Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #3698
HOMEBREW Digest #3698 Thu 02 August 2001
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
***************************************************************
THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Northern Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
http://www.northernbrewer.com 1-800-681-2739
Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********
Contents:
Kegging vs Bottling (Ant Hayes)
Taps ("Tom Clark")
plague/ergot (Mike Vachow)
Patron Saints of Brewing (Stephen Johnson)
Improvements to my brewing setup ("John Todd Larson")
Brew Day Flags ("David Craft")
Re: St. Arnold, plague, etc (Spencer W Thomas)
Re: St. Arnold, plague, etc (Pat Babcock)
Thanks, Pat...I'll drink to that! (Denis Bekaert)
Re:St. Arnold & St. Nicholas of Myra (Len Safhay)
Ergot fungus and beer (M340HILL)
*
* Show your HBD pride! Wear an HBD Badge!
* http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
*
Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org
If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word
"subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL
ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address
for the automation - that's your job.
The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright
HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK
before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content
cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.
More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org.
JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 10:05:05 +0200
From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes@FifthQuadrant.co.za>
Subject: Kegging vs Bottling
Denis Bekaert wrote
>The moral of the story is this: if you have ever
>thought that kegging your beer was too big a step,
>think again...its easy and it will save you an amazing
>amount of time and effort
Whilst agreeing on the time and effort part - I differ on kegging being
easy. I find that bottling gives far greater control over carbonation. I
have been kegging for a few years now, and still battle to get a well
carbonated beer to pour properly. A beer line is a bit like an old Alfa
Romeo - you may love it, but it plays up all the time, one day pouring
fine and the next day foam.
Ant Hayes
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 09:10:22 -0400
From: "Tom Clark" <rtclark@eurekanet.com>
Subject: Taps
Well, after some time of lurking, I'll throw in my two cents worth.
The military bugle melody "taps" comes from the old Scottish "Do Den Taptoe"
(sp). A literal English translation would be "Turn off the taps".
At night a military commander would send his piper to march through the
nearby town playing this familiar melody as a means of advising the local
tavern keepers that it was time to turn off the (beer) taps and send the
soldiers back to their barracks.
Nowadays, military "taps" means, "Turn off the lights". Either way, it
means it is time to quit drinking and go to bed.
Over the years "Taptoe" has been modified to "Tatoo" and presently indicates
a grand gathering of pipers.
Present day "taps" evolved during the Civil war here in the US. There are
several popular stories concerning this also but, they have nothing to do
with beer.
Tom Clark
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 08:54:40 -0500
From: Mike Vachow <vachowm@lfcds.org>
Subject: plague/ergot
Since so many homebrewers here seem fascinated with plague times, I thought
I'd recommend a some good Black Death fiction: The Doomsday Book by Connie
Willis. This sci-fi time travel novel is several cuts above your average
grocery store paperback with some interesting ethical and moral issues woven
in, but it's also a ignore-the-phone-neglect-bathing-all-weekend page
turner. About ergot: I recall just enough undergrad history to be
dangerous. What I recall about ergot is its association with witch scares
in Europe and the New World. Some historians argue that the bizarre
behavior of many of the women targeted as witches is consistent with the
hallucinogenic effects of ergot poisoning. Records from the time describe
the women's beatific smiles, a sort of head-thrown back, twirling dance
accompanied by shouts of "Jerry! and "Play Ripple!" and "China Cat
Sunshine!" Seriously, though, some historians do point toward the
coincidence of heavy rains with rye crop harvests and other atmospheric
conditions that could have promoted ergot growth.
Mike Vachow
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 10:46:30 -0500
From: Stephen Johnson <Stephen.Johnson@vanderbilt.edu>
Subject: Patron Saints of Brewing
Pat left one saint off the list:
Saint Babcock, Patron Saint of Modern Day Homebrewers!
Thanks for all the work with the HBD, Pat.
Steve Johnson, President
Music City Brewers
http://www.musiccitybrewers.com/
Hosts of the Sixth Annual Music City Brew-Off, October 27, 2001
Featured Guest: Paul Gatza
Stay tuned for more details
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 09:11:51 -0700
From: "John Todd Larson" <larson@amazon.com>
Subject: Improvements to my brewing setup
I thought I would pass on the sheer joy I have experienced since switching
my setup to accommodate 10 gallon batches.
