Category : Various Text files
Archive   : HBD155X.ZIP
Filename : HBD1557

#2 (829 lines):
Date: Thursday, 20 October 1994 03:00 edt
From: homebrew-request at HPFCMI.FC.HP.COM (Request Address Only - No Articles)
Subject: Homebrew Digest #1557 (October 20, 1994)
Reply-To: homebrew at HPFCMI.FC.HP.COM (Posting Address Only - No Requests)
To: homebrew at HPFCMI.FC.HP.COM
Errors-To: [email protected]
Precedence: bulk

HOMEBREW Digest #1557 Thu 20 October 1994


FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor


Contents:
Chocolate beer in...Britain!! (smtplink!guym)
Brewpub Info via WWW(Mosaic) ("WOOTEN, ERIC")
kegs (Bob Fawcett)
Re: Various (Jim Busch)
Sprucing it up?! (COYOTE)
care of stainless pots, immersion chillers (CGEDEN)
CT/RI brew visit completed; email for response (uswlsrap)
Growing hops (Pierre Jelenc)
Dixie Cup 1994 (Allen Ford)
Jalapenos in Beer / Food Grade Plastic (Keith Frank)
Re:Chlorine corrosion of stainless steel (Paul Ganci)
AZ Brewpubs ("THOMAS L. STOLFI")
Re: Temperature Controllers ("Roger Deschner ")
dry hopping with leaf hops ... (Chris Lyons)
Bananas/fridgeFerments/Sub-standardHops/hoptypes/kegFittings/DMEvsLIQ/BelgianMalts (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
RE: CO2 Empty Apology Retracted (Eric Hale)
5 Liter Kegs (John W. Carpenter)
half kegs (Btalk)
Woodruff XMAS Ale (Scott_Pisani)
Great Western Brewing ("Dr. Robert Ford")
HOMEBREW DIGEST #1556 (OC (Jeff Guillet)
Crashed Mailer/Thank-yous (CliffR3500)
Helpful GABF hint (Mark Castleman)
Alergies (r.mau2)



******************************************************************
* NEW POLICY NOTE: Due to the incredible volume of bouncing mail,
* I am going to have to start removing addresses from the list
* that cause ongoing problems. In particular, if your mailbox
* is full or your account over quota, and this results in bounced
* mail, your address will be removed from the list after a few days.
*
* If you use a 'vacation' program, please be sure that it only
* sends a automated reply to homebrew-request *once*. If I get
* more than one, then I'll delete your address from the list.
******************************************************************

Send articles for __publication_only__ to [email protected]
(Articles are published in the order they are received.)
Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc.,
to [email protected], BUT PLEASE NOTE that if
you subscribed via the BITNET listserver ([email protected]),
then you MUST unsubscribe the same way!
If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first.
FAQs, archives and other files are available via anonymous ftp from
sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via
mail from [email protected]. Send HELP as the body of a
message to that address to receive listserver instructions.)
Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored.
For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to [email protected]

----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 06:33:12 MDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Chocolate beer in...Britain!!


This was in the Charlotte Observer in this morning's business section:

Britain braces for a new brew: Chocolate beer

By Dirk Beveridge (what a name!! gdm)
Associated Press

LONDON - Beer drinkers and chocolate lovers might cringe, but a big British
brewer thinks a marriage will please the palate.

Odd as Fuggles Chocolate Mild may sound, the Whitbread Beer Co. of London
is introducing the brand in 2,000 British pubs beginning today. Whitbread
is convinced drinkers will be enticed by "a beer you wouldn't think
exists."

"It's not like a chocolate milkshake," said Lorraine Thomson, marketing
manager for Whitbread's ales.

Still, not everybody thinks the brownish brew, which contains a hint of
chocolate, is a good idea to unleash on Britain's millions of beer
drinkers, many of them fiercely loyal to their bitters, stouts, and lagers.

"That's horrible," said Paula Daley, who manages a London pub that will
not be selling the chocolate beer. "It sounds disgusting."

Even specially invited guests at a Whitbread launch party Tuesday night
harbored doubts.

"It's not something I would go out and buy," said Nicola Porter, a director
of The Chocolate Society, which promotes fine chocolates and had a booth
set up at the event in the Whitbread brewery.

