu 18 July 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Cheap 10-Gallon Steel Brew Kettles (Art Medlar)
Wanted: Weisse beer recipe/hints (RJS153)
Peristaltic pumps ("Spencer W. Thomas")
microbrew/brewpub (Russ Gelinas)
Re: Walnut Brewery Alternate Opinion (Greg Kushmerek)
Stupid Question (TM) (Richard Stueven)
Re: Brewing software (Mike Tavis)
sparging (Brian Bliss)
Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991) (Michelle H. Teng)
Cheap Brew Kettles (C.R. Saikley)
re: 3 Gallon Kegs (fse)
Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991) ("One slip, and down the hole we fall")
Steam beer ("Randy Pals")
There he goes again... ("DRCV06::GRAHAM")
Water, water everywhere... (Tom Dimock)
Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991) ("The only way to get rid of tempatation is to yield to it-O.Wilde")
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: Wed, 17 Jul 91 00:09:41 -0700
From: Art Medlar <hman@violet.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Cheap 10-Gallon Steel Brew Kettles
So, after three months of reading this digest and getting my nerve up,
I've finally Made the First Batch. Five gallons of Bite Outta the Sun
Brown Ale, brewed near enough to the eclipse to warrant the name, are
now sitting around waiting to be drunk. And so am I.
While I was collecting the necessary equipment, I decided to get the
biggest brew pot I could find, under the assumption that the bigger
the pot, the more beer that can fit into it. If you don't live in the
general San Francisco area, the rest of this note won't be immediately
relevant, but it might give you a clue toward finding similar pots in
your own area. The clue is "Chinatown".
Here in SF, Chinatown is the epicenter of Big Pots. There are at
least half a dozen shops selling a vast variety of humongo cookware.
Price, quality, and material bear no linear relation to each other. I
spent a Saturday shopping around, and found the best deal at Ying's on
the south-east corner of Stockton and Pacific streets, on Stockton
(there's actually some sort of housing project *at* the intersection,
but it's first shop past it).
Ten gallons, stainless(?) steel, with a lid, for $42. Of course, this
isn't weapons grade material, but it's not real flimsy either. In
fact, just this morning I used it to stand on to get the parakeet down
off the chandelier, with no ill effects to bird or kettle. It
straddles two gas burners on the stove; five gallons of cold water
heat to boiling in a little under half an hour.
I've seen what appears to be the same pot (it's way up on a shelf,
can't tell for sure) for $48 at a fruit and vegetable market near my
house. Evergreen Market, east side of Mission street between 21st and
22nd, directly across the street from the New Mission Theatre. So
maybe "the Latin-American part of town" is another clue.
Now if someone could tell me where to get some cheap carboys....
Flaschbier!,
- --art
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jul 91 09:01:32 EST
From: RJS153%SYSU@ISS1.AF.MIL
Subject: Wanted: Weisse beer recipe/hints
Hi All!
Well, I guess I'm officially a homebrewer now. Me and a buddy started my
first batch of bree this weekend. We used the Mutton & Fison English Ale
extract kit. It came lightly hopped, but we added a little fresh hops for
more bitterness and a little more near the end of the wort boiling for aroma.
I'm using a 5 gal carboy with a blowoff tube for the initial fermentation.
Those little ale yeast suckers were working like mad the first 20-24 hours.
Things slowed down a bit now, so I'm going to put on the air lock. Next time
I'd like to go all malt, but this time I used about 1lb of corn sugar to the
3.3lbs of extract. Is there a safely consistent cup per pound ratio for
corn sugar? That was our only confusion. We had a food scale, but I wouldn't
swear to its accuracy.
Anyway, on to the real subject. My buddy has decided to join in also, and we
would like to try a wheat/weisse beer. Does anyone have a good recipe for such
a brew? We're still beginners so we can only handle extracts for our malt
ingredients, no actual grains yet. Thanks and I'll tell you how things turn
out!
- --Randy--
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 09:20:53 EDT
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas@med.umich.edu>
Subject: Peristaltic pumps
If you live near a university or medical school, you might check to see
if they have a "property redistribution" facility. This is where all the
old, tired equipment gets sent to make a few bucks for the school,
instead of just throwing it out. You can frequently pick up this sort of
thing for a few cent on the dollar.
=Spencer W. Thomas HSITN, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
spencer@med.umich.edu 313-747-2778
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1991 9:33:19 EDT
From: R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: microbrew/brewpub
I had the chance to go to the Portsmouth Brewery (NH) over my (much-too-short)
vacation. It's owned and run by the same person who does the Northampton
Brewery (MA), Peter something, according to the waitress, who also knew very
little about any of the beer. The beer was 2 lagers, light and brown, and
2 ales, wheat and brown. I had the browns. Both were good, but not "Wow
this is great!". But the place is very new (and yuppie-styled, to be expected
in downtown Portsmouth), so the beer is pretty commendable for such a new
place. And serving lagers is a nice change from the standard brewpup-ale
syndrome. Beer was affordable, but food was a little pricey (again, that's
Portsmouth). I'm looking forward to checking it out again in a couple of
months. Should be much-needed addition to the area.
