HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gcohen@mailer.cc.fsu.edu (Gregory Cohen)
Subject: Re: Maple Syrup
Organization: Florida State University
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 01:37:16 GMT

In article <1992Nov2.084311.1@tesla.njit.edu> sjo2693@tesla.njit.edu writes:
>Got a call from a friend of mine stating he has some maple syrup in 
>storage for about 10 years and asked if I could use it in brewing
>beer...any thoughts????...He has about 30 gallons...would appreciate
>some recipes...

First boil the maple syrup, crystalized parts and all until it becomes a
consistant color.  Skim any scum from the top. (This is a general technique
for dealing with old maple syrup.  I've been able to recover 20+year old syrup this way.  Now for the recipe.

Boil the maple syrup in the same ammount of water until disolved.
Pour into primary, adding enough boiling (scalding actualy) H2O to produce
a S.G. of 1.3 (yup that high).  Add a whole orange quartered, dont bother to squeeze it.  put it in a hopps bag and it will be easer to deal with.  Add yeast.
I use a generic champaign yeast.  In four weeks rack, in four more rack again.
at the end of the third month you can bottle it.  If you want it carbonated shock
it with a heaping spoon of dextrose.  I like to treat things like this, honey and molasses as a wine.  I still use bottles that can take the pressure just in
case.  

For variety add nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves for variety.

The orange I suggest using kicks the acid a little, it helps the fermentation
as maple syrup is too close to neutral.  

Oh, one word to the wise, keep your windows closed when boiling this mess,
or you'll get every bee for a three mile radius coming for a taste.

This mixture makes a nice apple-jack and produces a strong medium dry wine 
or sparkling something that is not quite entirely unlike beer. 

-Greg 
gcohen@mailer.acns.fsu.edu
From: jacksons@gradient.cis.upenn.edu (Sharon Jackson)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: FAQ request
Date: 12 Nov 92 23:42:56 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania


	Could someone please send me the FAQ File for this group?
Thanks in advance. Also, does anyone know anything about brewing in
plastic water carboys? The glass ones cost about $16 around here, but
I can get the plastic ones for free. Are they usable, or am I wasting
my time with them? Thanx.

Sharon
From: hasn@midway.uchicago.edu (Sheheryar Hasnain)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Priming sugar to wort/beer ratio
Date: 9 Nov 92 16:04:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: midway.1992Nov9.160454.2896
Organization: University of Chicago

I just bottled after about three weeks in the carboy.  The gravity was really close to 0.1.  I siphoned
the beer into the bucket but the last 1.5  to 2 inches of liquid had so much trub/hop leftovers in
them that I left it in the carboy and flushed it.  Mixed in the priming sugar (in some boiled cold 
water first before pouring it into the wonderful smelling stuff).  Bottled in the following bottles:

9,  Grolsch Bottles:                             16 oz times 9 =     144.0   oz
9,  21.6 oz Becks bottles                   21.6 oz times 9=     194.4   oz
20, regular 12 oz bar bottles             12 oz times 20  =      240   oz

GRAND TOTAL                         578.4 oz

5 gallons of beer =                       640   oz

Difference=                                   61.6  oz

Papazian and people on the net have talked about not adding too much sugar or the bottles may 
explode.  I'm concerned that the shortfall of beer may result in a high sugar to beer ratio and 
cause exploding bottles.  And the worst part was that I found that out after they were all 
bottled.  I'll mark my carboy and bucket for the five gallon mark  now.  What are the chances that
my bottles will explode?  The 21.6 oz becks ones are not as thick as the Grolsch and regular bar
bottles.  Do they have a bigger risk of exploding?  What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: ajackson@ernie.Princeton.EDU (Andrew William Jackson)
Subject: brewing suppplies
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 00:58:08 GMT


When I was in New Zealand last year there were brewing supply stores all
over the place.  They sold complete brewing kits in round cans.  I have 
had difficulty finding places that sell brewing supplies back here.
  
Could someone give me the address of a place in the U.S. that sells 
brewing supplies mail order?

thanks.
Andrew Jackson  ajackson@ernie.princeton.edu


Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: afd@bellcore.com (Alex F. Dietz)
Subject: Re: transporting homebrew
Reply-To: afd@bellcore.com
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 14:21:42 GMT

In article 12149@news.service.uci.edu, smiller@jekyll.eng.uci.edu (Scott Miller) writes:


>I'm planning to take a few cases of homebrew back east for the holidays and
>would like advice on the best method to transport. Things such as packaging
>and even the legality of transporting hb would be helpful. (i will be flying).
>Thanks

My experience has been that taking homebrew on airplanes in carry-on presents the
least trouble.  As long as you don't consume it on the flight (patience man!), 
you should get minimal hassle from airline personell.  

