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HOMEBREW Digest #3696
HOMEBREW Digest #3696 Tue 31 July 2001
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
Beer and Plague (Denis Bekaert)
Plague ("David Craft")
Wales and GBBF Bound (drew bertrum)
Old Homebrew Books ("Mark Tumarkin")
phosphorus in beer (Joe Yoder)
Jet-powered beer cooler (Jeff Renner)
stir plates & yeast damage ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
stirring a high grav beer ("Alan Meeker")
St. Arnolds ("Joseph Marsh")
New England (Barry Wertheimer)
PBS. . . . RIP? (SimondsVachow)
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Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 22:30:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B@rocketmail.com>
Subject: Beer and Plague
Ant Hayes asked about plague and St. Andrew's
admonition to drink only beer and not water...so,
although it's a bit off-topic (OK, a lot off-topic) I
thought I'd give it a go.
Like the many controversies that sometime rage here in
the Digest, there really is no one correct answer. It
depends on what you mean by plague. For example, if
you mean the Black Death plague that raged in Europe,
that one was transmitted by flea bites (bubonic
plague). However, some forms of plague can be
airborne, and I guess that's what your doctor friend
was thinking about.
OK, now we get more on-topic here, so pay attention!
There is a very famous and true story that
epidemiologists (study of disease transmission) relate
that is one of my favorites. London was in the grip
of a cholera outbreak that was killing hundreds of
people, and since it was before we understood how
cholera was transmitted, people tried all kinds of
things to avoid infection. Leaving London was often
the answer, but only the wealthy could afford to do
so. Then a London doctor by the name of John Snow,
noticed that in one of the poorest sections of the
city where large concentrations of people were dying
of cholera, the only people not becoming ill were
BREWERY workers. Why? Because they were drinking beer
rather than the local water, which was loaded with the
cholera organisms since the water company for that
section of London had its intake pipe downstream of
the sewage outlet into the Thames river.
The moral of the story: drink beer to avoid cholera.
Actually, there is a very modern slant to this story.
I'm a Public Health veterinarian and traveled
extensively while on active duty with the U.S. Air
Force, sometimes into areas where local water was not
safe for visitors to drink. I always advised my
companions to drink bottled beer rather than water
since the pH and the alcohol of beer makes it safe to
drink. Good reason to drink beer, too.
OK, Ant, now you have an answer for your doubting
doctor friend. Now, back to brewing....
Denis in Beechgrove, Tennessee where Moonshine is our
history, but brewing is our passion
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 07:30:38 -0400
From: "David Craft" <David-Craft@craftinsurance.com>
Subject: Plague
If I remember my medieval history, the Plague was spread by the fleas on
rats that visited from passing ships. At this point in time, no one knew
what caused much of anything, when it came to the human body. Most plagues
were blamed on evil spirits and unpopular individuals.
Beer was very popular for two reasons. One, water was always suspect and
killed many people, usually by Cholera. Because it was boiled, beer was
generally safe. Any bacterial infection in beer was usually tolerated by the
body. Two, grains could spoil or be eaten by rodents and beer was a safe
way to store grain. See the connection! Beer kept our ancestors from
getting Cholera and the Plague!
Prost!,
David B. Craft
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 04:48:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: drew bertrum <drewbage1847@yahoo.com>
Subject: Wales and GBBF Bound
HBDers,
Hello from the road! I'm currently sitting in the town
of Goodwich in Wales looking out on Fishguard Bay. Had
a nice pint of HB and Draught Bass last night.
Anyway... Tommorrow, I'm inbound to Paddington Station
and the start of the GBBF. Hope to see some fellow
brewers there. I'll be the guy running around in a
grey Maltose Falcons t-shirt regretting having to pour
out a half of a half pint (in order to make it through
the tasting you know) If you see me, be nice.. I've
been on the road for more than a week and a half now!
- -- Drew Beechum
Webmaster, www.maltosefalcons.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 09:11:58 -0400
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Old Homebrew Books
Hey ya'll,
Not too long ago, there was a thread concerning early homebrew books from back
in the "old days." I recently came across a very interesting book of this
type. It was given to one of the members of my homebrew club as a gift and I
was able to borrow and read it this weekend.
The name of this book is "The Homemade Beer Book" by Vrest Orton. It was
printed in 1973 (by Charles E. Tuttle Company), but is actually a reprint of a
book originally published privately in 1932 and never sold publicly. The book
is a compilation of talks given by and to members of a secret society of
amateur brewers in Vermont. The original book was given to the less than 300
members of this secret society.
Secret society, you ask? Well, you remember a dark little social experiment
called Prohibition? This book was written by members of a group called The
Company of Amateur Brewers, formed by a group of Yankee brewers who were
unwilling to accept the lack of beer (or the low quality products available
from the bootleggers) and banded together to learn to brew their own. Here is
a quote from the inside cover - "As well as these practical methods and
recipes for brewing good beer in the home, the reader will enjoy a beer view
of history, rich data on drinks and drinking customs of old New England, an
account relating how beer was brewed in the ancient days, and much other
diverting and curious lore not found in modern books."
