On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:07:45 +1100, "Rod Speed"
> wrote:

<alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer added in the vain hope
that it may resuscitate them>

>Jeßus wrote
>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150 in
>> Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast that I use.
>
>Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.

Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.
My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries at least -
has always been Coopers, so sediment has never been something that's
bothered me. As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very
expensive to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.


<snip>

>I'll likely get a spirit still next. The mate of mine that I infected with
>the beer brewing bug has just got one and its worked out pretty well.
>
>Mostly scotch, I do spend a bit on commercial scotch currently.
>
>Unlikely that the 80 year old scotch will be viable to make myself tho.

I've been distilling for a couple of years now, at first with one of
those 'air' stills, but now mainly I use a pot still. I'm not really a
spirit drinker, but I do like apple cider brandy and other brandies.
I intend to lightly distill mead at some point, hoping to make a mead
liqueur. There is a Tasmanian company that makes one, and it's bloody
delicious, neat with ice. The vodka comes in handy for making vanilla
essence as well.

------
If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong? ? Steven Wright

Jeßus wrote
> Rod Speed > wrote
>> Jeßus wrote

> <alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer
> added in the vain hope that it may resuscitate them>

>>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
>>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150 in
>>> Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast that I use.

>> Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.

> Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
> save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.

Yeah, me too, and thats the reason I started brewing, a mate of mine's
home brew was at least as good as the commercial stuff and when he
told me that you didnt have to wash the stubbys that they were fine in
the dishwasher, and I tried them in mine and found he was right, I started
saving the commercial stubbys myself.

> My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries
> at least - has always been Coopers, so sediment has never
> been something that's bothered me.

Yeah, I dont even bother to not pour out the very last from the stubby
anymore. I always drink from a proper glass now that I have stopped
drinking the commercial beers.

The only exception is the last stubby in a bottling run, I dont drink that sediment.

> As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very expensive
> to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.

Yeah, I've never noticed it for sale. Havent looked for it tho.

Might try some just like I did with cider etc.

>> I'll likely get a spirit still next. The mate of mine that
>> I infected with the beer brewing bug has just got one
>> and its worked out pretty well.

>> Mostly scotch, I do spend a bit on commercial scotch currently.

>> Unlikely that the 80 year old scotch will be viable to make myself tho.

> I've been distilling for a couple of years now, at first with one of those 'air' stills,

Yeah, thats what the mate of mine has just got.

> but now mainly I use a pot still. I'm not really a spirit drinker,

I do it in bursts.

> but I do like apple cider brandy and other brandies.
> I intend to lightly distill mead at some point, hoping to
> make a mead liqueur. There is a Tasmanian company
> that makes one, and it's bloody delicious, neat with ice.

I drink my scotch neat with no ice and a drop of water, quite literally just a single drop.

I love the best single malts, hate the prices tho.

Dont expect I will ever make anything like that tho, hell of a lot of work and years quite literally too.

I really just want to replace the commercial blended scotches that arent cheap due to the duty system here.

> The vodka comes in handy for making vanilla essence as well.

On Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:37:14 +1100, "Rod Speed"
> wrote:


>Yeah, I dont even bother to not pour out the very last from the stubby
>anymore.

I still do, but then I also take my brews up to 24L instead of 23L,
the extra liquid helps dealing with the sediment come racking and
bottling time and I can't taste the difference myself. And of course,
I still get the full 60 stubbies/2.5 cartons instead of being one or
two short.

On Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:05:32 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:

>On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:07:45 +1100, "Rod Speed"
> wrote:
>
><alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer added in the vain hope
>that it may resuscitate them>
>
>>Jeßus wrote
>>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
>>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150 in
>>> Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast that I use.
>>
>>Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.
>
>Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
>save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.
>My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries at least -
>has always been Coopers, so sediment has never been something that's
>bothered me. As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very
>expensive to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.
>
<snip>

A few years ago, I and an american friend did a tour of all the
meaderies in Australia.

