- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What do you consider ‘ultra low carb’?  Michelob Ultra makes a beer that doesn’t taste appreciably different than their ‘lite’ beer, and is only something like 2.5 carbs per. revek  who prefers a nice cold Amber Bock Woah.. That’s not even beer ,, even  alcohol.. hell.. it’s not even drinkable..

Looks like you’ve changed the subject to something incomprehensible. Of course it’s beer – both of them are beer. And, of course, Ultra is lower carb than traditional beers. A more complete fermentation digests more of the carbs. Less residual non-fermented sugar. Pastorio

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I agree that the Mich Ultra tastes pretty good for a light beer. However, to answer the question about drinking it on induction, if you follow Atkins, it clearly is not allowed. I see lots of threads here where everybody focuses on the carbs in the beer and completely ignore the alcohol itself.  Any of these beers has 100 or so calories, 90% of them are from the alcohol itself.  Alcohol, while not a carb, gets metabolized quickly by the body and can take you out of ketosis. The time to experiment with alcohol in moderation is when you’re well on your way to your goal, not during induction. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – In our last episode, TheCharlie said: It’s not much in the taste department and it’s low-carb (relatively speaking), but…would it violate the rules of induction? Having made beer for many years,  I can tell you that it’s virtually impossible to make a ‘ultra low carb’ beer.. But as a beer maker, I can tell you that if this is what you want to try, then go for it. Take your best tasting low carb beer..  and then cut it two to one with seltzer. ( AT least there will still be some bubbles..) Because the idea of making a lower carb beer goes against the physics of beer making. .. if it can be done, it would turn beer making upside down.  still I won’t consider it impossible  (but suspect it is..) What do you consider ‘ultra low carb’?  Michelob Ultra makes a beer that doesn’t taste appreciably different than their ‘lite’ beer, and is only something like 2.5 carbs per. revek  who prefers a nice cold Amber Bock

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Alcohol is the body’s first choice for metabolism and if present will utilize that before any other. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I agree that the Mich Ultra tastes pretty good for a light beer. However, to answer the question about drinking it on induction, if you follow Atkins, it clearly is not allowed. I see lots of threads here where everybody focuses on the carbs in the beer and completely ignore the alcohol itself.  Any of these beers has 100 or so calories, 90% of them are from the alcohol itself.  Alcohol, while not a carb, gets metabolized quickly by the body and can take you out of ketosis. The time to experiment with alcohol in moderation is when you’re well on your way to your goal, not during induction. In our last episode, TheCharlie said: It’s not much in the taste department and it’s low-carb (relatively speaking), but…would it violate the rules of induction? Having made beer for many years,  I can tell you that it’s virtually impossible to make a ‘ultra low carb’ beer.. But as a beer maker, I can tell you that if this is what you want to try, then go for it. Take your best tasting low carb beer..  and then cut it two to one with seltzer. ( AT least there will still be some bubbles..) Because the idea of making a lower carb beer goes against the physics of beer making. .. if it can be done, it would turn beer making upside down.  still I won’t consider it impossible  (but suspect it is..) What do you consider ‘ultra low carb’?  Michelob Ultra makes a beer that doesn’t taste appreciably different than their ‘lite’ beer, and is only something like 2.5 carbs per. revek  who prefers a nice cold Amber Bock

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It’s not much in the taste department and it’s low-carb (relatively speaking), but…would it violate the rules of induction?

8 of them would. at 2.6 carbs a piece, but you need your veggies. get through induction and then unwind a little.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What do you consider ‘ultra low carb’?  Michelob Ultra makes a beer that doesn’t taste appreciably different than their ‘lite’ beer, and is only something like 2.5 carbs per. revek  who prefers a nice cold Amber Bock Woah.. That’s not even beer ,, even  alcohol.. hell.. it’s not even drinkable.. Take some cardboard, soak it well for a couple hours.   Remove it from the water. Squeeze the juice from cardboard into a vessal and wala…Michelob Ultra,  at least thats what it tastes like.

This is NOT a joke: If you have a Michelobe Ultra, smell it. Really smell into the bottle. It smells like shit. It’s especially strong right after opening it. I drank it for quite a while before I realized that the alcohol was hurting regardless of label carb count. I’ve gone through many 12 packs over a long period of time, and the smell was consistent. There is some sort of ’sulfur’ smell in the bottle that I’ve never experienced with another beer.

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In our last episode, TheCharlie said: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s not much in the taste department and it’s low-carb (relatively speaking), but…would it violate the rules of induction? Having made beer for many years,  I can tell you that it’s virtually impossible to make a ‘ultra low carb’ beer.. But as a beer maker, I can tell you that if this is what you want to try, then go for it. Take your best tasting low carb beer..  and then cut it two to one with seltzer. ( AT least there will still be some bubbles..) Because the idea of making a lower carb beer goes against the physics of beer making. .. if it can be done, it would turn beer making upside down.  still I won’t consider it impossible  (but suspect it is..)

What do you consider ‘ultra low carb’?  Michelob Ultra makes a beer that doesn’t taste appreciably different than their ‘lite’ beer, and is only something like 2.5 carbs per. revek  who prefers a nice cold Amber Bock

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It’s not much in the taste department and it’s low-carb (relatively speaking), but…would it violate the rules of induction? — John Zehr (601) 624-3456 Look at our properties for sale at www.MSHomesForSale.com

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I think that bregent’s idea of opening a bottle is a good one.  Also, I think that it would be a good idea to continue storing the bottles at the current 50~ temp. Bill

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You’d think that would be an easy question to answer. I filled a few bottles and then remembered the sugar. Put the bottles back in (gently) and added the sugar and started bottling again. I think it was before the sugar was added but I’m not even sure. The fact that I didn’t even consider the timeing of the sugar and the FG is making me feel justifiably stupid. Did I mention it’s been 8 years?! So FG aside, is it safe for me to assume that racking at 50 degrees and letting bottles condition at 50 degrees is not a problem? One thing to consider is that if you bottle at lower temperatures you need to use less priming sugar. That’s because more CO2 is already dissolved in the beer at cooler temps. At 50F, beer already contains 1.2 volumes, compared to beer at 70 which has about .83. Your beer will condition at 50F, but more slowly than at 70. This could be a good thing if you think you may not have fermented out completely. Thanks Bill. Also, the way your message is worded implies that that you may took the reading after adding the priming sugar ("I checked the FG AFTER bottling"). While I suspect that this is not the case, could you please confirm or deny? Bill It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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John, if increasing the temperature that much is hard where you live, you might only need to go half way.  1056 and Danstar Nottingham have worked well for me in the mid to high 50s.  Definitely slowed the process down, but the FG was fine, and the beer quite good.  I’d like to say it tasted a bit cleaner, but that was probably all in my head. Definitely be careful with the bottles! John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Should I not be concerned with fermentation at 50ish degrees?   Since you said you used an ale yeast, yeah, 50 degrees is your problem. Ale yeasts like it 65-75 or so, and really suck at efficency at 50 degrees, if they will even ferment at all. I’d be careful about bottling it… if you bottle, and store at higher temps (60-70) they could explode if the yeast takes off again and finishes fermenting your sugars out.