On a related note, I ship homebrew via UPS by going through a local package
mailing store.  The guy asked me once what the contents were - I answered
that it was a "water sample."  He smiled a bit and, for my information, said
that they didn't have an ABT license to ship alcohol over state lines so......
meaning he couldn't insure the package if there was beer or wine in the box.  
I marked the intrinsic value as zero. I take all my stuff there now and avoid 
the UPS dorks who constantly made arbitrary "policy" interpretations.

-A Dietz
Bellcore, Morristown NJ
From: operstk@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: preserves instead of fruit?
Date: 10 Nov 1992 11:44:45 GMT
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Reply-To: operstk@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.rose-hulman.edu

Hello all.

Has anyone ever tried or given any consideration to using fruit preserves
(just like grandma use to make....) instead of fresh berries or fruit in their beer?

Id relly like to hear of the pros and or cons, or any experiences with such a thing. If this is possible, when should it be added?

				Msny thanks in advance,

					Steve
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: peterm@dtc.hp.com (Sweet Pete)
Subject: Re: Water in San Francisco
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 22:36:03 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: Where No Man Has Gone Before
Keywords: WATER ANALYSIS

In article <1992Nov12.182118.28153@netcom.com> jwsb@netcom.com (Justin Broughton) writes:
>I just read Dave Miller's book the complete handbook of home brewing.
>He seems to be very big on water quality, so my obvious question is,
>has anyone got the relevant details for San Francisco water and how 
>one would go about treating it?

IMHO Miller is big on too many things.  Use the taste test.  Make a brew and
if it tastes good, the water's good.  I use Sunnyvale water, unboiled, and
it's just fine.  I would expect SF water to be softer.

	Peter
-- 
Peter C. Maxwell,                      ARPA:   peterm@dtc.hp.com
Hewlett-Packard Company,
5301 Stevens Creek Blvd, MS 53U/36,    UUCP:   ..!hplabs!hpdtlpm!peterm
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8059             (408) 553 2512
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: arthur@sgi.com (Arthur Evans)
Subject: Re: Apple Cider
Reply-To: arthur@chiba.esd.sgi.com (Arthur Evans)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 00:58:44 GMT

In article <brewer.01u3@meltdown.chi.il.us> brewer@meltdown.chi.il.us (Mike Wilson) writes:
>Since I am an extract brewer, and proud of it, it stands to reason that I use a
>"quick" recipe for making cider.  I'm pretty happy with it.
>
>But!  A few weeks ago I made four batches of cider.  Two of them came out very
>clear, very tasty, very dry.  They were extremely enjoyable, even if they
>weren't carbonated (I acutally prefer them that way).  But the other two never
>cleared, were very sour and extremely acidic.  What did I do wrong?  How can I
>get to have only the two good batches and not the two bad?

It's kind of hard to guess what might have gone wrong
without a description of how you made the cider.

What was the difference between the batches?  Just 
fermented in different fermenters?  In that case, I'd
suspect the fermenters, and sanitize more carefully next
time.

ae

--
"'twas whiskey and bad company
  That made a wretch of me."
				- (traditional Irish ballad)
From: preidy@alsvid.une.edu.au (Paul Reidy)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: "twist-off" beer bottles
Date: 9 Nov 92 05:26:13 GMT
Organization: University of New England - Northern Rivers (Lismore)

From article <92310.180221U30585@uicvm.uic.edu>, by U30585@uicvm.uic.edu:
> Can "twist-off" top beer bottles be reused for homebrew?  Will regular crown
> caps seal on them and can I then twist them off or do I need to use an
> opener?

I use 375ml stubbies a lot for brewing and they cause no problems.  You can
twist them off as per usual.  However I would not use bottles any smaller than
375ml as that is getting too much hassle for the amount in the bottle. 
Remember the smaller the bottle the more bottles needed for each brew.  This
means more washing.  It does mean you don't need glasses though so it saves
time there.  Hope I helped.