These "modern books" being from the early 1970's, the time of this book's
reprinting. This is not a book you'll turn to for either brewing techniques or
recipes. For example, they advise "Put on your cover tightly (be sure there is
a hole in the top for steam to escape or you'll lose the cover) and wait for
the wort to come to a sharp boil. When it does this, let it boil briskly for
twenty to thirty minutes. If you boil longer it will do no harm but you must
boil at top speed for twenty minutes at least. The important thing here is to
have the cover on in order to keep in the sweet fumes and to preserve the
flavor."
Or look at the following recipe, called the Company Special and some of the
accompanying text -
"This recipe in my estimation is the finest ever put together for the small
volume domestic brewer. It is the result of years of experiment. I have
thoroughly tested it myself and no less than nine of you employ it in its
essentials. It is simple yet produces the best beer that can be made from malt
syrup in the home. Along with the instructions for this special brew you will
hear many suggestions which will prove most helpful in all other brewing
operations, no matter what recipes you use. So heed these things with open
ears. The following materials are the required ones:"
Water 5 gallons
Malt Syrup 1 can
Hops 1/4 pound
Sugar 2 pounds
Yeast 1 cake
Salt 1 level tablespoonful
Well, as you can see, we've learned a thing or two since then. But the book is
fascinating reading anyhow. They talk about old recipes, beer cocktails and
drinks of earlier time, historical brewing info, tech tips, etc ... in short
all the things we continue to discuss today. This group is in many ways a
precursor to our own HBD and homebrew clubs. And I think they'd feel
comfortable here with us. Well, they'd have to learn to use these damn
computers, and the occasional bickering and flaming might put them off. They
were a much more formal and polite group. But the topics they cover and the
attitudes they had are still found here. These were homebrewers, of an earlier
time no doubt, but very much members of our community. They even had to deal
with SWMBO. Though they didn't know the current terminology (probably weren't
familiar with the term Beer Bullets either), they certainly understood the
concept.
Check out the following, taken from the chapter entitled The Origin and Aims
of The Company -
"The rolls of The Company of Amateur Brewers are open to good men and true,
because if there be more men who believe as we do, we want to associate with
them. We want the benefit of their companionship and their knowledge. We have
another feeling, although this is not subscribed to by all our members. I
refer to the astounding fact that the brewing and imbibing of good beer is a
pleasure almost wholly confined to the male of the species. Among us are no
out-and out misogynists, and we do not believe in issuing any manifesto on the
subject, but truly it seems a great consolation to us that puny man may at
last indulge in one exclusive pleasure. It is not that we, as men, are jealous
or resentful of our lovely counterparts. But man is a lazy creature! There are
times, many times, when he feels the strain of polite society , when he would
escape from the charming necessities of being on his good behavior before the
delightful creatures who often demand good behavior. These are the times when
he wishes to retire with a group of "kinspirits" and drink beer. The female,
for the most part, is willing to allow him to do this, as she does not
apparently love that noble beverage. Thus we have our place cut out for us.We
know where we can escape. The brewing and drinking, in masculine society, of
good beer, is our last frontier, our last refuge. Let us make the most of it!
We may never have another."
Well, the more things change.... anyhow this probably won't be an easy book to
come across, but you may find it an interesting read if you do locate a copy.
Mark Tumarkin
Gainesville, FL
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 09:20:24 -0500
From: Joe Yoder <headduck@swbell.net>
Subject: phosphorus in beer
Brewers,
I have a friend with kidney problems whose doctor has told him that he
can't drink beer because of the phosphorus content. Also can't eat
wheat bread, beans, or anything else that contains phosphorus. Is there
any way to make a beer that is phosphorus free or has very little. It
is my understanding that it comes from the grains? Any help would be
appreciated.
thanks,
Joe Yoder
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:19:25 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner@mediaone.net>
Subject: Jet-powered beer cooler
From Oz CraftBrewing Digest and worth passing along:
>Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 09:11:05 +1000
>From: TOLLEY Matthew <matthew.tolley@atsic.gov.au>
>Subject: Jet-powered beer cooler
>
>Bloody Kiwis :)
>
>http://www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/
Jeff
- --
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner@mediaone.net
"One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:24:44 -0400
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke@merck.com>
Subject: stir plates & yeast damage
Mike Lemons writes:
>It seems that everyone was talking about starters except me. I was
>talking about intermittent stirring during secondary fermentation. I
>am going to try some high gravity ales when the weather cools off in
>the fall.
I'm sure a magnetic stir contraption could be figured out, though working
with the convex bottom on your carboy would be a challenge. The other
alternative is a shaft-driven mixer. But then you have to contend with a
sanitary shaft seal. Rather than muck about with trying to get a sqaure pag
to fit in a round hole (now look who'se talking ;-), you might want to try
another alternative. Unfortunatley it doesn't involve too much cool
equipment (darn), but works well for me.
I rouse my yeast for high grav beers in the secondary and I krausen them as
well to get max attenuation. Sorry, but sweet barleywine makes me sick. I
usually transfer the batch from a plastic primary to a glass secondary when
fermentation starts to subside. Before transfer I'll skim and store some of
the yeast for later. Use a secondary with some headspace, like 5 gallons in
a 6.5 gal carboy.
