Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #0740
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/10/08 03:41:36
HOMEBREW Digest #740 Tue 08 October 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Anchor's Spruce beer (Dick Dunn)
re: VIDEO (Dick Dunn)
Re: Lambics (Mike Sharp)
Is this from HP Ft Collins? (TSAMSEL)
Favorite Recipes (John DeCarlo)
re: caps from Hell ("Dennis R. Sherman")
Holiday Ale (wbt)
Homebrew Digest #739 (October 07, 1991) (Greg Kushmerek)
Rotokegs and SA Octoberfest (Tom Maszerowski)
Homebrew Digest #739 (October 07, 1991) (Greg Kushmerek)
Sam Adams Malt Co. (07-Oct-1991 0930)
Pear Beer? ("Justin A. Aborn")
stuff (Russ Gelinas)
Sam Adams Boston Ale and Stock Ale. ("DRCV06::GRAHAM")
Father Barleywine's yeast reuse trick -- first attempt (Chris Shenton)
My best recipe (Don McDaniel)
Sam Adams, commercials on the digest (krweiss)
Liverwort (larryba)
Re: Sam Adams Stock Ale ("MR. DAVID HABERMAN")
Adding Amalayse to Secondary (Jim Somerville)
Homebrew Digest #738 (October 04, 1991) (Peter Karp)
Shocking Yeast Story.. (larryba)
Re: Homebrew Digest #739 (Octo (Jueal, Stacey)
Microwaving bottles, etc. (Dances with Workstations)
Anchor... (GARY MASON - I/V/V PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 06-Oct-1991 1158)
UK Brews and Pubs (Doug Latornell)
Cork Caps / Bulk DME Prices? / Kegging Presssure (KENYON)
Samuel Adams availability and Octoberfest (David L. Kensiski)
more on uwave bottle sanitizing (Chip Hitchcock)
NUKING (Jack Schmidling)
Shameless ad's - this is too much (Greg Roody - dtn 237-7122)
A Few Brew Questions (Ivan Adam Schneider)
Samuel Adams (Scott P. Greeley )
Sam Adams Octoberfest (John Stepp)
Re: Airlock cap (John Stepp)
Re: Bagging Hops (John Stepp)
On #738 & 739 (Jeff Frane)
Papazian Book-Signing in Boston (gonzalez)
Neophyte's Impressions Of Boston-Area Suppliers (gonzalez)
Last Chance for Cat's Meow (MIKE LIGAS)
Send submissions to homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues!]
Archives are available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 7 Oct 91 02:21:40 MDT (Mon)
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: Anchor's Spruce beer
Contrary to an opinion in a recent HBD (which I can't find because I got
overzealous in tossing duplicates and tossed originals), I think the
balance in the Anchor Spruce beer (brewed for GABF X) was just right. The
basic beer was relatively light, so as not to distract one's tastebuds,
but the amount of spruce essence was just about right. It was definitely
there, at the level of "yeah, OK"--without being either "there's a little
something funny here but I can't tell what" or "jeez, that's strong."
It's not something I'm ready to sign up for drinking as an everyday beer
(unlike Steam), but if this were the way beer were made, I wouldn't be put
off it.
Maybe, if you find the spruce essence too strong, it's because you don't
spend enough time among evergreens? (You might suggest that I spend too
much time there; I'll remonstrate that I don't think that's possible.:-)
---
Dick Dunn rcd@raven.eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd
------------------------------
Date: 7 Oct 91 02:28:31 MDT (Mon)
From: rcd@raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn)
Subject: re: VIDEO
> Jack Schmidling Productions is pleased to announce the release of our latest
> production......
>
> "BREW IT AT HOME"
I think this whole thing is getting way too commercial for HBD. Perhaps
I'd feel better if arf were teaching standard homebrew practice, but the
couple go-rounds we've had here suggest that he's putting iconoclasm ahead
of basic teaching, and in the process he's getting us to help with the
editing. Even if that were not the case, I'm not sure I'd like HBD as an
advertising medium.
(Or can I start advertising here too?:-)
---
Dick Dunn rcd@raven.eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd
...Happy sixth MadHatterDay, y'all.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 7:00:02 EDT
From: Mike Sharp <msharp@cs.ulowell.edu>
Subject: Re: Lambics
Andy Kurtz <ak35+@andrew.cmu.edu< asks:
> I was leafing through some back issues of Zymurgy and came across Pap's
> recipe for a sour-mash lambic (spring '91, i think). I'd like to know
> if anyone's tried this. Seems like a good way of adding some tang to
> our wheat beers.
I tried some sour mash beers at the last AHA conference. IMHO, the sourness
was _completely_ different than the lambic sourness. I've chosen to avoid
this route in creating pseudo-lambics. Your mileage may vary.
> Also, is there a retail source for belgian yeast?
As far as I can tell there are no retail sources for the yeast/bacteria yet.
I know that Wyeast is planning to market a trappist yeast this fall, but
this is _not_ suitable (at least not alone) for lambics. One of the
reasons you can't get these cultures commercially is that they scare the
s___ out of most commercial establishments -- most of the yeasts and
bacterias used in making lambics are considered fairly nasty contaminants.
I should note here that I have _never_ had any rampant infections in
the time I've been using these critters.
Sources for cultures as well as all sorts of helpfull hints are discussed in
the lambic mailing list. You can join this mailing list by sending a note to:
lambic-request@cs.ulowell.edu
--Mike Sharp
(your friendly lambic mailing list founder)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 7:58:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: TSAMSEL@ISDRES.ER.USGS.GOV
Subject: Is this from HP Ft Collins?
This can be answered off the list but are you out of Ft Collins CO?
I seen to ge ttrhat impression (oops) . One of our brewclub members is
a non Internet computer jock and does business out there. His name is
Gary Tolley and might like to call y'all up..