Whitbread nonetheless believes "people who like good beer, challenging to
the palate," will savor the beer, which contains 4.6% alcohol by volume and
an "absolutely minimal" amount of chocolate flavor.

"Putting chocolate in a beer is not gimmicky," Thomson said, although she
is quick to point out she knows of no other brewer who has done so.

"The Belgians have been putting fruit in beer for years. In Scotland they
use heather. We're just adding another natural ingredient." --**--


All I want to know is, when can I get some over here??!!

--
Guy McConnell -- Exabyte Corp. -- Huntersville, NC -- [email protected]
"Well I woke up this morning and got myself a beer."

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 08:12:28 -0600
From: "WOOTEN, ERIC"
Subject: Brewpub Info via WWW(Mosaic)

Hey fellow Brewers,
I suppose it's time to come out of the closet. My beer page now has about =
44 states and several Canadian provinces listed with brewpub info broken =
down by city. Often we even have a review of the brewpub itself.
That's not all you get (if you call now!) I also maintain a list of =
Brewfests and tastings, and a few beer reviews, and even a recipe =
exchange.
So maybe my page will difuse some of the continual flame wars about =
posting brewpub requests to the HBD.
I'm at:

http://pekkel.uthscsa.edu/beer.html

See you on the infobahn
Eric.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 09:26:57 EDT
From: Bob Fawcett
Subject: kegs

>Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI wrote


>I recently saw a Miller (US megabrew) delivery man moving (full) kegs
>from the truck into a store. The kegs were stacked on their sides in
>the truck, with pallets between layers. He had a round rubber pad, a
>bit larger than the diameter of a keg and several (3-4) inches thick
>(about 10cm for the rest of you :-). He would place this on the
>sidewalk next to the truck, and would then pull the keg from its
>resting place (at about his head level) so that it fell, bottom first,
>onto the pad.

I used to own an auto shop and the guy that delivered oil to me did almost
the same thing. He delivered oil in 55 gal drums and he had a couple of
old tires he put on the ground and then layed the drum on its side in the
back of his truck and rolled it out the back onto the tires. The first time
I saw this I was sure we were going to have 55 gallons of oil all over the
parking lot, never did though.

Bob Fawcett
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
[email protected]


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 09:57:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Busch
Subject: Re: Various

Rick writes:
> Subject: Recipes (Christmas Ale and Rick's Wicked Ale)
>
> usual, I adapt them according to my own intuition. I respectfully
> submit, then, my attempt to clone Pete's. I call it...
>
> Rick's Wicked Ale
>
> 8.5 lbs American 2-row pale malt
> 1 lb Crystal malt (40L)
> 1/2 lb Cara-pils malt
> 1/3 lb Chocolate malt
> 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (boil)
> 1/2 ounce Brewer's Gold hops (boil)
> 1/2 ounce Cascade hops (finish)
> 300 ml yeast starter- Wyeast 1056

While this may be a fine recipe, is it anywhere near the hopping level of
Petes? I would guess Petes is in the 30s IBUs.

Tom writes:
> Subject: Sub-Standard Hops?
>
> I ran across an interesting item in the November issue of All About Beer.
> Seems that the hops us lowly homebrewers purchase are nothing more than
> rejects from the big guy's. Could this be true? Considering the poor use
> of those superior hops, perhaps the situation should be reversed. If we are
> being forced to purchase castoff hops, I would encourage those growing their
> own to do more of same and share or trade their efforts with other HB'ers.
> At the rate this hobby is growing, we should demand the very best quality
> in our endeavors. Hop-heads unite!

I think this is nonsense. Certainly the hops from Freshops, Hoptech, I
assume Glenns, are of very high quality. Whats on our local stores shelf
is another matter. And I know of no "big guy" who uses Cascades.

Bob writes:
> Subject: Whole vs pellet hops
>
> in my dislike of their beer is the pellets. I do understand how pellet hops
> are much easier for the breweries to filter out, but what has that got to do
> with making the best beer? Boy am I out on a limb now.