The best in our opinion [and he is also involved in judging meads in
the US] was one in SA called Chateau Dorrien.

When I returned to WA I ordered a couple of cartons from them and from
memory it only cost about $20 freight.

I started making mead in 2005 but mostly sweetish stuff and I didn't
bother with bottles storing it in flagons and demijohns.

Charlie

On Jan 26, 5:37*pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
> Jeßus wrote
>
> > Rod Speed > wrote
> >> Jeßus wrote
> > <alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer
> > added in the vain hope that it may resuscitate them>
> >>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
> >>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150 in
> >>> Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast that I use.
> >> Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.
> > Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
> > save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.
>
> Yeah, me too, and thats the reason I started brewing, a mate of mine's
> home brew was at least as good as the commercial stuff and when he
> told me that you didnt have to wash the stubbys that they were fine in
> the dishwasher, and I tried them in mine and found he was right, I started
> saving the commercial stubbys myself.

The dishwasher should do a pretty good job of washing (no soap or
detergent) and sterilizing.

> > My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries
> > at least - has always been Coopers, so sediment has never
> > been something that's bothered me.
>
> Yeah, I dont even bother to not pour out the very last from the stubby
> anymore. I always drink from a proper glass now that I have stopped
> drinking the commercial beers.
>
> The only exception is the last stubby in a bottling run, I dont drink that sediment.

What's different there?

> > As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very expensive
> > to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.
>
> Yeah, I've never noticed it for sale. Havent looked for it tho.

I almost want to dissuade you from doing that. Commercial mead is not
only expensive, IME it's also generally sweet and still. What you
brew yourself will be as good, or better. Just don't expect the same
speed as beer, as yeast doesn't like to eat honey. Then again, maybe
a commercial mead will turn you on to what you can do on your own.

> Might try some just like I did with cider etc.
>
> >> I'll likely get a spirit still next. The mate of mine that
> >> I infected with the beer brewing bug has just got one
> >> and its worked out pretty well.
> >> Mostly scotch, I do spend a bit on commercial scotch currently.
> >> Unlikely that the 80 year old scotch will be viable to make myself tho..
> > I've been distilling for a couple of years now, at first with one of those 'air' stills,
>
> Yeah, thats what the mate of mine has just got.

What's an "air" still?

> > but now mainly I use a pot still. I'm not really a spirit drinker,
>
> I do it in bursts.

I drink quite a bit of whisky, and a decent amount of whiskey. Almost
enough to make me do more cloud pics, but not nearly enough to see
genies or whatever in them.

> > but I do like apple cider brandy and other brandies.
> > I intend to lightly distill mead at some point, hoping to
> > make a mead liqueur. There is a Tasmanian company
> > that makes one, and it's bloody delicious, neat with ice.
>
>I drink my scotch neat with no ice and a drop of water, quite literally just a single drop.

No water here. I tried that with a couple of whisky brands, and
didn't think it added anything, so I just drink it neat. A guy at a
liquor shop the other night told me he did the same, but kept notes,
and found some whiskies were better with that drop, others not. Maybe
I quit too soon.

> I love the best single malts, hate the prices tho.
>
> Dont expect I will ever make anything like that tho, hell of a lot of work and years quite literally too.
>
> I really just want to replace the commercial blended scotches that arent cheap due to the duty system here.

Here ether. I just trust that the work to get the best effect is more
than the cost of just buying it, and test various brands.

> > The vodka comes in handy for making vanilla essence as well.

I drink almost no vodka, except the occasional zubrufka (sp) from
Poland. I used to drink a bit of rum in college, but have very little
now. Same goes for gin, though I tapered off more slowly. Now it's
beer, wine, mead, and whisk{e}y. I have barely had any liqueur (exc.
in margaritas) since college.

If any of this seems incoherent, it's because I had a little party
here for home brewers, and it's quite possible I overindulged just a
little bit. I know I wouldn't want to have tried driving home from
this, but since I hosted it, no problemo.

