HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rjhoffma@iastate.edu (Richard J. Hoffmann)
Subject: Laaglander, India Pale Ale (report)
Keywords: dry malt, amylase, dry beer
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 19:43:22 GMT

I promised to file a final report on the India Pale Ale that
I had been asking about because of a very high finishing
gravity that I lowered with amylase.  Some might recall that
I used Laaglander dry malt and that there has been lots of
discussion about this brand.

(I had some interesting email about Laaglander.  Some said
it was good stuff, always fermented out well; some said it
was the cheapest dry malt available and should be avoided;
but many posters had trouble with fermentation ending
early.)

So here it is, for what it's worth, starting with my recipe:

India Pale Ale (essentially similar to Palilalia in TNCJHB).

6 lb light Laaglander dry malt extract
1 lb amber Laaglander dry malt extract
1 lb cracked crystal malt
1/2 lb toasted, cracked pale ale malt
2 oz Northern Brewer hops pellets (boil, one hour)
1/2 oz Cascade hops pellets (finish)
2 tsp gypsum
2 pkg Doric beer yeast, hydrated and pitched directly
3/4 cup corn sugar (bottle)

I began on October 3, and the S.G. was 1.058 (all S.G.
corrected to 60F).  After the initial fermentation, I racked
into a secondary on 10/7, with a S.G. of 1.032.  There was
no further fermentation.  Believing this to be too high to
bottle, I added a package of Munton & Fisson "Home Brewing
Yeast," on the theory that the Doric might not be
attenuative enough.  Nothing.  A few days later I added
about 100 mg of amylase from Aspergillis niger, and
fermentation began again.  It continued slowly for a long
time (I needed more amylase, I guess).  I finally bottled it
on January 2 at a S.G. of 1.004!  (Using Papazian's
calculations, that comes to 7.1% alcohol by volume.)

I opened the first bottle last weekend, two weeks after
bottling, and it turns out to be very good.  It was fully
carbonated, quite aggressively hopped (pretty bitter), and
it has what I suppose you would call a clean taste.  (I'm on
my third batch, and I don't know how I should describe this
to let interested people know what it's like.)  I know I
don't like the "dry" beers I've tasted, but I do like this.

It _is_ a beer to be drunk one bottle at a time.  8-).

All-in-all, I'm pleased.  If I were going to use amylase
again, though, I'd use more so it didn't take two months to
get it in the bottle.  I don't know about Laaglander.  I'd
rather have my beer ferment out without help from enzymes,
and I would prefer more body.

Dick

-- 
Richard J. Hoffmann                Internet: rjhoffma@iastate.edu
Department of Zoology & Genetics     Bitnet: rjhoffma%iastate.edu@isumvs
Iowa State University                 Voice: (515) 294-8075
Ames, Iowa 50011
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: PsyTech@massey.ac.nz (PsyTech)
Subject: novice questions
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 22:39:16 GMT


Hi,

I have just started brewing and have a few questions to ask that I didn't
see in the FAQ. My apologies if these have already been thrashed to death
on the group!

[1]  I have access to a large supply of empty 1.5l plastic Coke bottles that
     I would like to use. Are there any drawbacks in using these to bottle
     beer? (for example do they seal adequately?)

[2]  Out of interest I would like to measure (guestimate...) the alcohol
     content of the brew. Presumably if the starting and finishing SG were
     known this could be determined by some mathematical relation. Is this
     the case?

[3]  How important is constant temperature during the fermentation phase?
     (mine varies from about 18C at night to 23C day - is this excessive?)

Thanks in advance!     

Malcolm Loudon   (email : PsyTech@massey.ac.nz [case sensitive])
Psychology Dept
Massey University
Palmerston North
New Zealand

Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: smmyers@foghorn.srv.pacbell.com (Sean Myers)
Subject: Re: ancient beer
Organization: Pacific Bell OSSEM
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:07:05 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.153612.18275@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>, redfreak@softcopy.ecn.purdue.edu (Thomas Lobonc) writes:
|> Just saw a news blurb that says 3 U of Pennsylvania archaeological
|> chemists discovered beer residue in jars in Iran and Iraq that are over 
|> 5,000 years old.
|> 
|> Tom
|> 

     I wonder if you could use it to culter a starter :-) :-) :-)