Not since I switched to kegging has the enjoyment of my hobby taken such a
large step. If you have been considering it, DO IT. It takes the same
amount of time and (not surprisingly), I have twice the beer. Pure bliss...
Just thought I would pass on my joy and maybe push some of you off the
fence.
Todd
J. Todd Larson
Senior Finance Manager, M&A
Amazon.com
larson@amazon.com
(206) 266-4367
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 13:46:21 -0400
From: "David Craft" <David-Craft@craftinsurance.com>
Subject: Brew Day Flags
Greetings,
There is still interest in the 3'x5' Brew Day Flags. I have run out, but
will reorder if I get enough pre-orders. Please go to the "Flea Market"
section of HBD.org for more details. Clubs should consider placing group
orders. They make great prizes or presents. Please check the "Flea Market"
or email me direct for more information.
David B. Craft
Greensboro, NC
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 14:11:19 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: St. Arnold, plague, etc
>>>>> "Pat" == Pat Babcock <pbabcock@hbd.org> writes:
Pat> Also note that the St. Arnold who is the one accepted as a
Pat> patron of brewers (St. Arnulf of Metz) lived c580 to
Pat> c640. The plague was in the 14th century (~1347). It's
Pat> unlikely that St. Arnold had any physical impact on that
Pat> event
Actually, the first documented plague outbreak in the "western world"
started around 540 and cycled up and down for about the next 100
years. So St. Arnulf could very easily have lived through one or more
outbreaks of plague.
=Spencer
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 15:39:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock@hbd.org>
Subject: Re: St. Arnold, plague, etc
On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Spencer W Thomas wrote:
> Actually, the first documented plague outbreak in the "western world"
> started around 540 and cycled up and down for about the next 100
> years. So St. Arnulf could very easily have lived through one or more
> outbreaks of plague.
First documented pandemic in which plague was implicated was in
430 BC Greece, actually - but point well taken: Arnuf could have
lived through _a_ plague. Interesting how I/we automatically
assumed "The Black Plague"...
(The first "documented" plague implication was in 1000BC.
Plague's another interest sparked by a grade school science fair
project. Don't ask...)
- --
-
See ya!
Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock@hbd.org
Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org
HBD Web Site http://hbd.org
The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock
"The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged
from my yeast lab Saturday
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 14:31:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B@rocketmail.com>
Subject: Thanks, Pat...I'll drink to that!
Once again Pat has come through for us...now, instead
of one or two Saints to toast, we have at least eleven
of them! Let's all raise a toast (or two) to each of
them, just in case, since we don't know which is
primary in keeping the beasties in our brew at bay.
I'll drink to that, regardless of my religious
affiliation...
Thanks, Pat...
Denis in Beechgrove, Tennessee where Moonshine is our
history but homebrewing is our passion
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 18:19:34 -0400
From: Len Safhay <cloozoe@optonline.net>
Subject: Re:St. Arnold & St. Nicholas of Myra
With all due respect to the estimable Fritz Maytag, there are quite a
few patron saints of brewing, including St Arnold (aka Arnulf of Metz)
and St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa Claus).
Some of the others are Sts. Amand, Augustine, Barbara, Boniface,
Florian, Lawrence, Luke, Medard and Wenceslaus.
Arnold also takes care of millers, music and helps to find lost
articles, and Nicholas of Myra has all kinds of responsibilities
including, but not limited to, old maids, longshoremen and pawnbrokers.
Clearly brewing is much too important a pursuit to be left in the hands
of a single patron.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 23:56:12 EDT
From: M340HILL@aol.com
Subject: Ergot fungus and beer
Slightly off the beerten path
I just saw a television program that mentioned Ergot fungus. As related to
people thought to be either witches or possesed of the devil. The effects of
Ergot seem to be similar to LSD but worse. The affects came from eating bread
made from the affected rye. So beer probably would not Help.
The program tried to corelate the persecution of witches in medival times in
Europe with weaher patterns favorable to Ergot infection of the rye crop.
SeeYa--
Mark Hill
Bloatarian Brewing League
And whether we can hear it or not the universe is laughing behind our backs!
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #3698, 08/02/01
*************************************
-------
