tjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley) (01/17/86)
[slurp, slurp...]
After spending a year in Germany and drinking lots of *good* beer, I
have been terribly disappointed in every bottle of brew I've tried
since my return to Canada. (Who knows, if I lived in the States I may
have given up beer drinking altogether :-) Even the imports are not
the same. Many are brewed differently for export, and they all have to
be pasturised, which seems to give a slightly bitter aftertaste.
So...
I'd like to start brewing my own beer and was wondering if anyone had
any pointers. I think, for the first batch at least, I'd like to use
one of those "kits" with everything included. Any suggestions? I
prefer an ale.
Trevor J. Smedley University of Waterloo
{decvax,allegra,ihnp4,clyde,utzoo}!watmum!tjsmedleyjerry@utrc-2at.UUCP (Jerry J. Deroo) (01/21/86)
have you tried the Upper Canada Brewery Ale and Lager?
the Lager is a nice, lighter taste
the Ale is a smooth, dark one, reminding me of a few that I had in England, but
can't remember their names...
--
Jerry J. Deroo
utzoo!yetti!utrc-2at!jerryguy@slu70.UUCP (Guy M. Smith) (01/22/86)
In article <365@watmum.UUCP>, tjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley) writes: > I'd like to start brewing my own beer and was wondering if anyone had > any pointers. I think, for the first batch at least, I'd like to use > one of those "kits" with everything included. Any suggestions? I > prefer an ale. I haven't been involved in beer making for awhile but this is the best I can recall. Most homebrews are a mixture of malt and sugar. They're somewhat easier to make that way than all malt brews which can be a bit tricky. I had one disaster with an all malt stout that I'll never forget (neither will the woman who chugged a big swallow thinking that because it was dark brown and in a coke bottle it must be coke :-)). In short I recommend that you stay away from all malt brews for your first try. By all means try ales. Our best home brew (out of twenty or thirty batches) was an ale.
rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (01/27/86)
> > I'd like to start brewing my own beer and was wondering if anyone had > > any pointers. I think, for the first batch at least, I'd like to use > > one of those "kits" with everything included... > > I haven't been involved in beer making for awhile but this is the best I > can recall. Most homebrews are a mixture of malt and sugar. They're somewhat > easier to make that way than all malt brews which can be a bit tricky... > ...In short I recommend > that you stay away from all malt brews for your first try. By all means try > ales. Our best home brew (out of twenty or thirty batches) was an ale. Dead wrong on the business of sugar vs. malt. The reason that most starter kits use a combination of malt and sugar is that malt is a bunch more expensive--malt is close to $2 a pound. Plus, these folks have to ship the malt with their kits, and it's heavy. They can tell you to go buy sugar at the store. In fact, an all-malt brew is MORE likely to be successful. (Reasons below) On the other hand, it's true that you're better off starting with an ale, probably an amber ale, when you get started. Suggestions: Look for a kit that's got a large quantity of malt, or use two kits' worth of malt and skip the sugar (except at bottling). Other than that--find successful homebrewers and talk to them. There is only one secret to successful homebrewing: KEEP IT CLEAN! That can't be overempha- sized--the ONLY bad homebrews I have ever tasted got that way because of contamination. (Little microbeasties get into the brew and make odd tastes. But don't worry--none of the contaminant bacteria, molds, etc. that prey on beer seem to have ill effects on health.) Why all-malt brews? * better body. Sugar contributes only alcohol, no taste or body. * less tendency to a "cidery" taste which is somehow the result of slight contamination combined with some (widely observed but poorly understood) effect of sugar on fermenting wort. Why start with a medium ale? * very light brews are difficult to make even for more experienced brewers. * lager yeast starts fermenting slower than ale yeast. The period between adding yeast and the start of fermentation is the time when the beer is most susceptible to contamination taking hold; ale yeast reduces this period a lot. * Ales are ready to drink a lot sooner. How long do you want to watch those two cases waiting to taste your work? * Ale yeast is less critical about fermentation temperatures-- basement temperature is fine for it. * Frankly, if you have a hearty tasting brew, it will mask any minor off-tastes while you're learning. You'll be able to enjoy it more. * On the other hand, a very dark brew (like a stout) can be so overwhelming that you won't be able to critique it decently. You need a taste that's open enough that you can pick out the effects of various ingredients and techniques. You want to be able to find the off tastes so that you can fix them, but you also want to be able to ignore them when you're just enjoying the beer. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...I'm not cynical - just experienced.
tomp@amiga.UUCP (Tom Pohorsky) (01/30/86)
>> ales. Our best home brew (out of twenty or thirty batches) was an ale. My partner was into brewing a few years back. His best results were with stout. Perhaps this varies from cook to cook. >There is only one >secret to successful homebrewing: KEEP IT CLEAN! That can't be overempha- >sized--the ONLY bad homebrews I have ever tasted got that way because of >contamination. (Little microbeasties get into the brew and make odd >tastes. Agreed! This microb's contamination thing IS very important. My experience has been w/bottling wine, and with all the aging and such it's a serious issue. The standard solution w/wine is to add a tiny amount of sodium bisulfate. Human taste threshold is ~ 200 ppm; most wineries and successful home winemakers use 100-150. Sodium metabisulfide can also be used in pretty much the same way. These are available at most wine/beermaking supply houses. All this chemical abuse may sound unappealing, but the wine world has been doing it for along time with good results. If you're aging beer a long time, and/or your intended cleanliness is not fully successful, you might want to give this a try.