See Ya
Reidy
-- 
Paul Reidy  Internet:  preidy@loki.une.edu.au   Phone:  +61 66 ????????
    University of New England, Northern Rivers (Lismore) NSW Australia
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Disposable Fermenters
From: steve@caticsuf.csufresno.edu (Steve Mitchell)
Date: 9 Nov 92 08:16:43 PST
Distribution: world
Organization: CSU, Fresno



Our news feed is broken, so please respond to this message
via email if possible.

A friend of mine wants to get into brewing.  I was explaining
that he should get a couple of five gallon glass fermenters.
He asked if he could use the plastic five gallon 
bottles that come to him each month through his drinking
water company.  The bottles are round, and are nearly the
same shape as glass fermenters, with the exception of 
a few ridges on the inside.

I told him that this wasn't a good idea since cleaning the
bottles was likely to scratch them on the inside, and that 
bacteria could grow in those scratches.

He then suggested that he doesn't need to sanitize the bottles,
he would just rinse them out and return them to the company.
In exchange, the company would give him freshly sanitized bottles,
full of good clean water (ready to be used in the brew).

I can't think of any reason why this idea wouldn't work (and
work well at that).  What is the net.opinion on this?

Again, please respond via email if possible.

-- 
Steve Mitchell / steve_mitchell@csufresno.edu / steve@caticsuf.csufresno.edu
-- 
Steve Mitchell / steve_mitchell@csufresno.edu / steve@caticsuf.csufresno.edu
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: dab@donner.uucp (25853-ballard)
Subject: og of anchor porter
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 18:06:23 GMT



Hey now-  Just a quickie-  does anyone know offhand the og of anchor
porter (and the fg too i guess)?  A friend of mine has a need to 
know....

thanks
dab

=========================================================================
dave ballard			
dab@cc.bellcore.com    
=========================================================================
From: ibiggs@fox.nstn.ns.ca (Kevin Crawford)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: re:kegging vs. bottling
Date: 9 Nov 92 19:36:18 GMT
Organization: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)



I've found that I prefer the taste of my bottled beers much more, to my 
simple little plastic and IMHO the only thing that I use my keg for is when 
I'm planing to have a large gathering and then the keg wins hands down for 
cleanliness... i.e. no butts in the bottom of empty kegs 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
|    Kevin Crawford     |  "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me       |
|(ibiggs@fox.nstn.ns.ca)| then a frontal lobotomy."                       |
|     Halifax, N.S.     |     -- Brian Mulroney (before the operation)    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: tbiggs@sierra.com (Todd Biggs)
Subject: Spiced Holiday Beer
Organization: Sierra Geophysics,  Kirkland WA
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 21:02:22 GMT

I'm sure this has come up before but here it goes again.  I'm about to
start a batch of wheat beer, but would like to give it a little bit of that
old holiday spirit.  I'm wondering what spices I should or shouldn't add,
where in the brewing process I should add them, and how much of them I 
should be adding.  Will the oils from the spices effect the beer in any 
negative way ?  What has worked best for the rest of you ? 

Please email tbiggs@sierra.com 
From: arnet@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com (Arne Thormodsen)
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 22:22:00 GMT
Subject: Re: some recipes (was Re: Advice on making (hard) cider)
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing

>can someone suggest a good way of pulping the apples?  I intend to ferment
>it as a scrumpy with no added yeast in a plastic bucket and was thinking 
>of running on the spot in a pair of old dress shoes. Anyone got a better 
>idea?  I may try an old meat grinder I bought in Goodwill for a buck to see
>if it would gring grains (it didn't), but that could take a while, the apples
>would have to be chopped, and I expect they would oxidise somethin' wicked.

The juice doesn't come out of apples all that easily.  My dad was trying
to get an apple press for some time, but with no luck.  It is a
traditional looking screw press, with a round plate which goes into
a "barrel" with about a 1/4 inch gap between the slats.  I don't know
where you buy these, but my local brew supply house rents one out.
Maybe you can find a friendly farmer or a brew supply place out
your way who can rent you one for a couple of hours.

I'm not sure if the apples are put in a cloth sack or not before they
are pressed in one of these.