Ted
------------------------------
Date: Monday, 7 Oct 1991 08:14:17 EDT
From: m14051@mwvm.mitre.org (John DeCarlo)
Subject: Favorite Recipes
Favorite Recipes
- ----------------
John's Raspberry Ale
- --------------------
Ingredients:
6 lbs. Williams' English Light malt extract
1/2 lb. crystal malt (unknown Lovibond)
2 oz. Hallertau hops (4.0 AA%) (45 minutes)
1/2 oz. Hallertau hops (4.0 AA%) (5 minutes)
4 lbs. raspberries
Wyeast liquid yeast (can't remember which ale yeast
was used, and the ink ran there when it got wet.
I think it was the London ale, but not sure.)
Directions:
Prepared 1 quart starter two nights before. Didn't get a
heavy krauesen, just started to get a light foam covering
at pitching time.
Purchased raspberries at farmers' market the day before,
then tossed in the freezer overnight (to break down cell
walls or something).
Pre-boiled some water. Cooled some and froze some.
Prepared wort as usual, steeping crystal malt in 150-160F
water while the brew pot water was heating up and sparged
into the brewpot. Boiled about an hour.
At the end of the boil, I just tossed all the raspberries
into the brewpot and let sit for fifteen minutes. Wort
was pretty cool by then.
The first scary part--I couldn't filter out the hops and
trub without leaving behind raspberries. So I tossed
*everything* into the fermenter. With the raspberries
in there, I figured I couldn't get any S.G. readings, so
didn't try.
In spite of everything, this came out very very well,
with rave reviews from everyone.
Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
(or John.DeCarlo@f131.n109.z1.fidonet.org)
Fidonet: 1:109/131
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 08:32 EDT
From: "Dennis R. Sherman" <DRS%UNCVX1.BITNET@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu>
Subject: re: caps from Hell
Why boil caps instead of using chlorine solution to sanitize
Maybe I've just been lucky, but it's worked for me...
===================================================================
Dennis R. Sherman
Triangle Research Libraries Network
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
drs@uncvx1.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 8:35:50 EDT
From: cbema!wbt@att.att.com
Subject: Holiday Ale
Jim Grady wrote:
> The weather is starting to get cool around here so I thought I would
> brew the Christmas Ale that Kinney Baughman posted here last August
> (HBD #693). There has been some discussion about whether the second
> call for 3# of amber dry malt was a typo. I made yesterday it without the
> malt and the O.G. was 1.049, not 1.069 as the recipe stated.
We made a batch of this ourselves Sunday, and measured the gravity at about
1.050. I agree, the extra three pounds of dry extract is required to reach
the stated gravity.
This was an awfully fun batch to brew, BTW. The aroma was just wonderful,
and with the first cold autumn winds beginning to blow it really started to
put me in a holiday spirit. In fact, at one point I thought I heard the
prancing of 32 tiny hooves on the roof (but then, I was already pretty
"relaxed," shall we say, at that point.) 8-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bill Thacker AT&T Network Systems - Columbus wbt@cbnews.att.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 09:10:04 -0400
From: gkushmer@jade2.tufts.edu (Greg Kushmerek)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #739 (October 07, 1991)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 08:49:10 EDT
From: tcm@moscom.com (Tom Maszerowski)
Subject: Rotokegs and SA Octoberfest
About the Rotokeg... I had one and never had a successful batch with it.
The first problem I had with it was with the pressure regulator. As the
pressure would increase it would open as expected to vent the excess. But
when the pressure decreased, it wouldn't fully close and all the pressure
would be lost. I replaced it with a pressure gauge and manual vent system a
friend set up for me. This worked until the seam by the filler opening
split and I gave up. The one I had was the big ball and was made of two
pieces, "welded" together. I gave up at this point. I now have the English
brown barrel type of keg that I've never had problems with. I just received
some info on the Batch Latch system that allows you to convert a beer ball
to use as a keg. It looks interesting. Has anyone tried it?
About Sam Adams Octoberfest... I bought it this weekend and I was
disappointed. Compared to some other fest beers I thought it was thin and
lacked sufficient malt character. It seemed to me to be an attempt to appeal
to the BudMiller drinker and not an emulation of a particular style. As a
side note, Sam Adams Wheat Beer appeared in my local outlet in late
Spetember and doesn't seem to be selling quickly. I've yet to try it as my
thoughts have moved on ales ( it get cold early here in Western NY ).
Tom
- -----
Tom Maszerowski tcm@moscom.com
{rit,tropix,ur-valhalla}!moscom!tcm
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 09:13:54 -0400
From: gkushmer@jade2.tufts.edu (Greg Kushmerek)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #739 (October 07, 1991)
Ooops - I think I just sent two blank messages - sorry.
Anyways, John Reed asked if anyone has tried this year's S.A. Oktoberfest
beer. I have, and I thought it was OK.
I can't be very scientific about this, but all I can say is that it tasted
like a Sam Adams product (hop characteristics?) as opposed to the Oktober-
fest brew I was drinking in the Paulaner Tent two weeks ago.
Still worth a chug tho. (In otherwords, it didn't taste like any German
beer I've had recently).
Brost!
-------------------
| 5,397 miles |
| - to - |
| WALL DRUG |
| |
|WALL, SOUTH DAKOTA |
| U.S.A. |
-------------------
**Sign In Amsterdam**
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 06:31:50 PDT
From: 07-Oct-1991 0930 <hannan@gnpike.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Sam Adams Malt Co.
Andrew J. Worth writes:
>BTW, does anybody know why Samuel Adams chose that name? I hear that
> Sam Adams was more of a rabble rousing radical than a patriot, and he
> effectively racked his father's brewing business into the ground.