On the other hand, I've heard mixed to bad reviews of Three-Dollar-Dewey's
own beer. They're new at it though, so it might improve.......
On the subject of brewpubs/microbreweries, does anyone have any ballpark
dollar figures on what it takes to start up a brewpub? A microbrewery?
Russ (no new kid yet....)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1991 09:33 EDT
From: Greg Kushmerek <GKUSHMER@RUBY.TUFTS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Walnut Brewery Alternate Opinion
Ms. Zenter posted:
>>With regard to the Walnut Brewery in Boulder......
>>They have a beautiful atmosphere and the grilled chicken sandwich I had
>>was delicious. I tried their sample set of six beers
>>(about 4 oz. each) and enjoyed all of them. They had just
>>premiered their Jazzberry Ale (a wheat-type beer with some raspberries
>>included in the recipe) and really wanted to try one, but they were out.
>>The hostess was quite charming, and stopped by my booth several times to
>>ask what I thought of the beers and to tease me about getting sloshed by
>>my lonesome. The staff was very efficient and courteous. Prices were
>>quite reasonable. I would highly recommend a visit.
>>Still, my palate does get around, and while
>>none of the beers at Walnut were "jump up and down" spectacular, I thought
>>they were all well done.
What I had posted essentially said that the Wyncoop brewery in Denver is a
better microbrewery to visit should one want to drink beer. Now if one would
like to have a pleasant atmosphere and a pint of something besides the regular
mass-produced beer, then the Walnut Brewery is fine. Then again, there are
several other places on the Pearl Street Mall with a pleasant atmosphere, good
food, and decent beer - Boulder Beer, Anchor Steam, Sam Adams, and the Very
Large International Selection at Old Chicagos.
I stand by my comments that the Wyncoop has better tasting beer. I do agree
that the Walnut Brewery is a nice place to visit, but so are a number of
other places on the Mall and in Boulder. When I visited the Walnut Brewery, I
was impressed with the crowd, the service, and the setting (never ate the
food) but found the beer a disappointment compared to what else is available
locally.
I'm not saying "avoid the place like the plague." I am saying "don't set
your beer hopes too high."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 06:58:40 PDT
From: Richard.Stueven@Corp.Sun.COM (Richard Stueven)
Subject: Stupid Question (TM)
In HBD #681, Martin Lodahl wrote:
>It only took about 10 days (and some premature hot weather) to
>produce decided ropiness, so I pitched the Brettanomyces.
Maybe I'm just slow on the uptake, but what's "rope"? I've seen the
term in a number of places, but I've never been able to figure out what
it means...
thx...I owe you a homebrew.
gak
I guess there's some things | Seems like the more I think I know
I'm not meant to understand | The more I find I don't
Ain't life a riot? Ain't love grand? | Every answer opens up so many questions
Richard Stueven gak@Corp.Sun.COM ...!attmail!gak
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 10:48:12 edt
From: mtavis@saturn.hyperdesk.com (Mike Tavis)
Subject: Re: Brewing software
Darryl Okahata (not the one who makes printers) writes:
> Going on to another topic ...
>
> In the 1990 special issue of Zymurgy, Jackie Rager presented some
> equations for calculating IBUs, given weight, alpha %, time, volume,
> etc.. If anyone's interested, I've programmed the HP 48SX calculator
> with these equations, and you can now calculate any one of the following
> five parameters, given any four of them...
This is a great idea. Has anyone done this in a more portable fashion
like for a spreasdsheet (e.g. 123 , Excel) or even in C? I was
planning on getting around to writing it someday, but hopefully
someone has beaten me to it. Thanks.
- -- Mike
o o| Michael Tavis, HyperDesk Corporation
o o| Suite 300, 2000 West Park Dr., Westboro, MA 01581
---+ E-mail: mike_t@hyperdesk.com (508) 366-5050
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 10:49:44 CDT
From: bliss@csrd.uiuc.edu (Brian Bliss)
Subject: sparging
Well, on monday I tried to make my second all-grain batch,
and indeed, sparging is my low point. I recirculated for
a half hour, and it never ran clear. I finally gave up
and when I started pouring hot water over the top of the
grains, it started to run clear, so I recirculated some
of the muddy stuff again, and the runoff got muddy again.
I consequently didn't use enough water after this,
and probably left too much goodies in the grain. got
an efficiency of .016 or .017 pts/lb of grain for
10 lb pale ale malt, 3 lb munich, 2 lb wheat. The
gains were ground as coarse as I could get them.
What I finally did was just let the runooff sit for
3 hours in a fermenter, and all the husks settled to
the bottom 3/4". This worked great! I then racked
off the clear wort. I have (had) never seen wort of
such clarity. Not only that, but I found the "purer"
wort to be much less volitaile during the boil, and
got an excellent cold break.