BruceS wrote
> Rod Speed > wrote
>> Jeßus wrote
>>> Rod Speed > wrote
>>>> Jeßus wrote

>>> <alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer
>>> added in the vain hope that it may resuscitate them>

>>>>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
>>>>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150
>>>>> in Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast
>>>>> that I use.

>>>> Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.

>>> Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
>>> save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.

>> Yeah, me too, and thats the reason I started brewing, a mate of mine's
>> home brew was at least as good as the commercial stuff and when he
>> told me that you didnt have to wash the stubbys that they were fine in
>> the dishwasher, and I tried them in mine and found he was right, I
>> started saving the commercial stubbys myself.

> The dishwasher should do a pretty good job of washing

Yep, close to perfect. You do get a few that need to go thru the machine twice, but very few.

> (no soap or detergent)

I just put them in with the normal load, so they get the normal detergent.

The rinse phase is so thorough that you never get any residue at all, in
fact they are so brilliantly clean that they are visibly better than by hand.

I dont use any rinse aid.

> and sterilizing.

I rely on the final hot rinse to that.

Doesnt work for my mate tho, his dishwasher doesnt do as good a job.

Havent compared them to see why.

He prefers to use plastic soft drink bottles for his beer, mainly
because he fills 1/3 or 1/4 as many bottles per batch.

>>> My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries
>>> at least - has always been Coopers, so sediment has never
>>> been something that's bothered me.

>> Yeah, I dont even bother to not pour out the very last from the stubby
>> anymore. I always drink from a proper glass now that I have stopped
>> drinking the commercial beers.

>> The only exception is the last stubby in a bottling run, I dont
>> drink that sediment.

> What's different there?

That last stubby has a hell olf a lot of sediment in it. Very visible when
just filled, you cant even see thru the bottle there's so much sediment.

That settles before I drink it but still has much more visible in the bottle
before pouring out the beer. You dont get any in the glass if you are
careful, its easy to see it coming with the last of the beer.

I never drink from the stubbys anymore except when I am out
visiting and bring my own beer and dont bother to take a glass.

I find that the beer tastes a lot better from a proper glass.

I used to drink the commercial stuff from the stubby, and
still do on the rare ocassion when I still drink commercial
beer, because the only alternative is softdrink etc.

>>> As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very expensive
>>> to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.

>> Yeah, I've never noticed it for sale. Havent looked for it tho.

> I almost want to dissuade you from doing that. Commercial mead is
> not only expensive, IME it's also generally sweet and still. What you
> brew yourself will be as good, or better. Just don't expect the same
> speed as beer, as yeast doesn't like to eat honey. Then again, maybe
> a commercial mead will turn you on to what you can do on your own.

I do plan to try some. Managed to forget to check what
honey is available at the farmers markets yesterday tho.

Whats the story on the brewing temps ? I've just stopped
the beer brewing because its getting too hot here now.

We can have 10 days over 40C, tho we havent this year yet.

Obviously where I brew the beer doesnt get that hot but it
can easily get to 30C and I choose not to brew when I have
to heat or cool just to keep the cost down. Its normally easy
to brew when I dont need to heat or cool since I normally
brew 3 batches at a time.

>> Might try some just like I did with cider etc.

>>>> I'll likely get a spirit still next. The mate of mine that
>>>> I infected with the beer brewing bug has just got one
>>>> and its worked out pretty well.

>>>> Mostly scotch, I do spend a bit on commercial scotch currently.

>>>> Unlikely that the 80 year old scotch will be viable to make myself tho.

>>> I've been distilling for a couple of years now, at first with one of those 'air' stills,

>> Yeah, thats what the mate of mine has just got.

> What's an "air" still?

Doesnt use water to cool the condenser.

>>> but now mainly I use a pot still. I'm not really a spirit drinker,

>> I do it in bursts.

> I drink quite a bit of whisky, and a decent amount of whiskey.

I prefer scotch myself. My mate does prefer whiskey.