As brewlength increases it is easier for a brewery to use a large whirlpool
to remove the hop pellets. This does have drawbacks as the IBU levels soar,
since whirlpools can be overwhelmed with hops. Filtering of finished beer
should be similar or easier with whole hops, I would venture to guess
that less hop matter carries over in a whole hop brewery. Anybody know
how Sierra and Anchor remove whole hops? A large hop back I imagine, but
I dont recall seeing one.

Mike writes:
> I am making this follow-up post is that out of 14 responses
> I received, there were only two which favored (or even used)
> counterflow type chillers. The other folks indicated for the

This is a debate that will never end. Both work fine, but
dont go jumping to conclusions based on a few email responses. I am
devoted to my counterflow chiller/pipeline but others are just
as devoted to immersions. A point to remember is that here in
the DC area, the tap water in summer is very warm, and thus a
immersion chiller is less efficient here. Of course, this also
affects my counterflows ability to chill, and as such I have a ice
bath chiller at the end of my counterflow just for the summers.

Good brewing & hopping

Jim Busch (ObCoyote: [email protected])


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 08:02:24 -0600 (MDT)
From: COYOTE
Subject: Sprucing it up?!

Here's one for ya-all. In the recent zymurgy episode where they discuss all
the indigenous brews and whatnot...the article on Spruce Beers (which I
vowed never to try again! Turpentine ale? Thank you NO! YMMV) in the
third paragraph on page 54 Chip Jarry quotes Sanborn Brown as saying that,
"in colonial times "beer" was defined as unhoppped and "ale" was defined as
not being hopped."

Ok, I'll bite. WTF! Could that be an .....-error- ? Nah. Couldnt' happen.
or could it! I thought beer was hopped, and ale was unhopped, or was it the
other way around. But regardless....doesn't the statement above kinda say
that nobody used hops? I thought hops were discovered in britain before
merry 'ol england discovered america. Well, it was the spanish, but...



Just a tidbit of curious notation I thought I'd ask about.
Anyone trying a Maple Spruce Winter Warmer this year? DON'T send me a bottle!

-babble babble babble....John- The Coyote -Wyllie-

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 10:02:43 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: care of stainless pots, immersion chillers



This is my first posting after lurking for about 4 months and reading as
many faq's as possible. It is nonetheless with some hesitation that I post
2 very basic questons:
1) After 7 batches that I've brewed with various pots we had laying
around the house I decided to take the plunge and spend megabucks on a
high-quality 10-gal stainless pot from our local restaurant supply shop.
In this morning's HBD somebody said something that sounded like "bleach
is bad for stainless". Is that true?
2) My wife is thrilled with the pot and has suggested that it would be
great for crab boils, gumbo, cooking corn for multitudes etc. Is it OK for
a brewpot to double as a cooking pot for food or will there be inevitable
residual food/spice flavors left behind that could affect beer flavor?
2a) (OK so I have 3 questions-I can't edit preceding lines on this machine!)
I live in Florida, where what most of you think of as "summer" brewing
conditions apply most of the year. My tap water rarely gets below 70 degrees.
Would an immersion chiller do anything at all if the "chilled" water temp.
is this high? I'm sure that you get *faster* temp. drops with 50 deg. water
but I'm wondering whether 70 deg. water would work within an acceptable time
frame (say 45 minutes-1hour). Otherwise I might be better sticking with the
current program of putting the whole fermenter in an ice water bath. Any
thoughts before I invest in copper tubing?

Thanks to all (well, most) for making this such an enjoyable, lively, and
informative forum. And, of course, Happy Brewing to Steve.

Chris Geden
[email protected]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 10:31:31 EDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: CT/RI brew visit completed; email for response

- -------------------- Mail Item Text Follows ------------------

To: I1010141--IBMMAIL

From: Bob Paolino
Research Analyst
Subject: CT/RI brew visit completed; email for response

Several people offered information for finding good beer in CT and RI.
Many asked to hear back from me, but I didn't note all of the userids.
Since this isn't the appropriate place to give a blow-by-blow account of
the brews, drop a note and I'll share my impressions. I visited the
Hartford Brewery (BP), Emerald Isle Brewing (M), and Union Station (BP).
Let me give you a sneak preview--There is some damn good beer being
brewed in West Warwick, home of Rhode Island's only brewery. (1 of 2 if
you count the brewpub in Providence.)