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You’d think that would be an easy question to answer. I filled a few bottles and then remembered the sugar. Put the bottles back in (gently) and added the sugar and started bottling again. I think it was before the sugar was added but I’m not even sure. The fact that I didn’t even consider the timeing of the sugar and the FG is making me feel justifiably stupid. Did I mention it’s been 8 years?! So FG aside, is it safe for me to assume that racking at 50 degrees and letting bottles condition at 50 degrees is not a problem?

One thing to consider is that if you bottle at lower temperatures you need to use less priming sugar. That’s because more CO2 is already dissolved in the beer at cooler temps. At 50F, beer already contains 1.2 volumes, compared to beer at 70 which has about .83. Your beer will condition at 50F, but more slowly than at 70. This could be a good thing if you think you may not have fermented out completely. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Thanks Bill. Also, the way your message is worded implies that that you may took the reading after adding the priming sugar ("I checked the FG AFTER bottling"). While I suspect that this is not the case, could you please confirm or deny? Bill It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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You’d think that would be an easy question to answer. I filled a few bottles and then remembered the sugar. Put the bottles back in (gently) and added the sugar and started bottling again. I think it was before the sugar was added but I’m not even sure. The fact that I didn’t even consider the timeing of the sugar and the FG is making me feel justifiably stupid. Did I mention it’s been 8 years?! So FG aside, is it safe for me to assume that racking at 50 degrees and letting bottles condition at 50 degrees is not a problem? Thanks Bill. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Also, the way your message is worded implies that that you may took the reading after adding the priming sugar ("I checked the FG AFTER bottling"). While I suspect that this is not the case, could you please confirm or deny? Bill It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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Should I not be concerned with fermentation at 50ish degrees?  

Since you said you used an ale yeast, yeah, 50 degrees is your problem. Ale yeasts like it 65-75 or so, and really suck at efficency at 50 degrees, if they will even ferment at all. I’d be careful about bottling it… if you bottle, and store at higher temps (60-70) they could explode if the yeast takes off again and finishes fermenting your sugars out.

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? You do not mention what your OG or ingredients were so it is tough to say.  But wort aeration and yeast health could be it, as could be the temperatures you cited.  What yeast did you use? You guys are tough. You are forcing me to fess up to the fact that I was lazy and did not take an OG. I don’t think it should be THAT high though. None of you made note of my low temp for racking. Should I not be concerned with fermentation at 50ish degrees?   The recipe was to be a sierra nevada rip off. 7.5 light extract 1.0 Crystal malt Cascade hops: 2.5oz/1 hour, 1.5oz/30 mins, 1.5oz/15 mins and then two plugs at around pitch time. (I’m a big fan of hops!) The yeast is "ale yeast" – I tossed the package but it was just your usual powder. 1 tsp Irish moss Thanks again for any help you could off on this. It’s good to be brewing and talking about it again!

Your fermentation temperature could be a concern, but we first needed to know what your actual attenuation was. And in fact, we still don’t know because you didn’t specify whether you used dry or liquid extract, and what brand was used. If liquid, then your OG would have been around 1.059 and apparant attenuation of around 66%. Depending on the brand you used, it’s possible that it has fermented out. If you used dry extract, then OG was 1.072 and AA of 72% which is fairly well attenuated. Some ale yeast will ferment fine at 50F, although slowly. Some won’t. I suggest taking a little more care in selecting yeast – it’s a very important ingredient in beer making and is more than just ‘powder’.  Where did you get it? What you could do is open a bottle, put an airlock on it and bring it up to room temperature for a week. Then sample the gravity again.

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I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? You do not mention what your OG or ingredients were so it is tough to say.  But wort aeration and yeast health could be it, as could be the temperatures you cited.  What yeast did you use?

You guys are tough. You are forcing me to fess up to the fact that I was lazy and did not take an OG. I don’t think it should be THAT high though. None of you made note of my low temp for racking. Should I not be concerned with fermentation at 50ish degrees?   The recipe was to be a sierra nevada rip off. 7.5 light extract 1.0 Crystal malt Cascade hops: 2.5oz/1 hour, 1.5oz/30 mins, 1.5oz/15 mins and then two plugs at around pitch time. (I’m a big fan of hops!) The yeast is "ale yeast" – I tossed the package but it was just your usual powder. 1 tsp Irish moss Thanks again for any help you could off on this. It’s good to be brewing and talking about it again!

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Also, the way your message is worded implies that that you may took the reading after adding the priming sugar ("I checked the FG AFTER bottling"). While I suspect that this is not the case, could you please confirm or deny? Bill

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG?

You do not mention what your OG or ingredients were so it is tough to say.  But wort aeration and yeast health could be it, as could be the temperatures you cited.  What yeast did you use?

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It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees.

You need to supply us with more info. What was the starting gravity? What yeast did you use? Post the recipe.

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What was the OG?  If it was rather high (1.080 or above) I wouldn’t worry too much….but when I bottle these larger brews, I use only a half cup of priming sugar.  YMMV, of course. HTH, — Joe O’Meara He who drinks beer sleeps well.  He who sleeps well cannot sin.  He who does not sin goes to Heaven.  Amen." — Unkown Monk

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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It’s probably too late since I bottled today but I’m curious. Initial fermentation: 6 gal carboy for 3 days. Seconday: 5 gal for 3 weeks. I checked the FG after bottling and found that it was 1.020. I bottled with 3/4 cup corn sugar. Why so high an FG? Could it be that I did my initial fermentation at around 52 degrees? And that my secondary was between 52 and 63 degrees? And finally, any suggestions on how I should store the bottles? They are currently sitting at about 50ish degrees. Thanks.