-arne
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: cav@bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: grain crushing
Reply-To: cav@bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 92 13:46:59 GMT

In article <1992Nov6.212607.22090@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>, redfreak@softcopy.ecn.purdue.edu (Thomas Lobonc) writes:
|> I know what a good crush is supposed to look like, but unfortunately I
|> can't get one with my Corona. Whole grains on one side, flour on the
|> other, and good crush in the middle.  What is the accepted procedure

Whoa!  Sounds like you don't have the mill adjusted correctly!  The
grist should be uniform from side to side.  It sounds like your mill's
plates are too tight on one side and too loose on the other.  If your
Corona is the same as mine, it has wing nut adjustments on each side.
Fiddle them until you get a good uniform crush right across.  Once you
have it 'balanced', you only need to adjust the centre wing nut to
vary the crush for different grains.


|> for dealing with the flour? Is there one?  Has anyone done any 
|> experiments to see how this flour affects extraction efficiency, stuck
|> sparges, extra tannins in the beer from the finely ground husks, etc.?
|> I have found that a lot of flour in the lauter tun can slow down the flow
|> rate, but I have never had a stuck sparge. For my last batch, I took the
|> crushed grain outside and shook it up in the wind until most of the flour
|> was gone. Then I ran the crushed grain through the Corona again and 
|> removed most of the flour with a fairly fine strainer.  The crushed grain,
|> which looked "good", was then mashed.  Was it a good or bad idea to
|> remove the flour?  How many SG points might this cause to be lost?  My
|> extraction figures are meaningless, since I have no control to compare them
|> to.
|> 
|> Tom
|> 
|> P.S. Jack, I'm sure a maltmill will improve my crush, but I can't afford
|> one!


Cheers,
Rick C.
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: jwsb@netcom.com (Justin Broughton)
Subject: Re: SG readings
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 18:54:49 GMT

homebrew@lupulus.ssc.gov writes:

>>I'm nervous about continually opening
>>the secondary fermenter to siphon off a sample...

How about leaving the SG Hydrometer in the Carbuoy itself with the
lid closed. I have a glass Carbuoy which is easy to see through, 
and would sterilize the hydrometer very carefully? 

Justin Broughton

Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: cav@bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Subject: Re: Long Melomel Fermentation.
Reply-To: cav@bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 92 14:02:17 GMT

In article <4090004@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com>, sandy@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com (Sandy Knight) writes:
|> I tried making the mead in "New Complete Joy etc" and also added some
|> fruit per the Apricot-Nectarine Melomel in Fall 92 Zymurgy. The recipe 
|> calls for 14 grams of dried Pris de Mousse Champagne yeast. I rehydrated
|> the yeast and pitched it at about 64 degrees. The original gravity was
|> 1.128. After about a week of furious fermenting in my primary fermenter
|> (glass carbouy) I racked the beer into a secondary fermenter. I tasted a
|> sample of the melomel at this point and it was great. At this point the 
|> melomel has been in the secondary fermenter for almost 4 weeks and it is 
|> still fermenting! It has showed signs of slowing down over the past day or
|> two, but I wonder if this is normal?

This is normal.  Compared to beer wort, your melomel must can be deficient
in several nutrients required by the yeast.  (unless you add nutrient)
The result is that the fermentation
is somewhat slower.  Also, you have a much higher O.G. than is typically used
in a beer, so it takes longer for the yeast to consume all that sugar.  The
high alcohol levels present towards the end of fermentation may also slow
the rate of fermentation so that it trails off very gradually.  Depending
on the yeast strain, it may never completely ferment out with so high an
original gravity.  All this is fairly academic anyway, given that you will
probably want to age the melomel for a few months anyway.  Not to worry.

|> 
|> The other question that I have is should I attempt to carbonate the Melomel
|> or is it better served with no carbonation. I do not have a kegging setup
|> so if I was to carbonate the Melomel would I still use some priming sugar?

Traditionally, I believe that meads and melomels were 'still' as opposed to
carbonated.  This doesn't stop you from making a sparkling melomel.  Normally,
I would say add priming sugar as for beer and bottle in appropriate bottles
(champagne or beer).  However, long aging in the secondary may leave you with
little viable yeast for carbonation.  Also, (again, depending on the yeast)
your high O.G. may result in so high an alcohol content that the yeast
cannot complete the fermentation.  This may not be a problem so long as you
like highly alcoholic, sweet mead.  It will however prevent you from inducing
the bottle fermentation you need to carbonate your mead.  While bottling
before the fermentation is complete is possible, it is VERY risky.  Exploding
bottles are not fun.