Next time I'll try 6-row lager malt (I think the 2-row
malt, with the finer husks is the culprit), and stick a
grain bag in the sparge bucket. If I still have to resort
to letting the runoff settle, It will become part of
my standard technique.
bb
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 09:19:20 PDT
From: michelle@cobalt.cco.caltech.edu (Michelle H. Teng)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991)
PLEASE STOP SENDING ME ANY MORE OF YOUR E-MAIL.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 09:59:12 PDT
From: grumpy!cr@uunet.UU.NET (C.R. Saikley)
Subject: Cheap Brew Kettles
I have a friend who just got a good deal on a brew kettle, so I
thought I'd pass this along. He got a 10 gallon stainless steel
kettle for $39. It's big enough to fit over two burners on the
kitchen stove. He bought it at Ying's, which is at the corner of
Pacific and Stockton in San Francisco's China Town.
Not exactly a homebrew supply shop, and I doubt that they mail
order, but if you live in a city with a China Town you might want
to check there for good deals on kettles.
CR
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 10:23:21 MST
From: teroach!fse@phx.mcd.mot.com
Subject: re: 3 Gallon Kegs
Bob was saying:
>I just checked into the 3 gallon kegs advertised in the Summer 1991
>flyer from Foxx.
>
>They are Used, Ball lock tanks.
>
>Both Denver and Kansas City are out of stock, but Kansas expects an
>order in about a week, and Kansas City supplies Denver.
>
>Price is $28.66 each. No discounts for large orders.
>One might get a savings on the shipping cost of large orders. (?)
>
>Kansas City: 800-821-2254. Denver: 800-425-2484.
>
>Cheers,
I just thought I'd mention to those that may not have thought of this:
Check your local scap yards and salvage companies!
I stopped into "Davis Salvage" here in Phoenix and they have A LOT of 5
gallon Cornelius and Firestone tanks (ball lock). I poked around and found
a few _10_ gallon tanks too! The 10 gallon tanks go for around $198 in Fox
and I picked up one (used of course, but in great shape) for.... $20!
The 5 gallon tanks go for $8! (I grabbed a couple of them too). It's a
filthy task, scrounging around in the mountains of scrap, but it was worth
it!
Stan
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1991 14:43 EDT
From: "One slip, and down the hole we fall" <ACSWILEY%EKU.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991)
Hi Brewfreaks!
Well after cooking up my first 2 batches. Both of which were great. I
think I may have screwed up the batch I cooked up last night. It was my
first try using liquid yeast. Anywho. I read the label on the yeast package
about breaking the seal and neadinn the package. I went ahead and combined
the ingreadients cooked em. but about two thirds of the way through I noticed
on the yeast package that it said it would need a day or two to incubate. Woops!
I went ahead chilled the wort and tossed it into the carboy. (I know now
i should have sat the pot in the fridge and re boiled) but I went ahead and
pitched the yeast anyway put the stopper on the carboy and let it sit. Ok
my question is what are the chances that this batch will turn out allright?
Should I go ahead and toss it out or should I wait and see what happens.
BTW its a pale ale. I payed close attention at maintaining a clean environment.
Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Bill
acswiley@eku.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 08:26:34 CDT
From: "Randy Pals" <hplabs!kpc!uunet!inland.com!pals>
Subject: Steam beer
There has been a lot of discussion and praise of Anchor Steam in the group
lately, I thought I'd add that there is a similar beer being brewed in
Chicago call Legacy Lager. It is an amber lager, quite hoppy. It is only
distributed locally, but if you're in the area, give it a try. I drink
very little commercial beer anymore, but a friend of mine who was pining
away for Anchor Steam tried Legacy at my suggestion and was delighted.
Randy Pals
pals@inland.com
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jul 91 15:51:00 EDT
From: "DRCV06::GRAHAM" <graham%drcv06.decnet@drcvax.af.mil>
Subject: There he goes again...
At this point, I expect a "no" answer, but did anyone ever get a complete
copy of #667. There were a couple of articles in the contents that sounded
interesting that never made it because of truncation. One of them was
another review of the AHA fest in Manchewster. I've been on vacation for a
few days, but never got even a bite from my previous request. Oh well,
guess it's in a black hole in Ursa Minor.
Well, to make up for it, I found Anchor Steam in a store down in Mass. I
wanted a case, but the $10 per sixer caught me up short. Anyone know where
I can get it for less in Mass or new Hampshire?
Dan
"Beer made with the Derry Air."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 91 16:11:58 EDT
From: Tom Dimock <RGG@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Water, water everywhere...
I have some water questions for y'all. I live in the country, and have
two wells. Well A has hard water, with enough iron to turn my particle
filter red in two months. Well B is also hard, and has enough sulphur
to turn its particle filter black in two months. My brewing choices are
well a, well B straight, or well B softened by a water softener. What
should I do? I have heard that iron is toxic to yeast - is that true,
and if so is there a reasonable way to remove it?
Also, does anyone have addresses for test kits or reasonably priced
labs to get better details on my waters?
==> Tom Dimock <== RGG@Cornellc.cit.cornell.edu
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1991 21:29 EST
From: "The only way to get rid of tempatation is to yield to it-O.Wilde"
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #681 (July 17, 1991)
PLease remove my name from the homebrew mailing list. Thanks, Chrisw@earlham
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #682, 07/18/91
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