pae@Shasta.ARPA (01/30/86)
tomp@stella.UUCP (Tom Pohorsky) writes: >Agreed! This microb's contamination thing IS very important. My experience >has been w/bottling wine, and with all the aging and such it's a serious >issue. The standard solution w/wine is to add a tiny amount of sodium >bisulfate [sic.]. Human taste threshold is ~ 200 ppm; most wineries and >successful home winemakers use 100-150. Sodium metabisulfide [sic.] can also be >used in pretty much the same way. These are available at most wine/beermaking >supply houses. > All this chemical abuse may sound unappealing, but the wine world has been >doing it for along time with good results. If you're aging beer a long time, >and/or your intended cleanliness is not fully successful, you might want to >give this a try. > No, you don't want to use Sodium bisulfite (not ...fate) or Potassium metabisulfite in beer. They are both just sources of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) whose antimicrobial action is a function of pH (a measure of acidity). Wine has a low pH (more acid) and so the SO2 is more effective and so less is needed. Beer has a much higher pH and so 10 to 100 times as much SO2 or bisulfate salts would be needed. Clearly not desirable! -Peter Eichenberger P.S. roughly, the amount of SO2 required is (1+10^(pH-1.8))*.8 ppm. Wine pH is from about 3.2 to 3.7. Beer (I think) is from about 5 to 6.
jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (01/31/86)
> Agreed! This microb's contamination thing IS very important. My experience > has been w/bottling wine, and with all the aging and such it's a serious > issue. The standard solution w/wine is to add a tiny amount of sodium > bisulfate. Human taste threshold is ~ 200 ppm; most wineries and > successful home winemakers use 100-150. Sodium metabisulfide can also be > used in pretty much the same way. These are available at most wine/beermaking > supply houses. > All this chemical abuse may sound unappealing, but the wine world has been > doing it for along time with good results. If you're aging beer a long time, > and/or your intended cleanliness is not fully successful, you might want to > give this a try. > A caveat here - some people get blinding headaches from wines treated with too much (or even just some) sodium bisulfate. It is usually the worst in cheap red jug wines. -- jcpatilla Mountain View is paid a diplomatic visit by giant Lunar reptiles that want our hot tubs but can't find any so they leave.
alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey) (02/03/86)
> >There is only one > >secret to successful homebrewing: KEEP IT CLEAN! That can't be overempha- > >sized--the ONLY bad homebrews I have ever tasted got that way because of > >contamination. (Little microbeasties get into the brew and make odd > >tastes. > > Agreed! This microb's contamination thing IS very important. My experience > has been w/bottling wine, and with all the aging and such it's a serious > issue. The standard solution w/wine is to add a tiny amount of sodium > bisulfate. Human taste threshold is ~ 200 ppm; most wineries and > successful home winemakers use 100-150. Sodium bisulfite (not bisulfate) and the more common potassium metabisulfite are added to wines primarily as antioxidants. They have a minor and temporary inhibiting effect on SOME bacteria. Commercial use of bisulfites in beer is largely limited to summertime addition by some small British real-ale breweries to slightly extend the two-week useful life of their product in cask. BTW, human taste threshhold for sulfur dioxide (which sulfites release from aqueous solution) is 10-20 ppm, which corresponds to the presence of anywhere from 20-70 ppm of bisulfite depending on the pH of the wine. Most sophisticated wineries and home winemakers now try to limit sulfite addition as much as possible. In optimum conditions, the total added may be as little as 40-50 ppm.
michaelh@tekecs.UUCP (Michael Herbert) (02/04/86)
In article <365@watmum.UUCP>, tjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley) writes: > I'd like to start brewing my own beer and was wondering if anyone had > any pointers. I think, for the first batch at least, I'd like to use > one of those "kits" with everything included. Any suggestions? I > prefer an ale. Well, it's good to see some discussion about beer in this newsgroup! I've been brewing beer for about 3 years now and have brewed 25-30 batches during that time. I would strongly encourage you to try it. You are correct in assuming that a kit is the easiest way to brew your first batch of beer. The problem with kits, however, is that most of them suggest you supplement the malt extract in the kit with corn sugar. Corn sugar is a cheap and easy way to increase the alcoholic content of the beer, but it unfortunately imparts a rather cidery bite to the finished product (your beer). Without knowing exactly which kit you're using, it's difficult for me suggest an alternative. What I will do, however, is suggest a few good sources of information for a beginning homebrewer. 1. Get a copy of the book entitled "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. It has detailed descriptions of beginning, intermediate, and advanced homebrewing techniques, lots of illustrations, and over 50 recipes. It is the most complete and easy-to-read text that I've seen on the subject (and is especially good for beginners.) 2. Contact your local brewing club. These clubs usually get together monthly to exchange brewing information, recipes, and, of course, homebrew. The American Homebrewing Association can probably give you the name of the club nearest you (and can also give you the name of any nearby brewing supply stores.) A.H.A. Boulder, CO 80306 (303) 447-0816 3. Feel free to contact me via e-mail. And if your first batch doesn't turn out like you expected, don't get discouraged. With a little experience, you'll be amazed at the quality and variety of beers which you can create. ----- Mike Herbert tektronix!tekecs!michaelh --------------------------------------------------- "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew!" Charlie Papazian