> Almost enough to make me do more cloud pics, but
> not nearly enough to see genies or whatever in them.

Never get that, the worst I ever get it that
I have to be a bit more careful walking.

>>> but I do like apple cider brandy and other brandies.
>>> I intend to lightly distill mead at some point, hoping to
>>> make a mead liqueur. There is a Tasmanian company
>>> that makes one, and it's bloody delicious, neat with ice.

>> I drink my scotch neat with no ice and a drop of water,
>> quite literally just a single drop.

> No water here. I tried that with a couple of whisky brands, and
> didn't think it added anything, so I just drink it neat. A guy at a
> liquor shop the other night told me he did the same, but kept notes,
> and found some whiskies were better with that drop, others not.
> Maybe I quit too soon.

I havent tried a proper double blind trial, not clear if I could pick it.

>> I love the best single malts, hate the prices tho.

>> Dont expect I will ever make anything like that tho,
>> hell of a lot of work and years quite literally too.

>> I really just want to replace the commercial blended
>> scotches that arent cheap due to the duty system here.

> Here ether. I just trust that the work to get the best effect is
> more than the cost of just buying it, and test various brands.

>>> The vodka comes in handy for making vanilla essence as well.

> I drink almost no vodka, except the occasional zubrufka (sp) from Poland.

I dont even drink that.

When I was in college, I majored in chemistry, a crazy Danish
temporary visitor who was escaped the Danish conscription
system in the 60s made some schapps with what chemists
call SVR, basically the purest ethanol you can get. It isnt safe
to drink the other form of pure ethanol, what chemists call
absolute alcohol, since the residual water is removed using
benzine and there will always be some benzene remaining
and its carcenogic.

He just added water and an oil whose name I cant quite remember,
probably carraway seed oil, but that doesnt sound quite right.

Dunno if it would appeal as much as it did then, damned near half a century ago now, bugger.

> I used to drink a bit of rum in college, but have very little now.
> Same goes for gin, though I tapered off more slowly.

I've never drunk it neat, only as G&T. That is a nice change from beer in the hottest weather.

> Now it's beer, wine, mead, and whisk{e}y.

With me its all of those with G&T instead of mead.

> I have barely had any liqueur (exc. in margaritas) since college.

I like a decent brandy but the only true liquer I have had in decades
was a bottle of Midori, and only because the local regional airline
had an opening special that included a bottle of that for some reason.

> If any of this seems incoherent, it's because I had a little party here
> for home brewers, and it's quite possible I overindulged just a little bit.

You're doing fine. Not even any spelling mistakes, thats usually the giveaway with me.

> I know I wouldn't want to have tried driving home from this, but since I hosted it, no problemo.

On Jan 29, 9:13*pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
> BruceS wrote
<snip>
> > What's different there?
>
> That last stubby has a hell olf a lot of sediment in it. Very visible when
> just filled, you cant even see thru the bottle there's so much sediment.

Ah, I get it. Mine settles enough before I give up on the
fermentation, it isn't a problem. I let it sit in the fermentation
vat a bit, so all the sediment settles. Then I rack it into a clean
fermentation vat, losing the last bit to avoid siphoning in sediment.
When I bottle, I then add invert sugar to that vat, mix well, and
bottle. The only sediment is what's formed in the bottle. Now that
I'm kegging, I just siphon/pour from the vat to the keg. A couple of
times, I even skipped the intermediate vat, just watching as I siphon
from the first one and stopping before sediment gets in. I also
support the fermentation vat at an angle (my only use for the phone
books they keep putting at my door), so I can get the maximum liquid
before giving up.

<snip>
> I do plan to try some. Managed to forget to check what
> honey is available at the farmers markets yesterday tho.
>
> Whats the story on the brewing temps ? *I've just stopped
> the beer brewing because its getting too hot here now.


I'll be interested to hear the results. It generally takes a long
time (months at least) before it's really ready to drink. I can't say
what temps exactly, but I usually do mead in the winter, when indoor
temps are right about 66F (19C).