Cheers!

Bob Paolino
Disoriented in Badgerspace

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 10:34:55 EDT
From: Pierre Jelenc
Subject: Growing hops

We all know that hops require tall poles to grow, don't we?

Imagine my surprise, walking along the river Vienne near my parent's house
in France, to see huge *bushes* of hops, loaded with ripe cones, all along
the banks. These are wild, native hops, according to my father (who is a
botanist, and specializes in the local flora), and they do climb if given
a chance, but do not mind at all creeping or wrapping themselves around
low bushes.

There was a fair amount of resin visible in the cones, and the aroma was
somewhat spicy, perhaps like a Hallertau or Saaz. Each bush, apparently
made by a single vine (I did not do too much creeping around as there
were various thorns as well), seemed to have a good shopping bag's worth
of cones, which seems to be a rather decent yield.

So, do hops really need heroic cultivation techniques? Perhaps to obtain
the absolutely best yields, but it seems that one could very easily grow
a decent amount in a regular garden, perhaps by training the vine as it
grows onto a chicken-wire pseudo-bush at waist height, and harvest the
cones as they mature without having to climb on ladders, or compromise
and cut the vine in the middle of the ripening season.

Pierre


Pierre Jelenc [email protected]
Columbia University, New York

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 09:54:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: Allen Ford
Subject: Dixie Cup 1994


Kudos to Steve Moore and all the other folks who made this year's Dixie
Cup such a pleasure to attend. A grand time was had by all. I was
especially glad to see that it had moved back into the Dixie Cup time
zone. I nearly missed the action last year when everything ran on time.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Allen L. Ford =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-= Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research San Antonio, Texas =-=-=


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 09:56:10 -0500
From: [email protected] (Keith Frank)
Subject: Jalapenos in Beer / Food Grade Plastic

*** from Bruce DeBolt ***

In September someone posted their results putting jalapenos directly into
a bottle of homebrew. He mentioned that 1/4 of a pepper gave a nice
mellow flavor, without much of any heat. I added 1/4 of a jalapeno to an
American Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada type) and after 4 weeks in the bottle it
was HOT. Talk about "your results may vary". I will try mixing this with
the non-pepper bottles and see what happens. My suggestion would be to cut
the pepper into at least 8 pieces and add 1, 2, 3, pieces, etc. to see what
you get. I followed the procedure in the post - washed the pepper in soap
and tap water and just cut it without any sanitation, added it directly at
bottling.

If Jim Busch would send me what plastics he is interested in making the hop
bag out of I would be glad to compare this to the Federal Reg on food
grade plastics in my office. The entire list is too long to post.

Bruce DeBolt
c/o [email protected]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 11:35:04 EDT
From: Paul Ganci
Subject: Re:Chlorine corrosion of stainless steel

>
> Chris Strickland writes:
> >>
> >>
> >> What's this I hear? I use chlorine and warm water to sanitize my 5 liter
> >> mini-kegs. Am I running a chance of causing corrosion with my mini-kegs?
>
> To which Jeff Frane replied
>
> > Yes, if they're made of stainless steel.
>
> There was a thread in the HBD on this very subject. The most definitive
> reply came from John Palmer in the HBD #1501. In short, if chlorine is used
> in the concenetrations used for sanitizing for the 20 or 30 minutes necessary,
> then your stainless steel is safe from corrosion.


------------------------------

Date: 19 Oct 1994 11:42:11 GMT
From: "THOMAS L. STOLFI"
Subject: AZ Brewpubs


I will be in the Tucson, AZ area next week and would like to visit a
few brewpubs. If you know of any in Tucson or within driving distance
from Tucson please send me a private email at [email protected].
Thanks in advance.