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My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy. Now we are wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

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I forgot to mention, I have a packet of Coopers yeast …

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy. Now we are wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Not on wine topic but for my own curiosity but are you the same Jeff Stickland from ramjw? My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy. Now we are wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to  turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion  that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all  of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

Jeff. My choice would be champagne wine yeast.  All my recipes for white wine in my new winemaking book call for champagne wine yeast. I made a batch of white wine with my Interlocken green grapes last year, used  the champagne yeast, and it was delicious. good luck. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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um, im no pro but i think if she boiled them you may get jelly of some kind. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I forgot to mention, I have a packet of Coopers yeast … My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy. Now we are wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

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Not on wine topic but for my own curiosity but are you the same Jeff Stickland from ramjw?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy. Now we are wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

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the yeast is like beer yeast different kinds for different wines  try some montrachet at first seems to be a good all a round yeast the rest is like brewing, rack to carboy after a week or two, let set month or two rack again  etc  and know the the fancy words are just like in brewing  ie means normal things and check out web pages just like i did to make my first beer a month ago grady – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -wondering which kind of yeast to use. She is the sort that tends to barge ahead with a plan, before the plan has been fully formulated, so I am sitting now with about 5 gallons of grape juice that she is hopping to turn into wine. All I know for certain is that we will end up with white wine when we are done. Perhaps "white wine" is a bit optimistic, but surely it won’t be red or any variation. If anybody can jump in here with a suggested yeast to use, I am assuming I need yeast because I use it in my beer making, or any other suggestion that can be molded into the idea that I am already half way into the process, I would appreciate anything you might have to say. I do have just about all of the needed hardware because of my beermaking hobby, but we have never made wine before. Thanks,

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My wife has a bumper crop of grapes, not sure which kind, and she boiled some of them down yesterday and poured them into my carboy.

"Boiled"?  I hope that doesn’t mean what it sounds like.  Did you, perhaps, loosely borrow a term from zymurgy? In winemaking, fruit is never cooked.  Also, if it is grapes it is not normal to add any water. If you have 5 gallons of grape juice, you’ll need a bigger container than that for the fermentation – at least at first.  Yeast gets pretty vigorous while fermenting.  If you just dumped yeast into a nearly full jug of juice you’d end up with a gallon or two on the floor.  A good fermenter would be wide-mouth, and about 50% bigger.  Plastic trash cans or food-grade poly containers with a loose fitting lid are often used for initial fermentation. An alternative would be to split it between two carboys. You can get an appropriate yeast strain from a homebrew shop.  Also get some nutrient, potassium metabisulfite, air locks for carboys, rubber stoppers for both carboys and gallon jugs (solid and one-hole), a racking cane and hose. You should do some reading at Jack Keller’s website while you’re at it: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp Good luck! Tom S

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Believe it or not, I found that Newman’s Organic Oreo Cookies work to fill that void. (Nabisco doesn’t cut it for me — too dry and leaves me feeling a bit strange!) As long as I take my time and chew normal salivation gets the job done. Though I had to relearn to chew with my mouth open (sorry, Mom.). Wim

I am trying to figure out the whole "solid vs liquid" calories thing as well.  I’m training/racing with Hammergel and Hammer Sustained Energy powder.  I’m getting the calories but also feel hungry which definitely messes with my head and makes me want to eat more gel and drink more.  I want to make it work as it’s so easy to ingest this stuff, much less of a hassle than unwrapping bars and chewing them (or cutting up powerbars and pasting them on my bike frame…yeeck!).

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Check out:  http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/carb.pdf 1 Tablespoon of honey has 17 grams of carbs, and unlike raw sugar honey contains 22 amino acids and a variety of other minerals and B vitamins (albeit in trace amounts). I recall doing the research sometime back and found that one ounce of Honey (2 tablespoons) contains 34 grams of carbs — or about 127.5 calories (3.75 calories per gram of carbohydrate) Gu, on the other hand has about 100 calories. Some research says that high quantities of fructose cause flatulence or diarrhea — but I always use honey for my racing and training. As usual, use what works best for you — and honey works for me. However, I have to supplement my long rides with something solid — otherwise I *feel* hungry even though I have enough caloric intake. Wim Good idea, honey also comes in small packets like GU. I wonder how many grams of carbos are in honey. I also wonder how many grams of simple sugar honey contains. The nutrition facts from GU are: Total carb 25g Sugars 3g I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be  a lot less work. Jim I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The  main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making  stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an  ounce than $1.25.

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A Tbls of honey has 17g of carb and 16g of sugar The two sugars in honey are fructose and glucose The National Honey board gives away free packets of the Gel at races and you can get some via their web site.. they developed the product but haven’t been able to find anyone interested in marketing it. Dave a beekeeper – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Good idea, honey also comes in small packets like GU. I wonder how many grams of carbos are in honey. I also wonder how many grams of simple sugar honey contains. The nutrition facts from GU are: Total carb 25g Sugars 3g I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be a lot less work. Jim I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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I once posted to this group asking about the feasibility of using honey as a basis for homemade gel.  At the time I was strongly discouraged because I was told it contained only simple sugars.  Are some people successfully using it as a gel?  I never did try it myself. — Jet Jaguar I have a spam blocking address.  Replying to me is like pulling teeth. Visit my crappy home page at http://home.att.net/~chmilnir/ MSTie #54297 Crossposting makes Baby Jesus cry.

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It works for me. That’s all I know. Wim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I once posted to this group asking about the feasibility of using honey as a basis for homemade gel.  At the time I was strongly discouraged because I was told it contained only simple sugars.  Are some people successfully using it as a gel?  I never did try it myself. — Jet Jaguar I have a spam blocking address.  Replying to me is like pulling teeth. Visit my crappy home page at http://home.att.net/~chmilnir/ MSTie #54297 Crossposting makes Baby Jesus cry.

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oh yeah, almost forgot… table salt (NaCl for sodium) and salt substitute (KCl for potassium)… that should just about do it – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I had a doctor tell me that adding a bit of salt to Kool Aid (or Crystal something) was a poor mans Gatorade. mark blechHH!! straight malto tastes like chalk… maybe you can get your minerals that way though in all seriousness there have been a number of threads on this topic either on rst, rbt or rbr… that and making your own energy & recovery drinks. basically, buy some malto, some fructose, some glucose, some citric acid (flavoring), some pectin (for the gel) plus whatever else you’d like to add (antioxidants, protein for recovery drink, caffeine, whatever) and you’ll be good to go. good luck, -doug My thinking was to take maltoextrin pre and post workout. No need to package, just a spoon.

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I am trying to figure out the whole "solid vs liquid" calories thing as well.  I’m training/racing with Hammergel and Hammer Sustained Energy powder.  I’m getting the calories but also feel hungry which definitely messes with my head and makes me want to eat more gel and drink more.  I want to make it work as it’s so easy to ingest this stuff, much less of a hassle than unwrapping bars and chewing them (or cutting up powerbars and pasting them on my bike frame…yeeck!). – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Check out:  http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/carb.pdf 1 Tablespoon of honey has 17 grams of carbs, and unlike raw sugar honey contains 22 amino acids and a variety of other minerals and B vitamins (albeit in trace amounts). I recall doing the research sometime back and found that one ounce of  Honey (2 tablespoons) contains 34 grams of carbs — or about 127.5 calories (3.75 calories per gram of carbohydrate) Gu, on the other hand has about 100 calories. Some research says that high quantities of fructose cause flatulence or diarrhea — but I always use honey for my racing and training. As usual, use what works best for you — and honey works for me. However, I have to supplement my long rides with something solid — otherwise I *feel* hungry even though I have enough caloric intake. Wim Good idea, honey also comes in small packets like GU. I wonder how many grams of carbos are in honey. I also wonder how many grams of simple sugar honey contains. The nutrition facts from GU are: Total carb 25g Sugars 3g I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be  a lot less work. Jim I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The  main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making  stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an  ounce than $1.25.