<snip>
> > What's an "air" still?
>
> Doesnt use water to cool the condenser.

Ah, thanks. I really don't know much about stills, but that sounds
much less efficient.
<snip>
> > If any of this seems incoherent, it's because I had a little party here
> > for home brewers, and it's quite possible I overindulged just a little bit.
>
> You're doing fine. Not even any spelling mistakes, thats usually the giveaway with me.

I wasn't counting how much I drank, but I was definitely feeling it.
It was a relief to get messages from my friends when they got home. I
know they were drinking less, but probably still more than they should
have been driving after. One was on a bike, where you need to really
be more careful.

BruceS wrote
> Rod Speed > wrote
>> BruceS wrote

>>> What's different there?

>> That last stubby has a hell olf a lot of sediment in it. Very visible when
>> just filled, you cant even see thru the bottle there's so much sediment.

> Ah, I get it. Mine settles enough before I give up on the
> fermentation, it isn't a problem. I let it sit in the fermentation
> vat a bit, so all the sediment settles.

Mine does too. The first 59 stubbys dont have that problem and
I just pour the entire stubby contents into the glass just being a
bit careful about the head not gettting too excessive when I do that.

Its only the LAST stubby which has got so much sediment in it due
to my scottish/jewish nature that I have to be careful when pouring
it into the glass that I stop before the sediment ends up in the glass.

> Then I rack it into a clean fermentation vat,

I dont rack, I ferment and then bottle when the SG is stable
from one day to the next and the immense head you get on
the early SG samples has stopped happening so you dont
have to fill the stubbys twice.

> losing the last bit to avoid siphoning in sediment.

Thats what I dont do, too jewish/scottish/tight.

Its easier to just be careful about pouring that LAST stubby into the glass.

> When I bottle, I then add invert sugar to that vat, mix well, and bottle.

I put the secondary fermentation sugar into the stubby before filling it with the beer.

> The only sediment is what's formed in the bottle.

Thats true of all 59 of my stubbys, but not the last one.

> Now that I'm kegging, I just siphon/pour from the vat to the keg.
> A couple of times, I even skipped the intermediate vat, just watching
> as I siphon from the first one and stopping before sediment gets in.
> I also support the fermentation vat at an angle (my only use for the
> phone books they keep putting at my door), so I can get the
> maximum liquid before giving up.

Yeah, I do that when bottling too but I only tilt it when doing the last
of the bottling, because I dont bottle from the fermentation barrel
where it ferments, because I ferment 3 batches at a time and move
the batch to the top of the washing machine before bottling.

I'll to stop doing that, the 23L barrels are quite a
weight and I'll do my back in eventually doing that.

> <snip>

>> I do plan to try some. Managed to forget to check what
>> honey is available at the farmers markets yesterday tho.

>> Whats the story on the brewing temps ? I've just stopped
>> the beer brewing because its getting too hot here now.

> I'll be interested to hear the results. It generally takes a long
> time (months at least) before it's really ready to drink. I can't
> say what temps exactly, but I usually do mead in the winter,
> when indoor temps are right about 66F (19C).

Thats a problem. I dont heat the beer anymore, and even tho I
do have a barrel heater, not real keen on running that for 6 months.

We swing from too hot to too cold quite quickly most years.

> <snip>
>>> What's an "air" still?

>> Doesnt use water to cool the condenser.

> Ah, thanks. I really don't know much about stills, but that sounds much less efficient.

They are quite effective when designed properly.

>>> If any of this seems incoherent, it's because I had a little party here for
>>> home brewers, and it's quite possible I overindulged just a little bit.

>> You're doing fine. Not even any spelling mistakes, thats usually the giveaway with me.

> I wasn't counting how much I drank, but I was definitely feeling it.
> It was a relief to get messages from my friends when they got home.
> I know they were drinking less, but probably still more than they should
> have been driving after. One was on a bike, where you need to really
> be more careful.