       _____  _____   ___   __  _       __  __ _____ ____  _____  _____ 
      |   __||   __| /   \ |  \| |     |  \/  |\ | /|  __||     \|   __|
      |__   ||   __||  ^  ||     |     |      | | | |  __||  ^  /|__   |
      |_____||_____||__|__||_|\__|     |_|\/|_| |_| |____||__|__\|_____|
  -+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+-
  + Sean M. Myers (smmyers@foghorn.srv.PacBell.COM) | WANTED...             +
  = Systems Analyst                                 |                       =
  + Operator Services                               |                       +
  = Software Engineering and Maintenance            |                       =
  + Pacific Bell (SRV complex) CA. USA              |                       +
  -+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+-
From: slndw@cc.usu.edu (Mark Taratoot)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: How about potatos ? (Can one make anything from them) ?
Date: 25 Jan 93 19:22:00 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <1993Jan25.205058.25876@PacBell.COM>, smmyers@foghorn.srv.pacbell.com (Sean Myers) writes:
> In article <93025.135521U53644@uicvm.uic.edu>, <U53644@uicvm.uic.edu> writes:
> |> Ok, I've already heard that sprouting potatos are poisinous, that's not what
> |> I'm asking about.
> |> 
> |> As anyone who has ever opened a Finnish cookbook knows, if cooked potatos are
> |> held over low heat for a while (a matter of hours) the complex carbohydrates in
> |> them start to break down into simpler sugars. (The resulting taste has been
> |> compared to that of sweet potatos). Well, has anyone taken this further, and
> |> made an analogue of beer from the resulting malted potatos ? It may sound gross
> |> , but then, how appetizing does a drink made from fermented barley sound ?
> |> 
> 
>      It doesn't sound gross at all, it sounds like vodka ;-)  Although I'm not
> sure what process they go through to make the vodka (some distillation process
> I'm sure), but it is made out of potatoes.
> 
> 
>        _____  _____   ___   __  _       __  __ _____ ____  _____  _____ 
>       |   __||   __| /   \ |  \| |     |  \/  |\ | /|  __||     \|   __|
>       |__   ||   __||  ^  ||     |     |      | | | |  __||  ^  /|__   |
>       |_____||_____||__|__||_|\__|     |_|\/|_| |_| |____||__|__\|_____|
>   -+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+-
>   + Sean M. Myers (smmyers@foghorn.srv.PacBell.COM) | WANTED...             +
>   = Systems Analyst                                 |                       =
>   + Operator Services                               |                       +
>   = Software Engineering and Maintenance            |                       =
>   + Pacific Bell (SRV complex) CA. USA              |                       +
>  
 -+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+--+=+-


Although some vodka is made from "potatos" (is this another Dan Q. spelling?)
most vodka is made from "whatever is cheap at the time."  This usually
means grain.  

A drink made from fermenting malted barley sounds good!!  In fact, I
think I will have one.

Remember Saturday Night Live -- "Spud...The beer that made Boise famous."

-- 

  Mark Taratoot                   * I BRU.
  DoD3323                         * DU U?
  SLNDW@cc.usu.edu              
  Watershed Science                     
  Utah State University
From: rcm@col.hp.com (hpctdfc)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: ancient beer
Date: 25 Jan 1993 19:25:55 GMT
Organization: Coors country, Colorado
NNTP-Posting-Host: hpctdfc.col.hp.com

> >Just saw a news blurb that says 3 U of Pennsylvania archaeological
> >chemists discovered beer residue in jars in Iran and Iraq that are over 
> >5,000 years old.
> That reminds me of a project of a few years back......
> A group of palynologists and archaeologists got together and analysed the
> residue.  The palynologist in question identified the grain types used in
> making the beer and.... being a bit of a homebrewer decided to try and
> replicate the beverage in question.
> 
> By all accounts the first attempt was dreadful.  Barely drinkable.

NOT!  You must have heard this from a friend of a friend (etc.)!  The results
were quite drinkable.  And it wasn't a group of paleontologists and
archaelolgists, either.  It was Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing Company
and Solomon H. Katz, a bioanthropologist at The University Museum,
University of Pennsylvania.

> They stated (at the time) that they would continue  playing around with
> the grain quantities until they got it right (well at least drinkable)

Not necessary, as they had a recipe.  The recipe came from the oldest
clay tablet known to man.  It contains the "Hymn to Ninkasi" which
translates to a recipe (song) for beer.  Fritz duplicated the recipe
at his Anchor brewery and was quite successful.  He made a second batch
a year or two later, which was just as if not more successful.

Reference:  _Archaeology_ magazine, July/August 1992.