Tom Stolfi
[email protected]







------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 11:34:42 CDT
From: "Roger Deschner "
Subject: Re: Temperature Controllers

I use Honeywell part number T6031A 1029, available at nearly any
wholesale heating and cooling distributor. (Check yellow pages). Johnson
Controls also makes a similar unit. Price: $30-60. These are simpleminded
thermostats with a remote sensing bulb, used commonly for BEER COOLERS in
bars. They can be wired for either cooling, or for that guy somewhere in
the Frozen North, for heating. You need to buy a heavy-duty (14 gauge)
"Air Conditioner" extension cord to wire into it, but that's easy.
There's an article on this unit in Zymurgy a couple of years ago,
complete with a wiring diagram. If you can't find that article, just
remember to cut the black wire in your extension cord, not the white or
green. In flat cords, the smooth wire on the outside is the "black" one;
the center one is considered green, and the ribbed-texture outside one is
considered white.

This unit is rated at 16 amps, 1 horsepower - more than enough for a
conventional fridge. It has an adjustable differential from 3.5 to 12 F.
(That is the difference between when it turns on and when it turns off;
you don't want this to be 0 or the equipment would be rapidly cycling on
and off.)

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 13:51:44 EDT
From: Chris Lyons
Subject: dry hopping with leaf hops ...

I would like to try dry hopping a current batch with leaf hops.
I have always used pellets for dry hoping in the past (after a
week the hops are all resting on the bottom and there's no problem
racking). Can anyone with experience using leaf hops for dry
hoping please comment. Will the leaves tend to float and clog
the racking tube?

Regards,
Chris

------------------------------

Date: 19 Oct 94 18:31:00 GMT
From: [email protected] (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Bananas/fridgeFerments/Sub-standardHops/hoptypes/kegFittings/DMEvsLIQ/BelgianMalts


Doug is having problems with banana flavor in his beer.

I've never experienced banana esters from Wyeast American Ale (#1056)
as you reported. The 36 hour lag time despite the 1 qt starter sounds
like there was some kind of problem with the yeast. Perhaps the wort
was too hot or cold when you pitched? In any event, the flavor is
definately created by the yeast. Perhaps a wild yeast got in there
during the long lag? Also, even though you fermented at 68F, the yeast
itself can raise the temperature quite a bit (I've heard one instance
of a 9 degree F rise above ambient in, I believe, a 1070 OG beer),
especially if the beer is of higher gravity.

*****
C asks about the differences between refrigerated and unrefrigerated ferments.
Well, the higher the temperature, the more esters (fruity aromas/flavors)
your yeast will produce. If your room temperature is in the mid-60's F, and
you're not fermenting a very high-gravity beer, you don't need a fridge. If
you are trying to make a true lager, you will have to ferment in the 50's or
lower. Unless you have a cellar that is in those temperatures, then you
probably need a fridge. By the way, some yeasts tend to create more higher
alcohols when you ferment warm. These will age-out, but the higher alcohols
can give a more alcoholic flavor/warming than if your yeast had made pure
ethanol.

*******
Tom writes:
>I ran across an interesting item in the November issue of All About Beer.
>Seems that the hops us lowly homebrewers purchase are nothing more than
>rejects from the big guy's. Could this be true?

I've heard just the opposite. I've heard that the hop brokers set aside
some of the best hops for the microbrewery and pub-brewery market and that
homebrew hops usually come from those better-quality hops.

*********
Glenn asks about Hop Types.

I usually use pellets, but put them in one or more hop bags for the boil.
The hop bags are very fine mesh and I know that my utilization suffers
from this practice, so I've taken to adding 10% to Rager's numbers to
compensate. Some hop particles do get through the bags, but it's a small
percentage and I've had many successful batches using this method. I
use only whole hops for dryhopping and no bag, because they float and
I can siphon out from under them. I am thinking about implementing
Jeff's slotted-ring idea, but am still debating the pros and cons with
myself. If I was to do this, I would probably go to whole hops without
a bag for most batches.

********
Coyote writes:
>The fittings can be changed from one keg type to another.
>You're looking at about $4-5 for the snap on portion, and about the same
>for the fitting on the keg. You may find these priced significantly higher
>at your local homebrew supply store. Go figure!

I don't understand the "snap on portion" but not all kegs can be changed
from ball to pin or vice versa. In fact, only the Cornelius Company uses
the same thread on both their pin and ball lock kegs, which means that you
can get replacements. Most pin-lock kegs are Firestone, which will not
accept a ball-lock connector replacement.