I forget who told me this, but I heard that Sam Adams wasn't a brewer
at all. Rather, he was the area's largest malter, and sold malted barley.
fwiw,
Ken
P.S. Gary Mason:
I was in the UK in June, and I agree, Badger Best Bitter is good stuff.
And I was also very surprised to see "France" on my pint glasses everywhere!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 9:50:22 EDT
From: "Justin A. Aborn" <jaborn@BBN.COM>
Subject: Pear Beer?
I have a pear tree in my back yard that produces prodigious
amounts of fruit that I usually wind up throwing away. As a
brewer, other possibilities come to mind...
Does pear beer sound good or gross?
I imagine I would wash the pears is a sodium metabisulfate
solution, peel them, chop them up some, and toss them into the
primary fermenter as soon as the yeast looks like it has taken
control of the wort.
I plan to rely on the yeast to maintain sterility rather than
pasteurizing the fruit by any boiling. I would not want boil off
any of the volatile aromatics of the fruit. These are what I
like best about pears.
Has anyone had such a beverage?
Should I do it with a lager or an ale?
Justin
Brewer and Patriot
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 9:41:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: stuff
First, I have heard that Sam Adams was actually a *maltster*, not a brewer,
for what that's worth.
Those of you who sparge all at once in a big cooler, do you use a rectangular
cooler or a cylindrical one? How did you cut the slots in the copper tubing?
Re. yeast slurry: Last night I pitched saved slurry dated 9/17/91. It was
the 3rd batch for that yeast, originally Wyeast Chico ale. I saved myself
from worrying by making up a starter with it, and by tasting the beer layer
that was on top. The beer was fine, the starter was fast, and so when the
6 gallons of brew didn't start fermenting after 6 hours, I didn't worry. It
was fermenting madly this morning.
A good way to enhance wort chilling is to have 2 chillers, connected by
plastic tubing. The first is connected to the faucet, and sits in a bucket of
ice, the other (bigger) one sits in the wort. Especially helpful if your
tap water is warm.
Here's what I brewed:
Stout Stout
--------------
10 lb. pale malt (2-row)
1 lb. roasted barley
1 lb. flaked barley
0.5 lb. crystal malt
1+ oz. centennial whole hops (at 10.1 AAU) (science or art?) boil 60 min.
no finishing hops
Wyeast Chico ale slurry
Mash water: 3 gallons @ 170 degF
Mash in: 153 deg F for 90 minutes
Mash out: forgot to do it
Sparge: 5 gallons @ 170 deg F
Don't know what the OG was, but it should be in the 1.050 range, or higher
if you get better extraction rates. This one should be prime by Halloween.
Russ
------------------------------
Date: 7 Oct 91 10:22:00 EDT
From: "DRCV06::GRAHAM" <graham%drcv06.decnet@drcvax.af.mil>
Subject: Sam Adams Boston Ale and Stock Ale.
I have seen and had both Sam Adams Boston Ale, and their Stock Ale. I
suspect they are identical because I couldn't tell any difference with both
bottles at my elbo. I've wondered about this labeling anomaly. Last time
I bought the Boston Ale, the bottles said Stock Ale on them, even though
the carton said Boston Ale. I'm not complaining ... it's delicious ... I
just wonder about the name.
Dan Graham
P.S. Does anyone know if SA is going to do a holiday brew?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 10:49:16 EDT
From: Chris Shenton <chris@asylum.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Father Barleywine's yeast reuse trick -- first attempt
A couple weeks ago I made up a double batch of basic weizenbier -- 13.2#
American Classic wheat-beer extract (60% wheat, 40% barley), some
hallertauer, some tettnanger, and finish with haller again. I pitched a
750ml starter of Wyeast wheat-beer yeast into the two carboys and
fermentation was going in under 24 hours.
After a week I racked to secondaries, and a week after that began brewing
another double batch, the same recipe as above but with 50% more extract
and alphas. While it was chilling, I siphoned the beer out of the carboys
and into kegs, priming with a gallon saved wort split between the two kegs.
I then dumped the new wort on top of the yeast in the secondaries, and the
stuff took off in well under 8 hours, almost explosively! I came home to
find the foam had gotten into the airlock, displaced the water, and was not
happily bubbling out through the top, coating the carboy in gooey muck and
dribbling all over the counter. I was delighted!
Now it's calmed down and the krausen looks great -- dense bubbles and so
on. This technique is a winner. One question, Father: this is great for doing
multiple batches of the same or similar beer (same yeast); what do you do
if you want a different style, just start over with a new yeast?
A question for HBD-land: Wyeast wheat-beer is (unfortunately) a mix of
S. Delbrukii a basic beer yeast. Do you think repitching like this would
select for eventual domination by one or the other strain?
One other thing: I think F.B. pitches on top of the yeast bed in the
*primary*. I understand his rational about not having to clean stuff and
worry about new sources for contamination. Mine was too full of muck for me
to want to do that, hence the secondary.
Bis spaeter!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 09:14:53 -0600
From: dinsdale@chtm.eece.unm.edu (Don McDaniel)
Subject: My best recipe
My response to the request for tried and tested recipes:
Here's my best ever brew:
Don's Most Wickid Ale (A.K.A. number nine, number nine, number nine...)
6 lb. Pale ale malt
3/4 lb. crystal malt
1/4 lb. black patent malt
1 lb. corn sugar
1 cup blackstrap molases
(strong stuff. don't mess with any wimpy Brer Rabbit stuff.)
Wyeast 1028 London Ale yeast
10 AAU Northern Brewer, 60 min. boil
6 AAU Cascade, steep
1/2 cu. corn sugar to prime
yield: 52 12-oz bottles (5 gal. batch)
OG 1.052
FG 1.010
Mashed grains in 10 qt. water at 150 F for 90 min
mash pH 5.5
mash-out 5 min. @ 168 F
sparge with 5 gal. water @168 F
Disolved sugar and molases into runnings
Boiled 90 min.
