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Alt.beer faq 20020123 revision

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James Anatidae

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May 8, 2002, 6:10:00 AM5/8/02

Archive-Name: alt-beer-faq
Last-modified: 20020123
Post-Frequency: 1 post / 14 days

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Alt.beer FAQ 20020130
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i. Intro.

This list has been compiled over the time that alt.beer has been up
available on Usenet. Please post any suggestions, corrections or
changes at news: alt.beer or send to Jonathan Parshall,
pars...@citcom.net

Many Thanks to all of the people that contributed, notably:

Tim P McNerney, tpm%wd...@wdl1.wdl.loral.com
Dean Cookson, coo...@mbunix.mitre.org
John R. Mellby, jme...@iluvatar.dseg.ti.com
Mark Enderby, end...@daresbury.ac.uk
Matt Dick, ma...@comm.mot.com
Roger Brown, x1rb...@exnet.iastate.edu
Bruce Tindall, sas...@unx.sas.com
Tony Scott, sco...@vax.sbu.ac.uk
Richard Stueven, g...@wrs.com
Doug Ferrell, doug.f...@exchange.tlh.fl.us
Jim Tyson, skg...@ucl.ac.uk
and all of the people that have kept this newsgroup going!

If you your name is up there, and you didn't know you contributed, it
probably is because I have saved an interesting post from alt.beer.
Thanks!

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
br...@eff.org

Ditto to everything in Dan's post. I figured it was high time for this
faq to get an update. I only changed what I knew was out of date.

Jonathan Parshall,
pars...@citcom.net

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ii. Table of contents

The sections are as follows:

i. intro.
ii. Table of contents.
iii. New Stuff
I. Drinking Beer.
II. Making Beer.
III. General Beer FAQ's
IV. Questions about alt.beer. and the alt.beer FAQ

------------------------------------------------------------------------

iii. New Stuff..

20020123 Changed the date format to YYYYMMDD.
Added new listings to book section and links to buy.
Added info to What other Internet resources are available?

19940117 Added Information about FTP by mail for the alt.beer FAQ.
Changed the date format to YYMMDD.
Added new stuff section.

19940602 Fixed Labic Info
Added info in the Internet info part.
Added info in the What are lagers part
Fixed Malt liquor part
Added Books about beer part

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 fermented at cooler temperatures, generally 35 to
50 degrees Fahrenheit. These cooler temperatures mean longer
fermenting. The process of fermenting at cool temperatures is called
"lagering."

Lagers are said to have originated in Germany where the brewers
found that they could change the flavor and smoothness of their
beers by storing them in cold caves.

Pilsners (most American beers) are a subset of lagers.
The style originated in Pilsen Chezkoslovakia, and the definitive
beer of this style is Pilsner Urquel.

Another type of lager is a "Bock" beer. A bock is typically a
lager made with a bit more of everything, and is somewhat
stronger. Mai-Bock's are a subset of that style that are brewed
in the early spring time (Mai is German for May).

What are lambics?
Lambics are specifically Belgian beers, made in a
certain part of Belgium, specifically in Payottenland east of
Brussels in the Zenne valley. The beer may well be named for
the Payottenland town of Lembeek.

Lambics are fermented using wild, air born yeasts. Brewers often
have their primary fermenting vessels on the top floor of the
brewery so that they can open holes in their roofs to let the
yeasts, rain, dust, bugs, and whatever else into their beer.

Lambics have a very distinctive taste, and are often flavored
fruit. Whole fruit is often added to the beer causing a secondary
fermentation. These beers can range in taste from fairly sweet to
very vinegary and sour. Often considered to be something of an
acquired taste.

What are the government classifications?

What is malt liquor?
In the United States, 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. Many beers have been
given the title malt liquor, even though that is not their true
type.

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 Reinheitsgebot?
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.

"Rein" means clean or pure; "-heit" means "-ness"; so "Reinheit"
means "cleanliness" or "purity".

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. The style is said
to have originated in Japan.

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"

What is ice beer/eisbock? Whats the difference?
Ice beer is beer that has reportedly been fermented a nearly freezing
temperatures. This is another ploy by Megabrewies to convince
people that their beer is something different or better than everyone
elses. Ice Beers are basically another style of light American lagers.

True eisebock's are beers that have been frozen after they are
fermented to raise the specific gravity and alcohol content of
the beer. The water in the beer turns to ice when the beer gets
cold enough. The ice crystals are strained or filtered out, leaving
a beer with a higher specific gravity and generally a higher
alcohol content.

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.

Can I get beer in the mail?
Yes... Beer Across America's phone numbr is 1-800-854-2337,
and Microbrew to You is reportely now out of business.

How do I make my own beer?? See below.

How do I judge a beer or 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.

What makes beer go bad? (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.

What are some good books on beer?