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I had a doctor tell me that adding a bit of salt to Kool Aid (or Crystal something) was a poor mans Gatorade. mark

blechHH!! straight malto tastes like chalk… maybe you can get your minerals that way though in all seriousness there have been a number of threads on this topic either on rst, rbt or rbr… that and making your own energy & recovery drinks. basically, buy some malto, some fructose, some glucose, some citric acid (flavoring), some pectin (for the gel) plus whatever else you’d like to add (antioxidants, protein for recovery drink, caffeine, whatever) and you’ll be good to go. good luck, -doug

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My thinking was to take maltoextrin pre and post workout. No need to package, just a spoon.

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My thinking was to take maltoextrin pre and post workout. No need to package, just a spoon.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’d rather spend the time riding, running, swimming, and resting than cooking and packaging.  But hey, it’s been good for Martha. — Rick Loggins I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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Well I’ve found that the poor man’s gel/gu is to simply stop by any fast food joint and grab a handful of ketchup packs. They are a little hard to choke down at first but eventually you’ll get used to them. I’ve tried the mustard and relish but they didn’t seem to work as well. ;^) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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Check out:  http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/carb.pdf 1 Tablespoon of honey has 17 grams of carbs, and unlike raw sugar honey contains 22 amino acids and a variety of other minerals and B vitamins (albeit in trace amounts). I recall doing the research sometime back and found that one ounce of  Honey (2 tablespoons) contains 34 grams of carbs — or about 127.5 calories (3.75 calories per gram of carbohydrate) Gu, on the other hand has about 100 calories. Some research says that high quantities of fructose cause flatulence or diarrhea — but I always use honey for my racing and training. As usual, use what works best for you — and honey works for me. However, I have to supplement my long rides with something solid — otherwise I *feel* hungry even though I have enough caloric intake. Wim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Good idea, honey also comes in small packets like GU. I wonder how many grams of carbos are in honey. I also wonder how many grams of simple sugar honey contains. The nutrition facts from GU are: Total carb 25g Sugars 3g I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be a lot less work. Jim I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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blechHH!! straight malto tastes like chalk… maybe you can get your minerals that way though in all seriousness there have been a number of threads on this topic either on rst, rbt or rbr… that and making your own energy & recovery drinks. basically, buy some malto, some fructose, some glucose, some citric acid (flavoring), some pectin (for the gel) plus whatever else you’d like to add (antioxidants, protein for recovery drink, caffeine, whatever) and you’ll be good to go. good luck, -doug – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My thinking was to take maltoextrin pre and post workout. No need to package, just a spoon.

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I’d rather spend the time riding, running, swimming, and resting than cooking and packaging.  But hey, it’s been good for Martha. — Rick Loggins

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be a lot less work. Jim

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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Good idea, honey also comes in small packets like GU. I wonder how many grams of carbos are in honey. I also wonder how many grams of simple sugar honey contains. The nutrition facts from GU are: Total carb 25g Sugars 3g

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I read an article a while ago that recomended using honey as an econical alternative to energy gels. If you want a cheaper way to go, that may be a lot less work. Jim I just looked at the ingredients of a package of GU Energy Gel. The main ingredient is maltoextrin which can be purchased at most beer making stores. Has anyone tried to may their own gel. I would rather pay 15 cents an ounce than $1.25.

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Really simple 2 gallons of maple syrup 2 packages Sherry yeast 5 lbs. blueberries 1 tsp. acid blend 2 tsp. (or so) yeast nutrient Water to 5 gallons. Zap the blueberries for a few seconds in a food processor, cover with boiling water and raise to 160 degrees F for about 15 minutes. This pasteurizes them. While this is happening, put your yeast , a couple of cups of warmish water and about a quarter cup syrup into a measuring cup to get it all started. Once the berries are done, put into your fermenter with the rest of the syrup and top off with warm or cool water, until the temperature is about 95 degrees F. Give it a really good stir, adding your yeast. Cap it using an airlock. Stir every day thoroughly. After a week or so (should grow like mad), siphon to a carboy. Note: I let the fruit free float, but when I siphon, I am careful not to get much fruit into the hose and I use a hop strainer (from beer making, looks a bit like a sock made of cheesecloth). This gets out the fruit. I think you get better flavor if you let fruit just float rather than (as lots of people do) keeping it in a sack. The sack makes it a lot simpler though, I have to admit. Let the mead sit for a couple of months, then rack again to a clean carboy. I did this a couple of weeks ago and as I said, it was really good. I figure I’ll try to restrain myself until the year mark (it’s supposed to be for Xmas presents at the end of 2002 — we’ll see if any makes it that far It has a really pretty color, but hasn’t cleared as much as I’d like yet. If it doesn’t clear in the next few weeks, I might contemplate some pectin enzyme. Good Luck! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I know someone around who has their own sugar bush and makes their own syrup. I can get at least a gallon for free so it makes it a more reasonable proposition. No preservatives, all that goes in it is the maple sap. What was your recipie? John I’ve got a blueberry-maple mead (basically a blueberry wine with the sugar from maple syrup) that is a couple of months old. At last racking, *boy* is it good! It’s still slightly fermenting and will need to age, but I think this is going to be quite a winner. Problem with maple syrup is the expense.  I got mine in bulk at Sam’s Club but it still costs a pretty penny. Also, be sure it has no preservatives.