********
Mark writes:
> What is the difference between using DME or liquid extract?

Dried malt extract is about 3-5% water and liquid is about 18-22% water
except for Alexander's which contains a bit more water. The usual
conversion is to use 20% less DME than liquid in a given recipe.

********
Doug needs some malt data (this is for DeWolf-Cosyns Belgian malt):

>Caravienne about 20 degrees Lovibond, does not need to be mashed
>Biscuit about 25 degrees Lovibond, does not to be mashed
>Belgian Aromatic about 25 degrees Lovibond, does need to be mashed
>Belgian Pilsner about 1.8 degrees Lovibond, does need to be mashed

I've never used the Pils or the Biscuit, but the Caravienne is a crystal
malt and I use about 22 pts/lb/gal in my calculations and the Aromatic
gives me about 25-27 pts/lb/gal.

Al.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 14:01 EST
From: Eric Hale
Subject: RE: CO2 Empty Apology Retracted

Dion Hollenbeck said he thought there was liquid in his CO2 tank. That's
probable. At 75 deg F the saturation pressure of CO2 is 905.1 psi, i.e., at
this temperature and pressure CO2 is 100% liquid. That's a higher pressure
than the tanks are normally filled to. Usually, at 75 degrees F the tanks
are filled to 790 psi. (Actually when the tanks are filled the temperature
is around 0 degrees F which corresponds to a pressure right around 300 psi).
Anyway, it's possible that the tank is in the middle of a phase change (going
from liqid to gas).
So, Neon, it's possible that you can have some liquid. Especially if your
tanks are fresh and cool.
If you really want to try an alternate gas don't use propane, use something
like N2O (nitrous oxide).

Eric Hale


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 16:24:55 EDT
From: [email protected] (John W. Carpenter)
Subject: 5 Liter Kegs


>Chris Strickland writes:

>>
>> What's this I hear? I use chlorine and warm water to sanitize my 5 liter
>> mini-kegs. Am I running a chance of causing corrosion with my
>> mini-kegs?


>Yes, if they're made of stainless steel.



>- --Jeff

I don't know what they are made of, but I know it's not Stainless steel.
When I first got mine, I over primed and had a couple of them "pop out"
on me. They were no good, so I cut one in half with a pocket knife. The
inside is lined with some kind of epoxy coating. The very top, where the
bung is inserted, isn't completely coated. So, if you don't let the keg
dry after washing, it may rust in that area. I get mine ready by
autoclaving them, or using B-brite. I hope this helps.

John Carpenter, [email protected]



------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 17:06:25 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: half kegs

A few digests ago I posted a request for sources for half kegs cut, or to be
cut, into brew pots.
thanks to those who responded. I now have BCI's address filed away, but no
one had Sabco's info.(I think thats the company name)
Coyote mentions becoming chummy with the local soda distributor...
I stopped at the local hot dog bus. The guy usually has 10-15 pepsi er ball
lock kegs hanging around outside. he seemed to indicate he might sell a
few. It doesn't hurt to ask;)
Too bad I use the pin lock brand.
AMF
Bob Talkiewicz, Binghamton, NY

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 15:19:22 PDT
From: [email protected]
Subject: Woodruff XMAS Ale


First of all, thanks to all who replied with information about Shiner Bock.
It was all very helpful; I plan on making my next "attempt" in the next few
weeks. Before that, however...

I plan on brewing a spiced ale for the holidays. I'm starting with a fairly
light (extract) base, adding some steeped specialty malt for color
(red/copper?), and then adding some spices. Here's my (preliminary) recipe,
and specific questions below:

6.6 lbs Munich liquid extract
1.5 lbs light malt dry extract (maybe)
2 cups crystal malt, steeped
1 cup cara-pils malt, steeped
1/4 oz. Centennial (60 min)
1/2 stick cinnamon (60 min)
1 teaspoon woodruff (60 min)
1/4 oz. Centennial (30 min)
1/2 stick cinnamon (30 min)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg (30 min)
1/2 oz. Saaz (5 min)
1/2 oz. Saaz (dry)
1/2 stick cinnamon (dry)
1 teaspoon woodruff (dry)
3/4 cup corn sugar (to prime)
Some type of liquid ale Wyeast (perhaps 1028 London Ale?)