Cooled. Let sit over night. Racked off trub and pitched yeast.
Temp at pitching: 62F
After five days in primary, racked to secondary. Left for ten days.
Racked into bottling bucket with disolved priming sugar and bottled.
All fermenting and conditioning was done at 60-65F.
Tasting notes:
Tasted quite smoky and bitter at bottling. Kind of like a Porter
rather than the brown ale I had in mind.
Four weeks later...WOW!
Both the smokyness and bitterness had mellowed. The beer was very dark,
very malty with a complex flavor from the molases and black patent malt.
The malt was balanced perfectly by the hops. My best beer yet.
Had a thick, rich, smooth and long lasting head.
I've tried to reproduce this beer. That effort has been bottle
conditioning for three weeks now. I'll know soon how it turned out.
I'm not aware of any commercial brew with which this beer can be
compared. It sits between the brown ales available and something
like an imperial stout or Mackeson XXX.
Finally, don't Knock the use of a pound of sugar. It comes to only
about 1/7 of fermentables, sugar is standard in British brewing
and most importantly IT WORKED!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 08:33:19 -0800
From: krweiss@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Sam Adams, commercials on the digest
Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Ale are widely available in California (in
Sacramento, at least). The bottles are tagged with an un-encrypted
freshness date, and I've yet to see a bottle on sale past the recommended
consumption date. I've got no idea how liberal the brewery is with regard
to the shelf life...
With regard to commercials posted to HBD, I don't like 'em.
Ken Weiss krweiss@ucdavis.edu
Computing Services 916/752-5554
U.C. Davis
Davis, CA 95616
------------------------------
Date: Mon Oct 07 09:30:32 1991
From: larryba@microsoft.com
Subject: Liverwort
Once I used Irish moss in my kettle. Maybe I used too much, but when it
came time to get the yeast cake out of the carboy I got big flabby chunks
instead of a slurry. I assumed it was the gelatine (alginate - whatever)
in the irish moss that coagulated all the trub and yeast together.
Could this be the source of Ron's liverwort?
------------------------------
Date: 7 Oct 91 09:20:00 PDT
From: "MR. DAVID HABERMAN" <habermand@afal-edwards.af.mil>
Subject: Re: Sam Adams Stock Ale
I live in Southern California and was able to get Sam Adams Stock Ale last
Christmas. It was in a mixed case that had Winter Lager, Boston Lager,
Lightship, and Stock Ale. I can also get the Octoberfest and Double Bock
here. The representative came to a Maltose Falcon's meeting and said the
release of the Stock Ale in the west was limited and wasn't sure about full
production of it in Oregon at a later date. they want all the customers to
have fresh beer, which is why they have breweries all around the US and even
one in Germany.
-
David A. Haberman
Email: habermand@afal-edwards.af.mil
BEER - "It's not just for breakfast anymore!"
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 10:56:20 -0400
From: hpfcmr.fc.hp.com!hplabs!uunet!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!jim (Jim Somerville)
Subject: Adding Amalayse to Secondary
>Brian Bliss asks if anyone has added amylase to the secondary.
The last beer I made consisted of a partial mash of 1 pound
of wheat flakes which I mashed by adding amalayse extract to just
the wheat and some water. Not knowing whether the amalayse contained
alpha or beta or both, I just held the "mash" at 150F for an hour.
A few weeks later, activity in the secondary had stopped but the beer
was still cloudy. So I said what the hell and tossed in a teaspoon
of amalayse. The next day, there was a krausen on top! Good thing
I had left a fair bit of space or things would have been messy.
It took about another 2 months for activity to subside enough for me
to feel safe bottling it. It turned out great. Very clean taste, and
as a friend said "hey, this stuff has absolutely no aftertase". After
all, I essentially just did the same thing as the big breweries do to
make dry beer -- use extra enzymes to get more complete fermentation.
The next time I do this, I will mash at 135F for an hour, and add more
hops by dry hopping. The long time in the secondary didn't help the
beer's hop bouquet or flavour.
- --
Jim Somerville (bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!jim) Phone: (613) 763-4497
Bell-Northern Research, Stop 145 Usenet:utzoo!bnr-vpa!bnr-rsc!jim
P.O. Box 3511, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4H7
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 12:47:18 EDT
From: Peter Karp <karp@cs.columbia.edu>
Subject: Homebrew Digest #738 (October 04, 1991)
Has anyone in the New England area had a taste of a contract brewed
beer called En Garde. It is said to be in the style of the French
Biere de Garde (eg. St Leonard, Trois Monts, Jenlain). Where can I
get some?
------------------------------
Date: Mon Oct 07 09:46:27 1991
From: larryba@microsoft.com
Subject: Shocking Yeast Story..
Just what is the symptoms of temperature shock to yeast?
Three days after claiming I never worry about minor temperature
differentials when pitching lager yeast, I seem to have a dead batch.
I pitched about 1 cup of dormant lager yeast at 53f, that had been
very active two weeks before when "fed" a pint of .028 wort, into 5.5
gals of 1.050 wort at 73f. I then stuck the fermenter into the fridge
at 48f. Now, two days later there is no sign of fermentation.
This is wYeast bavarian lager. It was very slow @ 48f for my Vienna
Angst lager (tasty stuff, even if I did bite my fingers off waiting
for the four week ferment to complete!). I thought, for sure,
repitching a cup of the yeast would make the next batch o beer ferment
much faster. The yeast did ferment out the pint of extra wort very
fast (one day!) and the resulting beer (decanted off the yeast before
pitching, tasted pretty good, if a bit green, being only two weeks old.
RDWHAH?