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Thank, I like the sound of the recipie it gives for 1 gallon of maple mead, i think i’ll try that one out. It is honey with a bit of maple syrup John

A quick google search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=maple+syrup+mead brings up quite a few links.  I’ve attached some that might interest you http://www.mirror.org/ken.roberts/maple.mead.html http://www.greydragon.org/brewing/mead.html#Maple

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was wondering about something: has anyone ever made maple mead before? Using maple syrup in place of honey? Maple wine? How did you do it and how did it turn out? (just wondering cause maple syrup season is coming up) John

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A quick google search http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=maple+syrup+mead brings up quite a few links.  I’ve attached some that might interest you http://www.mirror.org/ken.roberts/maple.mead.html http://www.greydragon.org/brewing/mead.html#Maple – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was wondering about something: has anyone ever made maple mead before? Using maple syrup in place of honey? Maple wine? How did you do it and how did it turn out? (just wondering cause maple syrup season is coming up) John

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John, go to http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp, scroll down to "Mead Recipes," and look at the first one (Maple Syrup Mead). Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

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Many thanks I’ll check it out John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – John, go to http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp, scroll down to "Mead Recipes," and look at the first one (Maple Syrup Mead). Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

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I know someone around who has their own sugar bush and makes their own syrup. I can get at least a gallon for free so it makes it a more reasonable proposition. No preservatives, all that goes in it is the maple sap. What was your recipie? John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve got a blueberry-maple mead (basically a blueberry wine with the sugar from maple syrup) that is a couple of months old. At last racking, *boy* is it good! It’s still slightly fermenting and will need to age, but I think this is going to be quite a winner. Problem with maple syrup is the expense.  I got mine in bulk at Sam’s Club but it still costs a pretty penny. Also, be sure it has no preservatives.

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I was wondering about something: has anyone ever made maple mead before? Using maple syrup in place of honey? Maple wine? How did you do it and how did it turn out? (just wondering cause maple syrup season is coming up) John

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I’ve got a blueberry-maple mead (basically a blueberry wine with the sugar from maple syrup) that is a couple of months old. At last racking, *boy* is it good! It’s still slightly fermenting and will need to age, but I think this is going to be quite a winner. Problem with maple syrup is the expense.  I got mine in bulk at Sam’s Club but it still costs a pretty penny. Also, be sure it has no preservatives. — J – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was wondering about something: has anyone ever made maple mead before? Using maple syrup in place of honey? Maple wine? How did you do it and how did it turn out? (just wondering cause maple syrup season is coming up) John

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Being new to brewing (only 4 batches made,all good so far)I have 2 questions. First, I have come across several recipies that only call for malt extract and hops, with no mention of using any adjunct grains. I’m under the impression that grains add to body,color and head retention of the beer. Does not using them produce a lighter,flatter beer? Second, a friend who use to brew in England, said that he never used malt extracts. All he ever did was crush the grains, put them in a muslin bag, then steep them at 180F for about 45 min, removed the bag,bring to a boil, add hops, boil for 40 min, cool, then put it in the fermenter and pitched the yeast. He said that he steeped and boiled in 2 gal. of water and then added enough water in the fermenter to get 5 gal. Does this make sense? I know they seem somewhat opposite of each other, but I’m easily confused.

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Not sure what you mean by lighter. Flatter – no. Flatness usually refers to carbonation and that is up to you. I’m glad I never tasted one of your friends beers. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Being new to brewing (only 4 batches made,all good so far)I have 2 questions. First, I have come across several recipies that only call for malt extract and hops, with no mention of using any adjunct grains. I’m under the impression that grains add to body,color and head retention of the beer. Does not using them produce a lighter,flatter beer? Second, a friend who use to brew in England, said that he never used malt extracts. All he ever did was crush the grains, put them in a muslin bag, then steep them at 180F for about 45 min, removed the bag,bring to a boil, add hops, boil for 40 min, cool, then put it in the fermenter and pitched the yeast. He said that he steeped and boiled in 2 gal. of water and then added enough water in the fermenter to get 5 gal. Does this make sense? I know they seem somewhat opposite of each other, but I’m easily confused.

Medford, NY swap net.optonline to reply via e-mail

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Hi Twano, Those are not stupid questions. You can make beer without using adjunct grain but the grain recipes go a step beyond just extract brewing. It gives you a chance to alter the basic extract brew and have some fun learning. As for your friends recipe (method), It will make beer. Read some about mashing and what it does and you will understand more about how your friend’s method will compare. Cheers, Tom

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Being new to brewing (only 4 batches made,all good so far)I have 2 questions. First, I have come across several recipies that only call for malt extract and hops, with no mention of using any adjunct grains. I’m under the impression that grains add to body,color and head retention of the beer. Does not using them produce a lighter,flatter beer? Second, a friend who use to brew in England, said that he never used malt extracts. All he ever did was crush the grains, put them in a muslin bag, then steep them at 180F for about 45 min, removed the bag,bring to a boil, add hops, boil for 40 min, cool, then put it in the fermenter and pitched the yeast. He said that he steeped and boiled in 2 gal. of water and then added enough water in the fermenter to get 5 gal. Does this make sense? I know they seem somewhat opposite of each other, but I’m easily confused.

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Here goes. Firstly, malt is not an adjunct. Malt is the main ingredient of beer.  An adjunct is something fermentable added to beer other than malted barley. These are things like corn sugar,  honey, molasses etc. and in the case of  beer made by using a mash process, things like rice, rye and other cereals/grains etc. Using adjuncts would therefore produce a lighter beer in terms of body and color. They can also be used to increase the alcohol content  particularly honey which is almost 100% fermentable contrary to malt which is not therefore leaving things behind like body, color and head retention. I don’t want to down on adjuncts because people use them for various reasons but big breweries use them to save money because adjuncts area cheaper than having to use 100% malt. Think for example of malt liquor–very little actual beer and lots of other stuff to boost alcohol–also, very little color or body to malt liquor. Therefore, if you are making beers from extracts or kits, you would indeed improve the quality of your beer by adding specialty grain (chocolate, crystal etc.) which do not need to be mashed in order to benefit from their use. Steep them at about 140 degrees (20/25 min)  as opposed to near boiling temperatures. This is better than adjuncts because nothing beats a beer made with 100% good malt. As for your friend in the UK, the information is confusing a little. If he says he never used extract, then he had to be doing a mash. However the process described is not exactly a perfect mash. I would think that his conversions rate (i.e. from starch to fermentable sugars) was really low. The temperature is also way too high. So to answer your question, yes the process described makes sense but would need to be improved upon. If you want to learn how a mash is done, go to www.howtobrew.com Plenty of other good information there also. BestOLuck and enjoy your new hobby

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PS    There is no such thing as a stupid questions regarding beer making. The questions simply prove that you are interested in making better beer.

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With all the TV channels out there with DSS and stuff does anyone know of a show dedicated to home brewing? I think it would be a good Sunday afternoon show.

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With all the TV channels out there with DSS and stuff does anyone know of a show dedicated to home brewing? I think it would be a good Sunday afternoon show.

I was thinking last night of doing one on beer, tasting, homebrewing, and food matching, but I couldn’t think of a decent name that wasn’t already snagged. We all can dream Cheers, Mike

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Im sure a name could be cooked up the the "Brewers Guild" or "The Art of Brewing" or "The Brewmaster" etc.. it could be aired on one of the Food channels and the kit makers and vendors Im sure would want to sponsor it. I think would be a popular show. Theres a show on one of the channels now that is about commercial and micro brews that I find interesting but we need one geared towards Beer Making.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – With all the TV channels out there with DSS and stuff does anyone know of a show dedicated to home brewing? I think it would be a good Sunday afternoon show. I was thinking last night of doing one on beer, tasting, homebrewing, and food matching, but I couldn’t think of a decent name that wasn’t already snagged. We all can dream Cheers, Mike

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This guy already thought of that…… http://www.brewinwithherb.com/

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This guy already thought of that…… http://www.brewinwithherb.com/

Very cool idea. My thoughts were more around a show about beers.  Everything from brewery tours to homebrewing to tasting, competitions, and food pairings.  I think most shows on TV run 26 or so episodes per year, so idea should be limitless if it revolves around a variety of subjects.  If you ran it in the vein off Good Eats on Food Network, but with a little more seriousness to it, it would be informative and entertaining. The problem would be getting it produced and shown.  If Julia Child and Martha Stewart can pull it off, some brewer should be able to figure it out too. Cheers, Mike

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Thanks for visiting the web site.  We’ve been running this show for about 5 years and it’s tough to get on any network.  We pitched to the food network and they said it would fail.  Then 6 months later they put there own version of our show on the network. We just got back from a great trip to Jackson WY to the Snake River Brewing co. doing a show.  If you want to see some of the shows they are at http://www.extranettv.com Herb

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Thanks for visiting the web site.  We’ve been running this show for about 5 years and it’s tough to get on any network.  We pitched to the food network and they said it would fail.  Then 6 months later they put there own version of our show on the network. We just got back from a great trip to Jackson WY to the Snake River Brewing co. doing a show.  If you want to see some of the shows they are at http://www.extranettv.com

Very nice job!   What show does the Food Network have?  I must have missed it. Cheers, Mike

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for visiting the web site.  We’ve been running this show for about 5 years and it’s tough to get on any network.  We pitched to the food network and they said it would fail.  Then 6 months later they put there own version of our show on the network. We just got back from a great trip to Jackson WY to the Snake River Brewing co. doing a show.  If you want to see some of the shows they are at http://www.extranettv.com Very nice job!   What show does the Food Network have?  I must have missed it. Cheers, Mike

Mike, The show on the Food Network was a special about craft brewing.  I believe it only aired one time.  There is another producer out there that produced an awesome documentary called "The Craft Brewing Revolution"  he spent like 5 years working on it, and when he pitched it to the Food Network they turned him down.  They don’t want to accept any outside ideas.  Unless they come up with it themselves, they don’t care!!  "Brewin’ with Herb" has won over 7 national awards, and has been featured on Dateline NBC and they still won’t give us the time of day!! Cheers, Byron

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in rec.crafts.brewing: it to the Food Network they turned him down.  They don’t want to accept any outside ideas.  Unless they come up with it themselves, they don’t care!!

The old NIH (not invented here) syndrome.  "Brewin’ with Herb" has won over 7 national awards, and has been featured on Dateline NBC and they still won’t give us the time of day!!

I guess money would be a nice addition to the acclaim.  Have you tried PBS?  Or one of the cooking shows that airs on PBS? — [Apparent Rennerian 567.7, 95.9] Al – rukbat at optonline dot net

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You contact the outdoor channel?  They run shows on hunting and such, but also have gold mining shows and other types of ‘country style’ programming. May be worth a look. Mike

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for visiting the web site.  We’ve been running this show for about 5 years and it’s tough to get on any network.  We pitched to the food network and they said it would fail.  Then 6 months later they put there own version of our show on the network. We just got back from a great trip to Jackson WY to the Snake River Brewing co. doing a show.  If you want to see some of the shows they are at http://www.extranettv.com Herb

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Who would have thought that homebrewing would be such a great father-son activity …LOL

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – That’s funny! I  had my son doing the same thing when he was 8 thru 9. Until I got my 5 gallon keg My eight year old has been filling bottles for me for years.  He fills and I cap.  I just need to remember no vacations longer than about a week when he is a teenager  :) Kids don’t seem right for me too.  But if I had em, I’d learn em to make me my beer!!! A I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially. what a sad story!   =( personally, I’m never having kids.

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That’s funny! I  had my son doing the same thing when he was 8 thru 9. Until I got my 5 gallon keg

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My eight year old has been filling bottles for me for years.  He fills and I cap.  I just need to remember no vacations longer than about a week when he is a teenager  :) Kids don’t seem right for me too.  But if I had em, I’d learn em to make me my beer!!! A I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially. what a sad story!   =( personally, I’m never having kids.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 1 food-grade plastic primary fermenter (pail) 1 glass secondary fermenter (carboy), 1 fermentation lock and rubber bung 1 hydrometer 1 hydrometer Testing Jar 1 thermometer 1 siphon hose, 1 hose clamp 1 clear racking tube 1 self-stopping bottle filler tube 1 food-grade plastic stirer 1 measuring cup 1 funnel 1 Inart Bottle Capper Bunch of unused bottle caps 1 faucet-mounted bottle rinser 1 bottle brush 11 500ml Grolsch-type green glass beer bottles 54 brown glass beer bottles (NON screw-top!) 1 Muntona English Bitter kit 1 Muntona Blonde kit 2 250g brewbody packages (malto-dextrins) 1 250g package of pale malt grains 1 250g package of crystal malt grains 1 30g cascade hop pellets 1 20g andovin super nutrient 1 50lb package of dextrose Toronto, Ontario, Canada area Best offer gets it (I don’t check the newsgroups often enough)

how much do these beer making kits cost

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 1 50lb package of dextrose Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home? Burp, -Dan 1 food-grade plastic primary fermenter (pail) 1 glass secondary fermenter (carboy), 1 fermentation lock and rubber bung 1 hydrometer 1 hydrometer Testing Jar 1 thermometer 1 siphon hose, 1 hose clamp 1 clear racking tube 1 self-stopping bottle filler tube 1 food-grade plastic stirer 1 measuring cup 1 funnel 1 Inart Bottle Capper Bunch of unused bottle caps 1 faucet-mounted bottle rinser 1 bottle brush 11 500ml Grolsch-type green glass beer bottles 54 brown glass beer bottles (NON screw-top!) 1 Muntona English Bitter kit 1 Muntona Blonde kit 2 250g brewbody packages (malto-dextrins) 1 250g package of pale malt grains 1 250g package of crystal malt grains 1 30g cascade hop pellets 1 20g andovin super nutrient 1 50lb package of dextrose Toronto, Ontario, Canada area Best offer gets it (I don’t check the newsgroups often enough)

How much do u rekon ur beer making kit is worth – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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Kids don’t seem right for me too.  But if I had em, I’d learn em to make me my beer!!! A

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially. what a sad story!   =( personally, I’m never having kids.