Once fermentation appears to cease, I'll rouse the yeast every day for a
couple of days by placing the glass carboy on a folded towel or carpet and
just swirl it. Tip it on one end and rock away. The floc'd yeast disperses
with no problem. Do this with the lock in place because you will liberate
CO2 in the process - unless you like shooting solid rubber stoppers at you
prized beer glasses. If you use a corny, you just temporarily remove the
lock, shake the bejesus out of it and vent.
Once rousing appears to have lost it's effect (it may have dropped a few
points), activate the yeast harvested earlier (or a new high attenuation
strain) with a little wort and pitch it when it foams. This should drive
your attenuation over the edge. Further rousing usually is of no effect.
Aging the beer further is up to you.
I've been fiddling with mixing yeast strains in the barleywines and find
that this schedule allows me to do so with some interesting results. Unless
you go with a Belgian strain or something like that for the krausening
stage, your primary strain will dominate the profile.
I'd live to be able to stir up my fermenting beer once in a while too, but I
just haven't found any method which is practical other than a good old
fashioned rousing.
>but I keep hearing Captain Kirk's voice in my head
>saying, "High gravity fermentation . . . The final frontier."
It's better than "She's dead, Jim!" or "Dubious, Captain." I've heard those
voices for a few batches before ;-)
>I've read the book _Barley_Wine_ by Allen and Cantwell from the
>Classic Beer Series. It didn't contain very much useful information.
As opposed to any other book in that collection?!? DOH! And I still
purchase them....
>What would be a good yeast to use? I've heard the Scottish ale yeast
>mentioned, but I've never liked Scottish ale, so I would rather use
>something else.
I have used Irish or British style yeasts for the primary, followed by a
Scottish Ale yeast krausening. Works well. So does an American Ale style
yeast followed by a Trappist High grav strain. Lots of room to experiment
there!
Carpe cerevisiae!
Glen A. Pannicke
glen@pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net
75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD
"I have made this letter longer than usual,
because I lack the time to make it short." - Blaise Pascal
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:59:57 -0400
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker@mail.jhmi.edu>
Subject: stirring a high grav beer
Oooops, in responding to Mike Lemons question on using stir plates for yeast
I somehow missed that he was talking about using one for the secondary with
a high-grav beer, not for making a starter:
"The stirring would not be for purposes of aeration, but rather for
rousing the yeast. With a cylindro-conical fermentor, you can just
blow in some CO2 from the bottom; It's going to be a bit trickier with
a glass carboy."
"So, the yeast would be somewhat stressed in this situation. From high
alcohol if nothing else. Do you still think that it would be OK to
knock them around a bit?"
If you're making a barleywine the yeast will indeed be stressed-out,
primarily from high ethanol, but I don't think you'll have a problem trying
to keep them roused using a stir plate. Since you just want to keep them "in
the action" rather than promoting aeration, you won't need to have very
vigorous stirring, thus, there will be less of a chance for damaging the
yeast. In fact, I did this with the last barleywine I made for just such a
reason. Since I had it in a smaller (3 gallon) carboy I didn't have any
problem with the coupling, and a moderate speed kept the yeast in solution
nicely. Can't say I really noticed any difference one way or the other in
the resulting quality of the beer though. The yeast I was using was Wyeast
1056 (aka Chico).
-Alan
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 10:35:46 -0500
From: "Joseph Marsh" <josephmarsh62@hotmail.com>
Subject: St. Arnolds
You're both right. The black death was mostly pneumonic (spread by coughing,
etc.) but water born disease was normal. I've been reading up on the 30
years war from 1618-1648 and found out that the normal practice for
butchers, tanneries, other nasty business was to dump their wastes in the
city water supply. Read local river. The KINGS of the time couldn't get the
guilds to comply with laws forbidding the practice. Typhoid, para typhoid,
cholera were all common.
Have a nice day
Joe
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 15:10:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Barry Wertheimer <bmwerth@yahoo.com>
Subject: New England
As traffic has been light of late, I thought I might
bore the collective with my travel plans and seek out
recommendations.
We will be touring in New England for about a week,
from Providence, RI to Maine--mainly along the coast,
as well as the NH mountains. To complete the picture,
I will have my family along (kids ages 10 -> 17), so
it will not be a beer-based expedition. Nonetheless,
there should be opportunity or a couple of well placed
pub stops.
I would appreciate recommendations for beer hunting
along our route.
I also am open to suggestions on places to visit/stay,
things to do, etc.
Thanks much.
=====
Barry Wertheimer
Palo Alto, CA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 22:30:30 EDT
From: SimondsVachow@aol.com
Subject: PBS. . . . RIP?
Anyone got any scoop on Precision Brewing Systems? I ordered a Maxichiller
about a month ago and have neither received the goods nor heard a word from
PBS. My card was not billed, and I've gotten no reply to email inquiries.
Phone calls yield a "memory full" response. Has PBS gone the way of
Stainless in Seattle?
Mike Vachow
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #3696, 07/31/01
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