|> 
|> Thanks for the advice!
|> 
|> Sandy.
|> 
|> Sandy Knight (sandy@hpwrce.mayfield.hp.com)
|> 
|> ------------- OR ---------------------
|>  
|> Sandy Knight (sandy@hpwrc04.mayfield.hp.com)
|> 
|> "That's not a palindrome, The palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob. 
|> It don't work."     Monty Python.
|> 
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: aki <aki@akidamme-233324.worldbank.org>
Subject: I couldn't believe what they wanted!
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A723E56012322631@akidamme-233324.worldbank.org>
X-Xxdate: Mon, 9 Nov 92 14:52:32 GMT
Organization: The World Bank
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d11
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 14:54:15 GMT



I was in a local Price Club (for those of you not familiar with Price
Club, its a warehouse type store that sells just about everything.
It requires an annual membership fee and the savings is passed to
its members),  and I just happend to see a "Homebrew kit" on
display.  It consisted of:

1   5gal carboy with stopper and breather tube.
1   hand held bottle capper with 1 bag of caps.
1   small booklet introducting homebrewing.

price:  $59.00.


Price Club is usually 30%-50% cheaper than local retailers...

I'm in the wrong business if people are paying THAT much for
a carboy and  a cheap bottle capper....


  

-Aki
The Worldbank Wash. D.C.
E-mail: aki@akidamme-233324.worldbank.org
(202)458-1112
DoD 0628
PBA 2294
*************************************
"How come the best bowling ball for
me is always the one I don't own?"
*************************************
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: arthur@sgi.com (Arthur Evans)
Subject: Re: Freezing hard cider
Reply-To: arthur@chiba (Arthur Evans)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 22:33:36 GMT

In article <1992Nov12.094308.3157@nic.csu.net> steve@caticsuf.csufresno.edu (Steve Mitchell) writes:
>
>I've heard tales of people freezing hard cider and
>separating the (frozen) water from the alcohol.
>
>     1) is this method of distillation legal?

Probably not.  Then again, it would be next to impossible
for the feds to stop you.  What are they gonna do?  Unplug
your freezer?

>     2) how does one do this? (hypothetically, of course :)

I tried this once (but I didn't inhale) as a means of 
saving an unfortunate batch of cider.  I ended up with an
unfortunate batch of applejack (which, incidentally, is
what this beverage is allegedly called).  Someone who
used to contribute to the homebrewing digest said she 
made applejack by leaving a barrel of cider out in the barn
in the winter, and periodically scooping out the ice.

This don't work where I live.

You might, hypothetically, try placing some cider in a wide
mouthed plastic container (not a tightly sealed glass one, please),
placing it in the freezer, and periodically removing the ice
that forms.  

Please report back to us on the results of this thought 
experiment.

-ae-

--
"'twas whiskey and bad company
  That made a wretch of me."
				- (traditional Irish ballad)
From: operstk@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: cleaning wort chillers
Date: 10 Nov 1992 11:46:11 GMT
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Reply-To: operstk@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.rose-hulman.edu

What is the best way to clean a copper wort chiller? Does bleach react 
strangely to copper?

				Thanks in advance,
						Steve
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: jhh@sprite.berkeley.edu (John H. Hartman)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: filter for brewpot spigot
Followup-To: rec.crafts.brewing
Date: 11 Nov 1992 20:35:18 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: loiter.berkeley.edu

I've built a brewpot out of an old keg and brazed a spigot in the
side.  Inside the keg I've got an "L"-shaped piece of copper pipe
that extends a couple of inches into the keg, then bends down
towards the bottom, ending up about 1/2" from the bottom.  As per
a suggestion from this group I wedged a copper scrub pad under the
downspout to serve as a filter to prevent the drain from clogging.
Unfortunately this didn't work as planned. I brought the water to
a boil along with some crystal malt, and scooped out as much as a
could once the water boiled (like the recipe said).  I didn't get
all of it, however, and the remnants clogged the copper pad when
I tried to drain the brewpot. I think the filter would have worked
ok for hops, but the grain was too much for it.  I'd like to give
this one more shot before going back to siphoning (please no
arguments about the relative merits of siphoning vs. a spigot).
So, where did I go wrong?

BTW, I drained the brewpot by donning my welding gloves and dumping
it into a bucket through a cheese-cloth. Not very elegant, but
effective.

Thanks.

John
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
John H. Hartman
Graduate Student, UCB Sprite project
jhh@sprite.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing