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Newsgroups: alt.beer From: brown@ins.cwru.edu (Dan Brown) Subject: The FAQ list... Organization: Morgue Brewing Company. Cleveland Oh. Keywords: Finally! Well... here it is... This is the first "public" appearance of this FAQ list. Please write me and tell me what you think. There are a lot of things that can and probably will be added as time goes on. Thanks to all of the people who have contributed to alt.beer in the time that it has been around (going on 10 monthes... will be a year in June.) Keep the beer posts coming... And so... I give you the Alt.beer FAQ list!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alt.beer FAQ list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ i. Intro. This list has been compiled over the time that alt.beer has been up available on Usenet. Please send any suggestions, corrections or changes to Dan Brown, brown@ins.cwru.edu. Many Thanks to all of the people that contributed, notably: Tim P McNerney, tpm%wdl58@wdl1.wdl.loral.com Dean Cookson, cookson@mbunix.mitre.org and all of the people that have kept this newsgroup going! This list is divided into several sections, each addressing a bit different aspect of beer. The topic is as broad as there are tastes for different kinds of beer. Due to this, this FAQ list cannot possibly cover every aspect of the subject. It is only meant as an overview that answers a few of the multitude of "Frequently Asked Questions" Cheers! Dan Brown brown@ins.cwru.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ii. Table of contents The sections are as follows: i. intro. ii. Table of contents. I. Drinking Beer. II. Making Beer. III. General Beer FAQ's and IV. Questions about alt.beer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I. Drinking Beer What kinds of beers are there? What are Ales and Lagers, etc, types and styles. What are ales? Ales are generally beers made with top fermenting yeasts They are brewed at "warm" temperatures, normally between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. What are lagers? Lagers are generally beers made with bottom Fermenting yeasts. They are brewed at cooler temperatures, generally 35 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.These cooler temperatures mean longer brewing. The process of brewing at cool temperatures is called "lagering." Pilsners (most American beers) are a subset of lagers. The style originated in Pilsen Chezkoslovakia. What are lambics? Lambics are specifically Belgian beers, made in a certain part of Belgium using wild yeasts. They have a very distinctive taste, and are often flavored with fruit syrups. What are the government classifications? What is malt liquor? Malt liquor is a classification bestowed on beers that are above a certain alcohol content. The laws vary from state to state in the US. What do 3.2 and 5.0% mean? This is a "rating" of the amount of alcohol in the beer, by volume or by weight depending on where you are. What is Rheinheitsgebot? It is an old German "purity" law that delineates the ingredients that can be used to make beer. Under this law, there are only four; water, barley malt, hops, and yeast. What is do the terms used in beer commercials mean? What is "Dry" beer? Dry beer is beer that has less malt, and more corn or rice sugars added to it during the brewing process. This produces a lighter, slightly more alcoholic, "dryer" tasting beer. It also probably reduces the brewing costs. What is "Cold Filtered?" Cold filtering is beer that is physically filtered after it has been brewed, before it is bottled. This tends to eliminate all sediments (yeast and malt leftovers... things that can give beer character), and makes the beer clear. What does "Heat Pasteurized" mean? It means the beer has been heated after fermenting, killing all of the remaining live yeasts and any other microganisms. It means that the beer will not continue to age in its bottle. What does "bottle conditioned" mean? It is beer that has not been pasteurized, and still has live yeast in it. It will continue to age in the bottle, and the character of the beer will change over time. For some kinds of beer this is good, for others it means they will spoil after a while. What is "draught" (draft) beer? It is beer that has been drawn or pulled from a cask. Beer from pressurized kegs is often referred to as draft beer, but this is probably a misnomer, or an "Americanism" How can you get draft beer in a can or bottle??? Unknown. Where can I get beer? Breweries, brewpubs, stores, restaurants, distributors, and by making your own. What is a brewpub? It is a combination of brewery, pub, and maybe restaurant. There are LOTS of these in Europe, and are getting to be more in America. How do I make my own?? See below. How do I judge a beer/what is good beer Good beer (what is it, and how to tell). Good beer is determined by an individuals tastes. It has been suggested that trying a wide variety of beers will usually help a person figure out what beer tastes good. Bad beer (what it is and why it is bad/skunked.) Bad beer is beer that tastes bad of is spoiled. Beer can and will spoil under certain conditions. Mishandling and old age are the two biggest causes of spoiled beer. Skunked beer refers to beer that has been lightstruck, causing the hops to take on a skunky odor. This is often happens with clear or green bottles, and tends to be prevalent in certain imported beers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ II. Making Beer WHERE DO I START... How do I make beer? Beer is made with basically, water, barley malt, hops and yeast. The water, malt and hops are boiled to produce a wort. This wort is cooled, put into a fermenting vessel, and the yeast is added (pitched). This vessel is sealed with an air lock, and the beer is allowed to ferment (sugar and water is turned to alcohol, carbon dioxide, etc) and age for a period of time. When the fermentation is over, a bit of additional malt or other sugar is added (for carbonation), and the beer is bottled or kegged. It is once again allowed to age for a period of time, during which the additional sugars carbonate the beer, and the taste of the beer developes and ages. The beer is then consumed. Where to find more information about making beer?? What other Internet resources are available? You can find more information in the newsgroups rec.crafts.brewing, and rec.food.drink. There is a mailing list, "The Homebrew Digest" sent out almost daily. There is an archive of HBD items on (some machine in Florida...) What books are available on homebrewing? The most popular is "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. This is the book that made the phrase "Relax, Don't worry, Have a Homebrew" popular. Where can I find recipes? TCJOH by Papazian, "The Cats Meow" from the HBD, etc etc. How should I store my homebrew? The most common method is in bottles. These can be either the Grolsh kind, that have a stopper that is attached to the bottle, bottles that you put a crown cap on, or bottles that you cork. How do I get the labels of the bottles that I am going to use for my brew? The most effective method is Commonly said to be by soaking them in a solution of water and ammonia. Most labels will fall off after soaking overnight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ III. Some General Beer FAQ's.. What does the "33" on the back of Rolling Rock bottles mean? There are several common answers. First, it is said to be the number of words on the back label. The story goes that the Latrobe Brewing Company was deciding on which slogan to use on the new bottles, and had counted the number of words, and written it on the piece of paper that went to the bottle supplier. The bottle supplier mistakenly included the 33 on the printed bottles, and it has been there since. Another explanation is that it is the year that prohibition was repealed. One notable comment about the mysterious 33 from a Latrobe exec goes something like; "Who cares what it means as, long as people continue to ponder it while drinking a cold Rolling Rock." What is this new thing that Guinness is test marketing? How does it work? The thing is a can that has a pouch of Nitrogen gas in it that is used to produce a creamy head as you pour the beer. Probably the closest thing to "draft beer in a can!" What is Jagermeister? It is a German herbal liquor. It is NOT beer. Discussions about it should be held on rec.food.drink. The same holds for all other beverages... like Everclear... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IV. Questions about alt.beer. What is it about? alt.beer is a newsgroup that was created for the express purpose of discussing topics related to beer. Where are the archives? The alt.beer archives are available via anonymous ftp to ftp.cwru.edu. Change directories to ~/pub/alt.beer. What is in the archives? Various files... this FAQ list, the alt.beer charter, some information about CAMRA, etc etc.