Rack to secondary after a few days. Bottle in a couple of weeks. Drinkable
by Christmas?

Questions:
Has anyone used woodruff? Success/failure? I've only had it in a beer once
(at a microbrewery festival), but that beer was *extremely* good, and it
seemed to add a nice spiciness to the beer, if I recall.
Any thoughts on the appropriate hops/spice ratio or amounts? Do I have too
much hops?
I've seen recommendations of cinnamon stick over ground cinnamon (easier to
filter out, I guess). Has anyone thrown a whole chunk of nutmeg into the
wort or primary, instead of ground nutmeg?

Any other comments on the above recipe are encouraged/appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Either emailed or posted info is fine.

Scott_Pisani @ notes.pw.com

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 18:43:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Dr. Robert Ford"
Subject: Great Western Brewing

Hey all.

I am doing a project in a management class where we are analyzing a
company for possible strategic management ideas on it. I am doing Great
Western Brewing Company in Canada. If anyone is familiar with the beer
and what they are doing now, I would be appreciative of any information.
I wanted to thank everyone that gave me information on good brewpubs in
England a while ago. I had a great time and found many great beers.
Even though the trip was sponsered by Bud Dry and they imported much of
it over for our consumption, we did get to try some good stuff. I would
also like to get a sample of Great Western Beer if anyone knows if they
sell it in the states or of anyway to get access to it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Loren @ [email protected]


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 20:33:00 GMT
From: [email protected] (Jeff Guillet)
Subject: HOMEBREW DIGEST #1556 (OC


Dick Dunn writes:



H>That's it for 25.206. Doesn't seem that complicated, now, does it? Does
H>seem to allow for competition and contests, doesn't it? Folks who are
H>supposed to know the regs *should* be able to sort it out and give you the
H>straight skinny, methinks...unfortunately, the few relevant paragraphs are
H>buried in several hundred pages of babble. (Then too, as others have
H>noted, you've still got to figure out state and local laws.)

So what does one do if you're obeying the law but your homebrew equipment
and/or beer is still confiscated by some local yokel who doesn't know/care?

As an example, a few months ago we read from someone in Virginia(?) who's
equipment was confiscated (stolen) by a police officer. That person was
violating no law, but his equipment and homebrew was seized nonetheless.
Should we all be carrying around a copy of the federal guidelines? Maybe
include a copy of the relevant sections in the same box as our homebrew that
we're sending to a competition? Would it make a difference?

-=Jeff=-
- ---
* CMPQwk #1.4* UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 21:03:11 -0400
From: [email protected]
Subject: Crashed Mailer/Thank-yous

Sorry to take up room with this post, but my mailer crashed and I lost a lot
of mail when I reinstalled it. I know there were a few people that were still
responding to some of my earlier posts on the easymasher and fermenters and I
want to thank them for taking the time to do so. I read the mail, but did not
have a chance to record who sent what. So thanks again, I really appreciate
your input.

Cliff
[email protected]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 22:05:06 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mark Castleman
Subject: Helpful GABF hint

For those attending the GABF this weekend I do have one hint that will save
you $5 and much frustration. Park your car at the I-25 & Broadway
Park-n-Ride/Light Rail station. From here you can ride one of the new
light rail trains to the 14th & California station for 0.50 per person.
This station is right across the street from Currigan Hall. This is
worth consideration because parking downton is at best an expensive
nightmare.

Mark W Castleman
Big Dog Brewing Cooperative - West
Sometimes you're the windshield, sometime you're the bug.


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 20 Oct 94 03:46:00 UTC
From: [email protected]
Subject: Alergies

My wife has been diagnosed as being allergic to various things, including
fungi. Can any one of the biology experts out there tell me if home brewing
will generate any unusual amounts of:

Aspergillus
Candida
Penicillum
Alternaria
Caladosporium

I assume that any of these would be an unwanted contaminant in the actual
beer, and I assume that a reasonable cleanup of the equipment, and disposal
of the residue would create no more of a hazard than a dozen other things
around the house -- but, I don't know. Can anyone supply an expert opinion?



------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1557, 10/20/94
*************************************
-------

---(2)---