Michael Jackson's Beer Companion does not give ratings. It
discusses various styles and profiles good examples of the
the styles. This is a very enjoyable book that every beer
lover should have. (Hardcover - 218 pages 2nd edition published
February 2000)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762407727/

Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide is wonderful guide to the
great beers of the world. (Paperback - 544 pages 1st edition
published October 1, 2000)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789451565/

The Running Press Pocket Guide to Beer by Michael Jackson is the
book commonly referred to in these groups when citing ratings on MJ's
four-star system. About 2000 beers from around the world are reviewed
and rated. (Hardcover - 208 pages 7th edition published August 10,
2000)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762408855/

Stephen Beaumont's Great Canadian Beer Guide. Steve also uses the
MJ four-star system. This is a must for anybody that appreciates
Canadian Beers. (Paperback - 286 pages published January 2002)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1552782034/

Jamie MacKinnon's Ontario Beer Guide: An Opinionated Guide to the
Beers of Ontario. It has a good section on tasting and evaluating beers,
although I (Alan M.) disagree with his overattention to appearance factors.
He rates all the beers in Ontario on a five star scale. (Paperback
published
October 1992)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1895121159/

Fred Eckhardt's The Essentials of Beer Style: A Catalog of Classic Beer
Styles for Brewers and Beer Enthusiasts. The editor of the book is Jeff
Frane,
who many will recognize from the beer groups, especially
rec.crafts.brewing.
A book that does not rate beers, but does have a lot of technical
information
about various beers as well as information about tasting. (Paperback
published January 1989)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0960630279/

I like to drink beer, how do I get rid of a beer gut?

(ed note... this was just too classic to edit!)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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,
rec.food.drink.beer and rec.food.drink. There is a mailing list, "The
Homebrew Digest"sent out almost daily. There is an archive of HBD
items available via ftp at sierra.stanford.edu, in the /pub/homebrew
directory. There is also a mead-makers archive in the /pub/mead directory.

For the people that are using World Wide Web, here are some
interesting URLs

Alt.beer news:alt.beer
Realbeer.com http://www.realbeer.com/
Old faq http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt-beer-faq/
alt.beer archive http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&group=alt.beer

What books are available on homebrewing?
One of 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.. AKA, Pet Peeves that pop up on alt.beer
all too often.

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 the thing in Pub Draft Guinness? How does it work?
Where can I get it? The thing is a can that has a widget 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 CAMRA?
CAMRA - the Campaign for Real Ale was formed 21 years ago
in the UK to protect the rapidly disappearing cask ales from a
tide of bland keg beers which were being foisted on the public
by the large breweries. It was fantastically successful (the most
successful consumer movement in Europe) and now addresses other
issues such as licensing law and protecting the British pub.
It has now formed alliances with similar organisations througout
Europe to deal with impending Europe issues. There are branches
of CAMRA in several countries (eg Canada). As to Australia, I
think there is a local organisation - will check it out during
the break. However, you can get further details from the UK HQ at
34 Alma Road, St Albans, Herts AL1 3BW, UK.
Mark Enderby, end...@daresbury.ac.uk (CAMRA Regional Director) or at
http://www.camra.org.uk/

What is Jagermeister?
It is a German herbal liquor. It is NOT beer. Discussions about it should
be held on rec.food.drink or alt.alcohol
The same holds for all other beverages... like Everclear...

How is the typical mass produced American beer like sex in a Canoe?
WHO CARES!!!! This is a lame joke that has been beat into the
ground! Enough already! For newcomers who haven't heard it,
the punch line is "Because they are both f*cking close to water."
YAWN! This joke has been attributed to Monty Python. I will
personally email 10 bottles of heavily skunked, over-primed
homebrew beer grenades to anyone who repeats it on the net.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 were available via anonymous
ftp to ftp.cwru.edu. Change directories to ~/pub/alt.beer.
ftp://ftp.cwru.edu/pub/alt.beer

In the near future, they will be on ftp.wariat.org under
pub/alt.beer.
ftp://ftp.wariat.org/pub/alt.beer

Can I get the FAQ by FTP mail?

Yes...

From: doug.f...@exchange.tlh.fl.us

=========================== BEER.NDX ==========================

Since many folks don't have real FTP capabilities, I have
started this "FTP by mail" service (if you want to call it
that).

To get a file, send mail to "ftp...@exchange.tlh.fl.us". In the
n body of the message, type GET FILENAME where FILENAME is the
file that you want. Example to get ALT_BEER.FAQ type
GET ALT_BEER.FAQ in the message body. The system will then send
it back to you in your Email message. These are standard "DOS"
files with linefeed/carriage returns at each line. Not the files
are NOT case sensitive.

Doug Ferrell
fer...@exchange.tlh.fl.us

FILENAME SIZE FILEDATE DESCRIPTION
=================================================
BEER.NDX 1194 01-16-94 Index of alt_beer files available
from THE EXCHANGE!.
ALT_BEER.FAQ 14598 12-01-93 Frequency Asked Questions (FAQ)
for alt.beer
BEERGAME.TXT 2944 03-03-92 Locations of Beer Drinking Games
BEERMAGS.TXT 4352 02-05-92 Text file of Beer Magazines

============================ EOF ===============================

What is in the alt.beer archives? Various files... this FAQ list, the
alt.beer charter, some information about CAMRA, etc etc.
--
<a href="http://www.eff.org/~brown/dan.html"> Dan Brown.
</a><address>br...@eff.org</address> Sysadmin for:
<a href="http://www.eff.org/"> The Electronic Frontier Foundation. </a>

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