On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:47:16 -0000, BruceS > wrote:

> On Jan 29, 9:13 pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
>> BruceS wrote

2 problems:

1. You're arguing with Rod Speed the wannabee troll.

2. You're kegging beer. But maybe that's acceptable in some foreign places.

Real Beer is non-pasteurised, non-filtered, non-chilled and allowed to
secondary ferment in the cask.


> have been driving after. One was on a bike, where you need to really
> be more careful.

is that a bike or motorcycle?


--
[dash dash space newline 4line sig]

Albi CNU

On Feb 3, 12:35*pm, "Harry Vaderchi" > wrote:
> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:47:16 -0000, BruceS > wrote:
> > On Jan 29, 9:13 pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
> >> BruceS wrote
>
> 2 problems:
>
> 1. You're arguing with Rod Speed the wannabee troll.

I haven't seen him do any trolling on this thread, so it doesn't
apply.

> 2. You're kegging beer. But maybe that's acceptable in some foreign places.

It's only acceptable in places where people brew.

> Real Beer is non-pasteurised, non-filtered, non-chilled and allowed to
> secondary ferment in the cask.

Now *that* is some trolling, right there. How about "real"
computers? Or "real" cars? FTR, I don't pasteurize, filter, or chill
my beer, but I'm not out to start a flame war with those who do. As
for doing the secondary in a cask, that's just crazy talk. If you're
going to do the old-fashioned yeast-based carbonation, you should do
it in the bottle. If you're really serious, you then do the methode
champenoise to remove the sediment. But only a complete fruitbat
would do that with beer.

> > have been driving after. *One was on a bike, where you need to really
> > be more careful.
>
> is that a bike or motorcycle?

Motorcycle. I ride both, but neither when I've been drinking. Then
again, I also don't drive when I've been drinking much. The cutoff
point for riding is a lot lower than that for driving, as you need
more awareness, better response, and a lot more balance on two wheels.

On Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:43:32 +0800, Charlie <charliedatiinet.net.aus>
wrote:

>On Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:05:32 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:07:45 +1100, "Rod Speed"
> wrote:
>>
>><alt.beer.home-brewing & rec.food.drink.beer added in the vain hope
>>that it may resuscitate them>
>>
>>>Jeßus wrote
>>>> Mead can be very simple to make - but not necessarily cheap -
>>>> depending on the honey used. The 30L one I racked today cost $150 in
>>>> Rainforest honey and $20 for the 2 packs of special mead yeast that I use.
>>>
>>>Yeah, thats a hell of a lot more than I ever spend on a batch of beer.
>>
>>Indeed it is, but then my motives for home brewing isn't purely to
>>save money. I actually prefer my beer to almost all commercial beers.
>>My favourite commercial beer - from the bigger breweries at least -
>>has always been Coopers, so sediment has never been something that's
>>bothered me. As for the mead, well I just love the stuff and it's very
>>expensive to buy, assuming you can even find some to buy, that is.
>>
><snip>
>
>A few years ago, I and an american friend did a tour of all the
>meaderies in Australia.
>
>The best in our opinion [and he is also involved in judging meads in
>the US] was one in SA called Chateau Dorrien.
>
>When I returned to WA I ordered a couple of cartons from them and from
>memory it only cost about $20 freight.
>
>I started making mead in 2005 but mostly sweetish stuff and I didn't
>bother with bottles storing it in flagons and demijohns.

Thanks for that Charlie, I'll check out Chateau Dorrien. Always
intersted in trying out other meads, be they commercial or home
brewed, if only to compare mine with theirs.

On Fri, 3 Feb 2012 15:04:08 -0800 (PST), BruceS >
wrote:

>On Feb 3, 12:35*pm, "Harry Vaderchi" > wrote:
>> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:47:16 -0000, BruceS > wrote:
>> > On Jan 29, 9:13 pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
>> >> BruceS wrote
>>
>> 2 problems:
>>
>> 1. You're arguing with Rod Speed the wannabee troll.
>
>I haven't seen him do any trolling on this thread, so it doesn't
>apply.