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My eight year old has been filling bottles for me for years.  He fills and I cap.  I just need to remember no vacations longer than about a week when he is a teenager  :)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Kids don’t seem right for me too.  But if I had em, I’d learn em to make me my beer!!! A I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially. what a sad story!   =( personally, I’m never having kids.

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1 50lb package of dextrose Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home?

I was thinking more along the lines that Stephane is a woman and the man got the boot so his brewstuff gets the boot, or it was a Christmas present that Stephane (masculine this time) wanted like a new tie Cheers, Mike

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Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home? Burp, -Dan

Hi Dan, I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially. Stephane (In French, ‘Stephane’ is the masculine version of ‘Stephanie’)

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I would be a ‘he’ not a ’she’ and I have small children so I no longer have time to make beer at home. Generally, I find home beer to be better than what can be purchased commercially.

what a sad story!   =( personally, I’m never having kids.

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I got an email direct. She’s a he (French) and just got bored with brewing. My comment was along the lines of the liekly typo of having 50 lb of dextrose around.  NAybody with that much dextrose probably isn’t making good beer. Burp, -Dan

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 1 50lb package of dextrose Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home? I was thinking more along the lines that Stephane is a woman and the man got the boot so his brewstuff gets the boot, or it was a Christmas present that Stephane (masculine this time) wanted like a new tie Cheers, Mike

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1 50lb package of dextrose Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home? I was thinking more along the lines that Stephane is a woman and the man got the boot so his brewstuff gets the boot, or it was a Christmas present that Stephane (masculine this time) wanted like a new tie

Thats one hell of a christmas present. My guess is Stephanie kicked hubby out

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1 food-grade plastic primary fermenter (pail) 1 glass secondary fermenter (carboy), 1 fermentation lock and rubber bung 1 hydrometer 1 hydrometer Testing Jar 1 thermometer 1 siphon hose, 1 hose clamp 1 clear racking tube 1 self-stopping bottle filler tube 1 food-grade plastic stirer 1 measuring cup 1 funnel 1 Inart Bottle Capper Bunch of unused bottle caps 1 faucet-mounted bottle rinser 1 bottle brush 11 500ml Grolsch-type green glass beer bottles 54 brown glass beer bottles (NON screw-top!) 1 Muntona English Bitter kit 1 Muntona Blonde kit 2 250g brewbody packages (malto-dextrins) 1 250g package of pale malt grains 1 250g package of crystal malt grains 1 30g cascade hop pellets 1 20g andovin super nutrient 1 50lb package of dextrose Toronto, Ontario, Canada area Best offer gets it (I don’t check the newsgroups often enough)

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Nothing here, just a test

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yet another test

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1 50lb package of dextrose

Maybe she doesn’t think it’s possible to make good beer at home? Burp, -Dan

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 1 food-grade plastic primary fermenter (pail) 1 glass secondary fermenter (carboy), 1 fermentation lock and rubber bung 1 hydrometer 1 hydrometer Testing Jar 1 thermometer 1 siphon hose, 1 hose clamp 1 clear racking tube 1 self-stopping bottle filler tube 1 food-grade plastic stirer 1 measuring cup 1 funnel 1 Inart Bottle Capper Bunch of unused bottle caps 1 faucet-mounted bottle rinser 1 bottle brush 11 500ml Grolsch-type green glass beer bottles 54 brown glass beer bottles (NON screw-top!) 1 Muntona English Bitter kit 1 Muntona Blonde kit 2 250g brewbody packages (malto-dextrins) 1 250g package of pale malt grains 1 250g package of crystal malt grains 1 30g cascade hop pellets 1 20g andovin super nutrient 1 50lb package of dextrose Toronto, Ontario, Canada area Best offer gets it (I don’t check the newsgroups often enough)

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That is very good feedback  Ray. Hand on experience is the best. To recap this thread, Grolsch flip flop bottles can be use to store wine for a short time providing that the rubber ring is a good condition. I have some brown bottles that the wire mechanism is not as strong as the Grolsch. I also got some maple syrup bottles that the porcelain cap is made of hard white plastic. I refrain from using them for wine or beer bottling.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This is odd?  I posted a response under this thread but it is now gone.  I hope I did not upset someone and have it pulled.  I know it got there because I have had a few direct inquiries concerning it. I used quart size Grolsch type bottles that were given to me back about 5 years ago when I bottled a 10 gal batch of dewberry wine.  (My favorite of my wine.)  I bottled about half with corks and the other half with the rings.  I did use new rings on all bottles.  It was an interesting experiment brought on by necessity.  The wine in the Grolsch type bottles did not seem to age over the next 3 or 4 years.  The wine under corks aged and mellowed nicely but the wine under the rings stayed rather sharp, as it was to start with and never changed.  It did not oxidize or anything and the rings held up nicely.  I did store them on their sides mainly because that is the type of storage I have.  It is all gone now as I have tried it one bottle at a time checking it.  It might be a real good option if you are bottling wine that you like young. Ray This a good question.  I have rubber rings that will need to be replaced soon.  Without problem a new ring used by the Grolsch company should last about 2-3 years. These original rings that came with the bottles where purchased to preserve the beer for one time use. Rubber has a shelf life.  Unless the rubber is treated for a long shelf life under a certain pressure I would not recommend using those rings for wine storage over a long period.  Already I am experiencing thinning and whitening of some of the rings after only a few usage.  The locale store is asking 0.18 cents ea.  for new rings with an unknown shelf  life.  The store could had these rings for years.  Pure #9 winery quality corks should be use for long storage.  Amalgamated corks are only good for short storage. On the other hand one is welcome to store wine using old rubber rings and live to find out if the wine will taste good after several years of storage. Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things. They should last years, although you might not want to keep wine under them that long. As with beer crown caps there is oxygen transfer into the bottle. I suspect that after a few years, the wine would suffer damage. Steve

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Fred I’ve had mead in them on their side for 4 years, no problems… Regards Joe …How – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – long if the wine DOES come in contact with them or if they are stored on their sides ??   TIA

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Assuming I both bottle and store them in the upright position so that the wine never comes in contact with the rubber rings, how long can I expect the rings to last before they begin to deteriorate ??  How long if the wine DOES come in contact with them or if they are stored on their sides ??   TIA

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Rather arbitrary, since I am sure you could purchase replacements quite inexpensively from homebrewing centers.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Assuming I both bottle and store them in the upright position so that the wine never comes in contact with the rubber rings, how long can I expect the rings to last before they begin to deteriorate ??  How long if the wine DOES come in contact with them or if they are stored on their sides ??   TIA

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Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Rather arbitrary, since I am sure you could purchase replacements quite inexpensively from homebrewing centers. Assuming I both bottle and store them in the upright position so that the wine never comes in contact with the rubber rings, how long can I expect the rings to last before they begin to deteriorate ??  How long if the wine DOES come in contact with them or if they are stored on their sides ??   TIA

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Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things.