Rick "I hate rumors" Myers

Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: wolo@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Greg Wolodkin)
Subject: Re: what's the difference? (Wyeast)
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 19:17:16 GMT

John Decarlo writes: 
> The major seller of liquid yeast cultures in the U.S. is Wyeast.  They have 
> a sheet of information on their various yeast strains

Just how does one obtain a copy of this info sheet?  My local homebrew
shop doesn't seem to have it, and I haven't seen it in the mail-order
catalogs I have (though I don't have many..)

Is there an ASCII version anywhere that someone could post or email?

Thanks in advance,
Greg
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: gak@wrs.com (Richard Stueven)
Subject: On Tap
Reply-To: gak@wrs.com
Organization: Wind River Systems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 00:58:16 GMT

Poltergeists!  Space aliens!  Gremlins!  Leprechauns!

Several times in this forum and others, I've lamented the loss of my
copy of the wonderful book "On Tap", simultaneously and vehemently
cursing the rotten b*****d that stole it.  Well, the curses worked!
While in the process of moving to a new house this weekend, I found the
book no longer missing!  This thief is a wily one...sometime when I
wasn't looking, he cleverly replaced the book UNDERNEATH AND BEHIND the
very bookcase he stole it from!  I don't know how he did it, but I'm
hoping he'll also return my car keys to an equally unlikely place (like
my pocket).

Anyway, my copy of "On Tap" is a first edition, and I know that
supplements have been published since I bought the book.  Any tips on
whom to contact to order the supplements?  (Orlando next week, Phoenix
in March...I've got a LOT of beer-hunting to do!)

thx
gak

---
Richard Stueven       AHA# 22584 |----------|
Internet:            gak@wrs.com |----GO----| Oh, what heights we'll hit...
ATTMAIL: ...!attmail!gakhaus!gak |---SHARX--| On with the show!  This is it!
Cow Palace:            107/H/3-4 |----------|
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: jdecarlo@mitre.org (John DeCarlo)
Subject: Re: Novice question: brewing small batches?
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean  VA
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 12:50:17 GMT

In article <43956@sdcc12.ucsd.edu>
 fairchil@helix.ucsd.edu (Kevin Fairchild) writes:

>But here's my question:  If I found a fermenter
>that was only about 1 gallon, and could fill it up without any airspace, is
>there any other reason why I couldn't make small batches to try different
>recipes?

Nope.  Fermentation will tend to go faster in small batches, and small 
fermenters are more sensitive to temperature changes.

Your fixed costs will stay the same (yeast, etc.).  And the amount of time 
needed to make a batch will stay the same.  (Same amount of work whether you 
brew 1 gallon or 5.)

Our homebrew club is considering doing some controlled experiments by 
splitting up 5 or 10 or 15 gallon batches into 1 gallon fermenters and 
varying specific factors.  Lots of other people have fermented in 1 gallon 
jugs for one reason or another.

John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet:  1:109/131  Internet:  jdecarlo@mitre.org
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: wolo@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Greg Wolodkin)
Subject: Ooops ;-)
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 09:52:45 GMT

Just thought I'd share this -- I got a good laugh out of it, anyway.

I brewed my first all-grain batch this afternoon, using my new 33
quart kettle.  (Hey maybe that's the magic of the number 33.. ;-)

I listened to a whole lot of Elmore James throughout the course of
the mash, to ensure starch conversion, and then cranked up some old
John Mayall for the mash-out and sparge.  All was well.

The boil was amazing -- the 33 qt. kettle fits over two burners of
my gas stove, and when I fire both of them up I can get a full boil
in no time.  With a 21 qt. canning pot and one burner, a rolling 
boil wasn't possible without a lid.

In less than two hours, seven gallons was reduced to a little more
than five, so I shut off the burner and began running cold water
through the chiller.  I siphoned off a quart of the sweet wort to
prime last week's batch of bitter, and filled bottles while the wort
cooled to about 70F.  I was feeling invincible.

My plan was to rack the sweet wort onto the yeast cake from last
week's batch, and in doing so I noticed that the wort seemed much
warmer than 70F.  With a siphon hose in one hand and a homebrew
in the other, I was unable to confirm this with a thermometer ;-)

About this time my wife rolls in the door, smiles because I'm 
brewing one of her favorite beers, and then says "Hey -- why is
that back burner turned on??"