------------------------------
Date: 07 Oct 91 16:34 GMT
From: JUEAL.S@AppleLink.Apple.COM (Jueal, Stacey)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #739 (Octo
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DougO> ...(Not really! His absence gave the
rest of us a chance! Last year, his beers walked off with half of the
first place ribbons and Best-of-show! This year, I think there were
at least half-a-dozen different brewers each copping multiple awards.)
Wow, do I have a modest brew partner or what??!!
Well, I'll toot our horn:-)! We took 2nd & 3rd in the Stout category with 2
different stouts, 2nd in American Steam catagory, and 1st in the Herbal
catagory with our Christmas beer (flavored with ginger, cinnamon, orange rind).
It was *REALLY* fun. I would encourage homebrewers to enter local contests
just for the heck of it. The best part is getting the judging sheets back and
reading the feedback of impartial beer drinkers. We don't brew for
competition, we brew for fun. As we brew through the year and taste batches,
when an outstanding one comes along, we set aside 4 brown bottles for entry.
Its also great to see the other women brewers! One of the locals, that hangs
with the 'Worts of Wisdom' took 1st place . Unfortunately, her name escapes me
(oops ;-)), as well as the category she placed in. If any of the 'Worts' that
read this know her, pass along a hello from me. If anyone knows how to contact
this mystery woman, please send me mail directly!
Sweetie aka Stacey Jueal
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 12:17:06 EDT
From: Dances with Workstations <buchman@marva1.dco.DEC.COM>
Subject: Microwaving bottles, etc.
First, I would like to second Tim Ness in his review of Wild Goose beer:
> ... , but I see (taste) no reason why Wild Goose should be recommended
> to stay away from. I bought a case fresh from Cambridge last weekend and still
> find it to be one of the most refreshing Microbrewed beers on the East Coast.
> It has a very HOPPY character but I doubt that should be enough for the bad
> review.
The brewery in Cambridge, Maryland, which produces Wild Goose also makes
Thomas Point Light, which is not to be confused with "lite beer"; it is a
tasty pale ale with just a bit less body and hops than Wild Goose.
(TPL is named for a navigational marker well known to all who sail the
Chesapeake Bay). I believe these guys also make Saint Michael's Nonalcoholic
beer, which is the only example of this genre which I have actually enjoyed.
Brian Smithey asks:
> On a trip to Boston a couple of years ago I had some Sam Adam's Boston
> Ale on tap at a restaurant. At the time I was told that it wasn't bottled,
> only available in kegs; . . .
> . . . Has anybody seen SA Ale in bottles, particularly out
> on the West coast?
I drink Anchor Steam when on the left coast so I don't know if Sam Adams
Boston Ale has made it there, but it is available in bottles in most decent
beer stores in the Baltimore/D.C. area. We also see a decent variety of
their limited edition beers, such as Wheat, Doppelbock, and Oktoberfest,
at various times of the year.
And thanks to everyone who replied to my (feeble) idea to cut bottle washing
time by popping your rinsed bottles into the microwave. Many folks pointed
out that you can't heat a dry bottle (or a dry anything) with a microwave.
Darryl Steve Russell Richman had further good advice:
> Nuking bottles *may* be a good idea. But nuking dry bottles is not, as this
> will burn out your magnetron bulb.
My hope was that, though the bottles are dry, the microbes which would
infect the beer would have enough water to be scorched to harmlessness
in very little time. My sundry siblings with PhD's in biochemistry and
botany said this would be true for active bacteria and wild yeasts, but
that spores don't have enough water in them to be acted on by microwaves;
and spores are the primary source of infection. They recommended cooking
the bottles at 500 F for 45 minutes. They're used to lab glassware so
they couldn't say what that would do to a beer bottle.
Btw, thanks to Father Barleywine for the repitching idea. My partner and
I brewed a pumpkin ale using Bavarian Ale yeast, then poured the wort for
an Oktoberfest beer onto the yeast cake. Fermentation was extremely
vigorous within five hours (at 75 F). We're glad we used a gallon jug on
the receiving end of our blow-off tube.
Jim Buchman
buchman@marva1.enet.dec.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 91 12:05:14 EDT
From: GARY MASON - I/V/V PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 06-Oct-1991 1158 <mason@habs11.ENET.DEC.COM>
Subject: Anchor...
I am not certain about the origins of the name for Fritz Maytag's place, but
there is an Anchor Brewery in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It brews under
the name of Gibbs Mew PLC. I did not have a chance to sample them this trip
(next time!), but they have several bitters and a barley wine in their suite.
Just looking at the place makes me think it may be older than the US version.
Cheers...Gary
------------------------------
Date: 7 Oct 91 10:54 -0700
From: Doug Latornell <latornel@unixg.ubc.ca>
Subject: UK Brews and Pubs
The recent spate of messages about UK brews brought back fond memories
of my trip to the UK and Austria in August and I just can't resist
posting something about the brews and pubs I enjoyed.
A week on the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, was rather unimpressive for
ale, probably because the region is still strongly dominated by
prohibition sentiments. However, our lst night in Scotland was in
Glasgow where we stumbled upon a wonderful pub, The Halt, just around
the corner from the youth hostel. A free house, they had 8 brews on
tap; 2 were "specials" which change regularly (the signs on the taps
were hand written). That night the specials were Old Peculiar and
"Cask #3 Ale". The former astounded me with its richness and
mouth-feel; I had only previously had it bottled -- what a
difference!. Didn't try the ale. Also available were Murphy's Irish
Stout, Guinness, McEwan's Bitter and Lager, Harp Lager and one other
lager. All of this served up to the sounds of a very good jazz
quartet (Wednesday's are jazz, Thrusdays are a folk jam). The Halt is
no tourist trap; we were rubbing shoulders at the bar with folks who
clearly had it as their local.
Later in the trip we were in Cambridge where I got hooked on Greene
King Abbot Ale, the definitive heavy duty ale, IMHO! It was
particularly enjoyably served with lunch at The Zebra. Honourable
mention to The Royal Oaks in Barrington, a pleasant bank holiday
afternoon's cycle ride outside Cambridge. Also worth a sip is Greene
King IPA.
In Austria the August heat of continental summer caused me to revise
my opinion of lager, particularly the hoppy Styrian varieties (from
south-eastern Austria) served ice cold. I also very much enjoyed my
first opportunity to try weissebier. The Styrian stiftbier and Wiener
dunkelbier are dark, rich beers with little hoppiness and an almost
molasses-like taste that took a little getting used to.
Travelling sure is a pleasant way to expand one's beer horizons...
=================
Doug Latornell
CAM/Robotics Lab --- Mech. Eng. Dept.
University of British Columbia <latornel@unixg.ubc.ca>
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 13:59 EDT
From: KENYON%MOE.ERE-NET.COM@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Cork Caps / Bulk DME Prices? / Kegging Presssure
1) I recall seeing bottle caps in a friends garage that were cork lined.
The box they were in looked pretty old (from the 50's or 60's rings a
bell). Has anybody ever seen or heard of these before, and if so are they
still obtainable?
2) Does anyone know of any mail-order shops that have reasonable discount
prices on bulk purchases of DME (55# sack), Laaglander in particular?
3) At what pressure should 5 gallon soda kegs be conditioned/served?
Thanks in advance ...
Chuck
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 11:02:47 -0700
From: kensiski@nas.nasa.gov (David L. Kensiski)
Subject: Samuel Adams availability and Octoberfest
In HBD #739, John Reed in Waltham, MA mentions that Samuel Adams...
> ...is bottled and available, at least here in the Boston area.
> I would think that it should be available out there on the left
> coast, too.
I can attest to the fact that it is, in fact, available over here on
the left coast. In fact, it's all over the place. I've seen it in
supermarkets (Lucky) and liquor stores - heck, even Pizzeria Uno
restaurants here in Sillycon Valley have the beer on tap.
> Has anyone tried this year's S.A. Octoberfest?
I just happened to pick up a six pack last week while I was at a
conference in San Diego, of all places. (Can't get much further from
Boston than San Diego and still be in the conterminous 48 states!)
The Octoberfest is quite a good beer with all the flavor and possibly
even more body than found in Samuel Adams regular brew. It comes
highly reccomended, at least by me!
- --Dave
________________________________________________________________________
David L. Kensiski [KB6HCN] Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation
kensiski@nas.nasa.gov NASA Ames Research Center, M/S 258-6
(415)604-4417 Moffett Field, California 94035-1000
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 11:20:04 EDT
From: cjh@vallance.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Chip Hitchcock)
Subject: more on uwave bottle sanitizing
>Dry, clean bottles wouldn't have any reason to heat up; the question
>still remains, would it disrupt the microbes? I don't know.
In theory, it would; microbes, like most living organisms, are mostly water.
However, the problem is hitting something that small with a microwave in
a reasonable amount of time. Think of microbes as kernels of popcorn you're
trying to pop, and consider that there are always unpopped kernels in
microwave[d] popcorn, even the prepackaged stuff with the special bag.
Skipping a technical explanation [read: I've forgotten most of it], the
odds of hitting something the size of a kernel with a microwave (whose
wavelength is probably larger than the kernel) is small; you can pop corn
only by putting so many kernels together that a wave going through that
neighborhood \has/ to hit one or another of them.
If you nuked a dry bottle long enough (hours? days?) you'd probably get the
microbe population low enough for safety---but in the meantime, as Darryl
points out, you'd burn out the microwave generator (because 99.99...% of
the energy it's putting out isn't getting absorbed).
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 09:05 CDT
From: arf@ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: NUKING
To: Homebrew Digest
Fm: Jack Schmidling
From: greg@cemax.com (Greg Wageman)
Subject: Re: Express bottle washing
Jim Buchman writes:
>Is there any reason that microwaving the bottles for a couple minutes at.
>high power wouldn't do the trick equally well? This would fry the little
>nasty contaminants directly and not unduly heat the glass ( I would
>imagine). It would be faster than heating /cooling in the dishwasher
>or oven, and you wouldn't have to worry about annealing the glass.
<It's my understanding that microwave energy requires moisture to generate
heat (those bi-polar water molecules oscillating in the field, you know).
We have discussed this subject under sterilizing petri dishes and yeast
culture stuff but the same applies here.
Although, I have not done the double blind experiments, it appears that a few
drops of water and one minute does the trick. I have been sterilizing a
hummingbird feeder bottle for several years by nuking it for one min with a
few drops of water in it. It was regularly turning to vinigar before I
started this procedure.
However, I believe that water is unnecessary because living organisms contain
water and because micro-organisms are so small, they would be instantaneously
exploded with a very short exposure to micro waves.
I do not know about the moisture content of spores but as it takes one hour
of steam at 10 psi to destroy Botulism spores, normal sterilization used by
brewers would not affect them anyway.
My guess is that wild yeasts and the "normal" spoilage bacteria found in
homebrew, could be killed in a microwave oven without ever warming the bottle
or harming the magnetron. If it makes you feel better, put a cup of water in
the oven, not in the bottles. However, all it will do is absorb energy that
would otherwise zap the microbes and increase the time proportionately.
I will try to devise an experiment to determine the validity of this
hypothesis.
jack
NEVERMIND!!!!!!!!!
Since typing this up, I did some experiments. the most telling is...
I placed .2 grams of dried yeast (Fleishman's baking) in each of (3) 10 ml
glass bottles.
# 1 control
# 2 nuked for 10 seconds
# 3 nuked for 30 seconds
Added 5 ml of sterilized sugar water to each and screwed on plastic caps.
One hour later they all appeared to fermenting vigorously and gas escaped
when the caps were loosened.
..............
Apparently, dormant dry yeast is dry enough to make it immune to microwave
energy.
So, it appears that sterilizing bottles in a microwave requires enough water
to generate steam and enough time to heat the bottle thouroughly. This makes
it totally uneconomical for anything outher than a couple of bottles or petri
dishes and lab samples.
jack schmidling
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 11:59:38 PDT
From: Greg Roody - dtn 237-7122 <roody@necsc.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Shameless ad's - this is too much
Now before "ARF" gets bent all out of shape, this is not a flame.
Can I call for a vote on how many people found the ad for Jacks video to be
too commercial for the purposes of this file? It took up a lot of space in
an otherwise very busy file, and I fear that if we don't police ourselves
we will be reading more ad's than we can stand.
So, how many people would like to see (even "non-profit") ads limited to
either 5 lines maximum or banned outright?
I really don't want to get into the debate over using the internet for
commercial gain, I just want to address signal to noise issues.
/greg
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1991 15:30:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ivan Adam Schneider <is0f+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: A Few Brew Questions
Hi folks.
I'm interested in finding out what it takes to set up a brewing
operation, but I have a few concerns and questions. Here we go.
What is the production limit for an individual in Pennsylvania?
Can more than one individual pool funds to purchase production
apparatus, and then combine their individual limits?
To what extent is the sale of the ingredients regulated, and is the
purchase of raw ingredients considered the same as purchasing alcohol
under the law?
After the initial capital outlay, about how much does beer cost, per
gallon?
Where can I find out about how to start brewing?
A little more than curious,
Ivan Schneider
Carnegie Mellon University
is0f@andrew.cmu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 13:04:58 PDT
From: greeley@kermit.boeing.com (Scott P. Greeley )
Subject: Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams is readily available in bottles in the Pacific Northwest.
I heard that it is coming from Henry Weinhardt's Brewery in Portland, OR
where it is contract brewed but I don't know that for certain.
Scott
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 18:22:59 -0400
From: jxs58@po.CWRU.Edu (John Stepp)
Subject: Sam Adams Octoberfest
In reply to John Reed's inquiry about this year's S.A. Octoberfest, it's
excellent as usual. I moved to Cleveland recently (from the Boston area)
and luckily have found an excellent pub on the east side called
"Cantebury Ale's" that serves all the S.A. seasonal brews as well as the
lager on tap (last spring they had the doulbe bock on tap...YUM!). If
memory serves, this years is a bit more quaffable than last year's. Very
smooth...highly recommended.
DS
- --
_______________
Dave Stepp
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland OH
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 18:28:03 -0400
From: jxs58@po.CWRU.Edu (John Stepp)
Subject: Re: Airlock cap
John DeCarlo asked about the function of the red thing on the top of the
airlock...I believe it is just to keep out various crap that might fall
into the lock, potentially getting into the brew (a good idea). I`ve
never had a problem with it sealing the lock up since mine have little
nubs to keep a space between it and the lock.
DS
- --
_______________
Dave Stepp
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland OH
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Oct 91 18:33:25 -0400
From: jxs58@po.CWRU.Edu (John Stepp)
Subject: Re: Bagging Hops
Chris Shenton questioned the use of a hop bag in the wort. I've been
using a bag for my hops for quite some time. I`ve noticed no deleterious
effects, and the convenience can't be beat. I've actually brewed the
same beer with and without the bag (several months apart) and loved the
beer both times. If anyone has had a bad experience with bagging hops,
I'd like to hear it.
DS
- --
_______________
Dave Stepp
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland OH
------------------------------
Date: 07 Oct 91 19:01:48 EDT
From: Jeff Frane <70670.2067@compuserve.com>
Subject: On #738 & 739
In Digest #738/To Ron Carlson:
First thing you should do is brew another batch of beer; get over this weirdness
about warnings from the brewing gods. Without knowing anything about your beer
but that it was a "scotch ale", I'm necessarily guessing, but I would suggest
that the "liver" was protein. This past spring I brewed a wheat beer with a very
high proportion of wheat malt, and discovered great grey pads of latex floating
in my boil. I suspected they didn't belong there, since I'd never seen such a
thing before, so I fished them out. The beer was fine. It's possible that some
failure in the mash resulted in your wort containing some unhydrolizable
protein. Some of this probably scorched on your heating element, as well.
To Dave Ballard:
Do you rack your beer to a secondary fermenter? I started doing this a long time
ago, partly to resolve the very problem you're describing. This process leaves a
lot of mung back in the first carboy; when it comes time to rack from the
secondary to the bottling bucket, there's very little yeast left to carry over.
The little red thang works just fine then.
To Brian Bliss:
The idea of adding amylase *at all* is fairly bizarre; certainly I can think of
no earthly reason to add it in the boil. The WYeast product is a weizenbier
strain but I have found it difficult to consistently reproduce the clove flavor
associated with these beers. Best result was when Dave used a combination of the
weizenbier and a lager yeast with a relatively warm ferment (60^?). Purty good.
To Darryl:
We got ex-editors, too. Namely me, ex-editor of the OBC. Pleased as punch, by
the bye, to hear that you're moving to the Northwest. Good choice. Under our new
laws, of course, you'll need to find someone willing to *leave* when you arrive.
Who have you chosen?
To Jack Schmidling:
I'm not concerned that you list me as a source, I'm concerned that you describe
the transcription of my notes on a five-minute telephone conversation as
"research." I'm also somewhat nonplussed to hear that you've never tasted anyone
else's homebrew. Howcum? The guy who suggested your beer would taste "cidery"
because of oxidation has got it wrong. Oxidized beer generally tastes remarkably
like cardboard, although in extreme cases the oxidation apparently imparts a
sherry-like quality (haven't run across this enough to personally verify it). I
was fortunate enough to taste a beer a long-time homebrewer brought into
Steinbart's once. He'd been culturing his own yeast for 40 years, and made a
remarkably clean beer from Blue Ribbon extract and lots of sugar. It was
actually pretty tasty--if you like 7-UP; didn't taste much like beer. The cidery
quality comes from an excessive amount of non-malt sugar.
To Steve Carter:
Like you, I've had to take beer in and out of the fridge many times; never had a
problem.
To Brian Smithey:
Samuel Adams Boston Ale is available in Portland, OR. I believe that it is
brewed in Boston rather than here at the Blitz Weinhard Brewery as the West
Coast SA Lager is. Not sure about their specialty beers. We never did see the SA
Wheat Beer that I kept hearing about on the CompuServe Forum. Their Oktoberfest
should be out; last year's was really yummy.
On #739/To Brian Kush:
You're serving your beer too damn cold! The beer should last fine, just
periodically (every time you change the keg) clean the lines and the tap
thoroughly. A local supply store should have the proper cleaners.
And to respond to a request for recipes, here is my current version of House
Ale. Very simple and received with universal acclaim:
For 5 gallons
British ale malt 9#
British crystal 1/2#
Flaked barley 2 oz.
Mash with 3-1/2 gals. of water at 155^F (our water is very soft; I add
4 gr gypsum and .25 g epsom salts in mash; double that in the sparge water) for
90 minutes (sometimes much less; check with iodine at 45 min.).
Sparge to 6 gallons, boil 90 minutes. After 15 minutes, add 3/4 oz. Eroica. At
end-boil, add 1 ounce Mt. Hood hops. Ferment at 65^F with WYeast American Ale
yeast (in starter). Bottle two weeks later, drink one week later. Yummy.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 91 20:59:06 -0400
From: gonzalez@BBN.COM
Subject: Papazian Book-Signing in Boston
With all the newsletters, newsgroups, magazines and mailing lists I've
been through (lots of time to read while batch #1 readies for bottling
:-), I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned. I apologize if
it has. The only forum I _know_ to have mention of this is
_Yankee_Brew_News_ (free at Modern Brewer, Barleymalt & Vine, etc.).
Barleymalt & Vine, a local homebrew supplier, is hosting a visit by
Charlie Papazian, who will be signing copies of the new edition of his
_Complete_Joy_Of_Homebrewing_. He'll be at the Framingham store (280
Worcester Road == Route 9) from 10am to 2pm, and at the West Roxbury
store (4 Corey Street, just off the VFW Parkway) from 2:30pm to 6pm. A
dinner and beer-tasting is to follow at the Boston Fencing Club.
tickets for the dinner are $30 (for $37 they throw in a copy of the
book), and reservations may be made by calling the Framingham store
at 508-820-3392.
-Jim.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Oct 91 21:37:12 -0400
From: gonzalez@BBN.COM
Subject: Neophyte's Impressions Of Boston-Area Suppliers
As we prepare to bottle our first batch, I thought I'd take time out to
offer my observations on several local suppliers. I visited their
stores as we prepared to get into this hobby, and at various times
since.
Barleymalt & Vine 280 Worcester Rd. Framingham 508-820-3392
The Framingham store (in the basement of a store for collectors of
records and baseball cards) is reportedly new; the original, which
I've not visited, is in West Roxbury. Fairly extensive inventory
of extracts, including Munton & Fison in bulk. Standard array of
tools and books. The place looks sparse, but is actually
well-stocked. Prices consistent with other shops. Ad says prices
recently dropped, but cashier said prices actually went up a bit
recently.
Boston Brewin' 75 Maple Street Danvers 01923 508-777-2337.
Homebrew and darts. Not as many extracts as other shops, but
he picked the key ones. Prices compare favorably, except for the
True-Brew kit, which is about $15 higher than elsewhere. Definitely
worth a visit when you don't care to drive into town.
Modern Brewer 2034 Mass. Av. Cambridge 02140 617-868-5580
My favorite, so far, and right around the corner from work. Second
most-extensive selection of canned extracts, and one of only two
selling bulk that I know of. Best selection of books and all the
Zymurgy special issues. Lots o' yeast (two refrigerators - no
waiting :-). Prices acceptable (better deals on gadgets than raw
material), particularly on equipment kits (this is where we got
our gear).
Wine and Beer Hobby 180 New Boston St. Woburn 01801 617-662-0872
Helpful hint: this is in the Woburn industrial park near the mall.
The town fathers apparently decided to cut it off from the rest of
New Boston Street, which is residential. Don't try to pick it up
near the Purity Supreme and head north; get off at the Washington
Street exit and head south.
Most extensive selection of canned extracts and chemicals, with
slightly higher prices. Fair selection of books. Equipment kits
priced a bit steep. Prices on new bottles highest of the four
stores. Worth the trip to see the hot-tub-sized winemaking vats.
Hope this is of some use. Off to the kitchen now :-).
-Jim.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 1991 09:41:00 -0400
From: MIKE LIGAS <LIGAS@SSCvax.CIS.McMaster.CA>
Subject: Last Chance for Cat's Meow
A while back I posted a request for an uncompressed version of the Cat's Meow
recipe book with the promise to forward copies to readers who do not have
access to FTP or who do not have a unix based machine. The response was
overwhelming and I sent out a copy to every reader who requested one from me.
I hope everyone got theirs. If you didn't it's not my fault.
I have had to use a friend's E-mail account to do this because of a limited
quota allotment in my own account. Well, it's coming to the time when I must
hand control of the account back to its rightful owner. Therefore I am writing
to notify HDers that my offer to send uncompressed copies will stand until this
Friday, October 11th, 1991. If you need a copy let me know ASAP.
Mike Ligas
ligas@sscvax.cis.mcmaster.ca
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #740, 10/08/91
*************************************
-------