I have no experience using Grolsch bottles and their rings (or washers) with wine.  I have limited experience using them with beer, and so far no problems, but max about 3-4 uses. Some buddies who use them for beer say that the rings will last MANY uses, but no specific number.  Another beer making pal said that he replaces them when he loses them, and that none have worn out. I think that the rings sell for 25 cents each. Steve

Response:

This is odd?  I posted a response under this thread but it is now gone.  I hope I did not upset someone and have it pulled.  I know it got there because I have had a few direct inquiries concerning it. I used quart size Grolsch type bottles that were given to me back about 5 years ago when I bottled a 10 gal batch of dewberry wine.  (My favorite of my wine.)  I bottled about half with corks and the other half with the rings.  I did use new rings on all bottles.  It was an interesting experiment brought on by necessity.  The wine in the Grolsch type bottles did not seem to age over the next 3 or 4 years.  The wine under corks aged and mellowed nicely but the wine under the rings stayed rather sharp, as it was to start with and never changed.  It did not oxidize or anything and the rings held up nicely.  I did store them on their sides mainly because that is the type of storage I have.  It is all gone now as I have tried it one bottle at a time checking it.  It might be a real good option if you are bottling wine that you like young. Ray

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This a good question.  I have rubber rings that will need to be replaced soon.  Without problem a new ring used by the Grolsch company should last about 2-3 years. These original rings that came with the bottles where purchased to preserve the beer for one time use. Rubber has a shelf life.  Unless the rubber is treated for a long shelf life under a certain pressure I would not recommend using those rings for wine storage over a long period.  Already I am experiencing thinning and whitening of some of the rings after only a few usage.  The locale store is asking 0.18 cents ea.  for new rings with an unknown shelf  life.  The store could had these rings for years.  Pure #9 winery quality corks should be use for long storage.  Amalgamated corks are only good for short storage.  On the other hand one is welcome to store wine using old rubber rings and live to find out if the wine will taste good after several years of storage. Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things. They should last years, although you might not want to keep wine under them that long. As with beer crown caps there is oxygen transfer into the bottle. I suspect that after a few years, the wine would suffer damage. Steve

Response:

This a good question.  I have rubber rings that will need to be replaced soon.  Without problem a new ring used by the Grolsch company should last about 2-3 years. These original rings that came with the bottles where purchased to preserve the beer for one time use. Rubber has a shelf life.  Unless the rubber is treated for a long shelf life under a certain pressure I would not recommend using those rings for wine storage over a long period.  Already I am experiencing thinning and whitening of some of the rings after only a few usage.  The locale store is asking 0.18 cents ea.  for new rings with an unknown shelf  life.  The store could had these rings for years.  Pure #9 winery quality corks should be use for long storage.  Amalgamated corks are only good for short storage.  On the other hand one is welcome to store wine using old rubber rings and live to find out if the wine will taste good after several years of storage.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things. They should last years, although you might not want to keep wine under them that long. As with beer crown caps there is oxygen transfer into the bottle. I suspect that after a few years, the wine would suffer damage. Steve

Response:

Yup – I have lots of spares.  I guess what I’m asking is how long can I store wine in such bottles before I have to "recork" (change the rings) ?? Will they last 10 years, or should I set up an inspection program for every 6 months, 1 year, or whatever ??  Hoping someone out there has some experience with these things.

They should last years, although you might not want to keep wine under them that long. As with beer crown caps there is oxygen transfer into the bottle. I suspect that after a few years, the wine would suffer damage. Steve

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Please excuse what may be a incredibly dumb set of questions. I am a homebrewer more than a vintner so i was wondering: A) Can these be used in beer making as well?

Appropriate fermentation temperature is critical in beer, and is very much dependent on the style of beer, and type of yeast you plan to use. Before you go applying heat to achieve a certain temperature, be certain that you actually need it. For example, if your fermenting area is in the low 60’s, virtually any ale yeast  will produce good results there. If it is in the mid-50’s, you can get liquid ale strains that work well at that temperature. If it is in the 45-50 range, thank your lucky stars and get brewing some lagers. Now, there are a lot of generalizations in the above. This is a fairly complex topic. Very few beers (perhaps some Belgian styles and I assume you are not making those) benefit from temperatures above the high 60’s. If you are looking to use a heat belt to get your wort temp into the 70’s, you are only reducing the quality of your brew. Brian

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Living in the mid Great White North, I need to use a heater belt to keep the temperature up. I have a belt that does the trick but does anybody know how to make an inexpensive one. I’d like to have two or maybe even three on the go at any given time, so making one that works would be a great help.

I bought one of the belts but made a device to vary the heat output which could be adapted to other ideas such as the light bulbs.  I picked up a light dimmer and a plug receptacle and then hooked everything up in series so working the dimmer varies anything plugged into the receptacle. That way I can vary the heat output according to the temperature. Combined with one of those digital crystal strip thermometers on the side of the carboy, it’s a pretty good way to adjust the temperature. Just be careful of the power requirements. Most light dimmers that I checked have a 500 to 600 watt rating, plenty for a heat belt (20 watts) or most light bulbs. A friend that uses light bulbs put one under a milk crate and then put a cloth around the whole thing to hold the heat in. That sounded like a nice simple method. Don

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Light bulb give off heat as a byproduct,  but their main purpose is to give off light at which they are fairly efficient.  Using light bulbs to heat with is probably fairly inefficient and over several months of use may cost more to operate than it would cost to buy something that would be designed to heat with. I would suggest looking into heat pads or the fish tank heaters which might be the best.  Some are not that expensive. Ray

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Living in the mid Great White North, I need to use a heater belt to keep the temperature up. I have a belt that does the trick but does anybody know how to make an inexpensive one. I’d like to have two or maybe even three on the go at any given time, so making one that works would be a great help. thx Martin

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Actually, incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient as lighting devices. I believe it is around 25%, but it could be 35%. It’s been a LONG time since I went to electronics school. Their incancescence makes them very suitable as heaters since a lot of the light output is also infra-red. Painting them black also ensures that virtually no light escapes, but is converted to heat. Matt black is also the best colour for optimum thermal radiation. That makes them almost 100% efficient as heaters. Though if you had a fish tank heater, it’s gonna be a lot better because of the regulator. For reference, my fish are extremely happy in 50 litres and a 100W heater, at 26