"Doooohhhhhh!" was my Homeresque reply.  It slipped my relaxed mind
that I would have to turn off two burners instead of one!  Needless
to say, the cold break was not as impressive as it might have been.
I did check, and things were just under 90F when I siphoned the 
cooled (while heated ;-) wort onto the yeast slurry.  I let the break 
settle for a few hours and racked into the 25l for primary -- I 
figure the yeast is OK, but I have a packet of dry yeast I could 
pitch if not.. so nothing is lost.

I guess the lesson has to do with two burners.  To cool the wort,
turn 'em both off. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Prost!
Greg


Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: lawson@acuson.com (Drew Lawson)
Subject: Re: 33 QUART CANNING KETTLE
Reply-To: lawson@acuson.com (Drew Lawson)
Organization: ACUSON, Mountain View, CA
Distribution: world,local
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1993 22:45:15 GMT

In article <ebs.61.727469506@lilly.com> ebs@lilly.com (Eric B. Stauffer) writes:
>In article <2519.180.uupcb@hardgood.com> john.fix@hardgood.com (John Fix)  writes:

>>You can get a 33 qt canning kettle for about $28.99 at any True Value

>Is this an aluminum pot? It was my understanding that aluminum should be 
>avoided as it can impart nasties in your wort?

Don't know about this particular one, but canning kettles are generally
enameled steel.  I wouldn't trust aluminum to resist bending under the
weight of 1/2 gallon canning jars.

-- 
Drew Lawson                      If you're not part of the solution,
lawson@acuson.com                you're part of the precipitate
From: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Netnews Administration Must Be Hard
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 18:27:30 EDT
Organization: 5 Sigma Software
Reply-To: joseph@joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us
X-Mailer: uAccess - Macintosh Release: 1.5v5


First, it was:
> From: mlh10@hohnbrew.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Michael Hohnbaum)

And then, just a few articles later:
> Reply-To: elwin@gamma.DOMAIN.NOT.SET (Lawrence E. Brown)

What's the world coming to, anyway?  Should we establish a scholarship
fund so that we can send copies of the proper O'Reilly books to these
sites?

:-)

================O Fortuna, velut Luna, statu variabilis================
uunet!joebloe!joseph   (609) 273-8200 day   joseph%joebloe@uunet.uu.net
2102 Ryan's Run East        Rt 38 & 41             Maple Shade NJ 08052
Copyright 1992 by Joseph N. Hall.   Permission granted to copy and
redistribute freely over USENET and by email.  Commercial use prohibited.
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: hpeyerl@novatel.cuc.ab.ca (Herb Peyerl)
Subject: Re: Keiselguhr, bottling mead
Organization: "NovAtel Communications Ltd. Calgary, Alberta, Canada"
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 04:33:16 GMT

Brian F. Brown (bfbrown@media.mit.edu) wrote:
: Diatomaceous earth is a filtering compound.  The way it works in 
: swimming pools (large pools have d.e. filters) is it grabs (ionizes)
: the chlorine which has bonded with impurities and lets the free chlorine
: go through.  Basically, it is the reason that big pools which have low
: circulation rates aren't hazy.  It will do the same thing for beer, but I 
: can't imagine how you could keep yeast around through it.

There's quite a good article on DE in the Gadgets issue of Zymurgy which
just came out... 

It starts out by saying "Kieselguhr" is Diatomaceous earth... Confirms
that one I guess...


--
"I was early to finish | hpeyerl@novatel.cuc.ab.ca <Reply-To>   | I brew |
I was late to start, I | peyerlh@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca             | there- | 
might be an adult, but | #define JANITOR "Network Administrator"| fore I | 
I'm a minor at heart." |    JANITOR, NovAtel Communications Ltd.|   AM.  |
-- 
"I was early to finish | hpeyerl@novatel.cuc.ab.ca <Reply-To>   | I brew |
I was late to start, I | peyerlh@cuugnet.cuug.ab.ca             | there- | 
might be an adult, but | #define JANITOR "Network Administrator"| fore I | 
I'm a minor at heart." |    JANITOR, NovAtel Communications Ltd.|   AM.  |
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: gummitch@techbook.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Re: WYEAST flavor differences
Organization: TECHbooks --- Public Access UNIX --- (503) 220-0636
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 23:35:09 GMT

jharres@doc.bmd.trw.com writes:

>Would someone explain what differences in flavor one would get using
>the following WYEAST cultures given that nothing else was changed from
>one batch to the next:

The short answer is DO IT, and find out with your own mouth.  The
problem with any other answer is that a lot of the differences are
subjective; some of the differences have less to do with flavor than
with behavior (for example, whether or not the yeast is a good
flocculator -- that is, does it settle out quickly or is it "fluffy",
staying in suspension and making it difficult to clear).

Some of these yeasts, though, are quite distinctive.  Particularly 1214,
which, under the right circumstances, will make your beer taste like a
banana.  I always get 1028 and 1098 confused; one of them (I think 1098)
is the Whitbred triple strain and has a very distinctive fruity taste
that I'm not fond of.

>    Belgian Ale       #1214
>    German Ale        #1007
>    American Ale      #1056
>    Irish Ale         ##1084
>    British Ale       #1098
>    European Ale      #1338
>    London Ale        #1028

If you're starting out with liquid yeasts, my own recommendation would
be to use either 1338 or 1056, two fairly neutral yeasts.  The 1056, in
particular, makes very clean ales and is a great flocculator.


>Realize that my experience has not included sampling some of the world's
>real beers, so comparing flavors to existing brands is meaningless to me.

>  I've been making batches using Muton & Fison dry yeast with various 
>makes and styles of malt extract (all extract/no sugar).

>Thanks for any help
>Jim
>a
While you're at it, make a point of tasting as many of the world's "real
beers" as you can!

--Jeff

-- 
gummitch@techbook.COM  Public Access UNIX at (503) 220-0636 (1200/2400) 


Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing,alt.beer
From: jdecarlo@mitre.org (John DeCarlo)
Subject: Re: To Scoop or Not to Scoop
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean  VA
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 12:33:06 GMT

In article <93026.202000U30585@uicvm.uic.edu>
 alan parman <U30585@uicvm.uic.edu> writes:

>The book I have on beer brewing recommends scooping off the 'foam' from the
>top of the wort in the primary fermentation.  It claims that much of the
>very bitter oils from the hops is carried in this foam and that unless you
>do this you will get very bitter beer. 

Bull hockey.

Skimming used to be recommended all the time (sounds like your book was 
published in the 70's or early 80's).  It helped when people had little 
information on good brewing procedures and brewed in open garbage cans.

It *is* true that the kraeusen is full of very bitter substances that you 
don't want to stay in your beer.

Good homebrewing practice today falls into one of two camps, roughly 
speaking, both of whom want to avoid having unwanted stuff in their beer:

1) Blow-off.  These people use a 5 gallon carboy for the primary fermenter 
with a 5 gallon batch.  They attach a large tube to the top (1" ID) which 
leads to a bucket with some water in it.  This acts as a type of airlock, 
but also allows all that foam to be sent shooting out of the fermenter, 
never to touch the beer again.

2) Large primary and secondary.  These people use a 6.5 or 7 gallon primary 
fermenter with an airlock.  Once the kraeusen falls back into the beer and 
settles down as part of the trub (sediment on the bottom), the fermenting 
beer is racked into a 5 gallon secondary to finish fermenting if necessary 
and to get it off all that horrible stuff in the trub.

I admit to only trying 1) one time, and being dissatisfied with the results 
(overly bland beer, to my taste).  I regularly use 2) because it works well, 
plus has other advantages, such as allowing the beer to clear more and 
removing the time constraints on bottling right away.

John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet:  1:109/131  Internet:  jdecarlo@mitre.org
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: rbaist@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (robert.t.baist)
Subject: Beginner needs help
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 19:34:24 GMT

Well, I just sampled my first batch and I am now a happy brewer! 

Now for the question. My bro got me a second kit. Not knowing what equipment
I have, he bought a John Bull Blonde Kit that makes 66 bottles. I have a 6.5
gallon carboy. 66 bottles = 6.1875 gallons. 

Am I correct that this batch is too big for the carboy with a fermentation 
lock? Should I use a blow off tube? Can I just reduce the amount of water to
make a more potent batch? How much should I reduce by to use a fermentation
lock? 

Please e-mail me if possible to reduce traffic here. 
Thanks!!

Bob B. 
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
From: pdifalco@fnma.com (Phil DiFalco)
Subject: trub reuse
Keywords: trub
Reply-To: pdifalco@fnma.com
Organization: Fannie Mae
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 21:04:33 GMT


I'm new to homebrewing (2 batches in 2 months).
I'm interested in experiences and/or procedures for trub reuse.
Are better successes obtained with ale or lager trubs?
Any/all responses welcome.
Thanks.

--
email: pdifalco@fnma.com (NeXT Mail Okay)
Philip DiFalco, Programmer Analyst, Advanced Technology
FannieMae, 3900 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 22016     (202)752-2812