He doesn't troll, He does not like opposing opinion
Home Brewing I only do this as a "Team building" exercise with
workmates in places like
http://www.thebeerfactory.com.au/index.html
--
Petzl
Chattanooga choo choo
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1d...-choo-choo_fun

On Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:04:08 -0000, BruceS > wrote:

> On Feb 3, 12:35 pm, "Harry Vaderchi" > wrote:
>> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:47:16 -0000, BruceS > wrote:
>> > On Jan 29, 9:13 pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
>> >> BruceS wrote
>>
>> 2 problems:
>>
>> 1. You're arguing with Rod Speed the wannabee troll.
>
> I haven't seen him do any trolling on this thread, so it doesn't
> apply.
>
>> 2. You're kegging beer. But maybe that's acceptable in some foreign
>> places.
>
that was the trolling bit!

> It's only acceptable in places where people brew.
>
>> Real Beer is non-pasteurised, non-filtered, non-chilled and allowed to
>> secondary ferment in the cask.


> Now *that* is some trolling, right there. How about "real"
> computers? Or "real" cars? FTR, I don't pasteurize, filter, or chill
> my beer, but I'm not out to start a flame war with those who do. As
> for doing the secondary in a cask, that's just crazy talk. If you're
> going to do the old-fashioned yeast-based carbonation, you should do
> it in the bottle. If you're really serious, you then do the methode
> champenoise to remove the sediment. But only a complete fruitbat
> would do that with beer.

http://camra.org.uk/aboutale


You're right. I'd been drinking. Real Ale. with secondary fermentation in
the cask, but not brewed by me, I'll admit.

I'm sorry about the wind-up attempt.

>
>> > have been driving after. One was on a bike, where you need to really
>> > be more careful.
>>
>> is that a bike or motorcycle?
>
> Motorcycle. I ride both, but neither when I've been drinking. Then
> again, I also don't drive when I've been drinking much. The cutoff
> point for riding is a lot lower than that for driving, as you need
> more awareness, better response, and a lot more balance on two wheels.

I cycle to pubs and back. Only fell in the canal once, and then I was
pushed by a low bridge.



--
[dash dash space newline 4line sig]

Albi CNU

On Feb 7, 1:34*pm, "Harry Vaderchi" > wrote:
> On Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:04:08 -0000, BruceS > wrote:
> > On Feb 3, 12:35 pm, "Harry Vaderchi" > wrote:
> >> On Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:47:16 -0000, BruceS > wrote:
> >> > On Jan 29, 9:13 pm, "Rod Speed" > wrote:
> >> >> BruceS wrote
>
> >> 2 problems:
>
> >> 1. You're arguing with Rod Speed the wannabee troll.
>
> > I haven't seen him do any trolling on this thread, so it doesn't
> > apply.
>
> >> 2. You're kegging beer. But maybe that's acceptable in some foreign
> >> places.
>
> that was the trolling bit!

:s/the/a

> > It's only acceptable in places where people brew.
>
> >> Real Beer is non-pasteurised, non-filtered, non-chilled and allowed to
> >> secondary ferment in the cask.
> > Now *that* is some trolling, right there. *How about "real"
> > computers? *Or "real" cars? *FTR, I don't pasteurize, filter, or chill
> > my beer, but I'm not out to start a flame war with those who do. *As
> > for doing the secondary in a cask, that's just crazy talk. *If you're
> > going to do the old-fashioned yeast-based carbonation, you should do
> > it in the bottle. *If you're really serious, you then do the methode
> > champenoise to remove the sediment. *But only a complete fruitbat
> > would do that with beer.
>
> http://camra.org.uk/aboutale

Damnation! Seeing that you'd provided a link, I didn't even read the
link before clicking. I had the insane hope that you were linking to
a site for a group that used methode champenoise for beer. Oh well,
maybe nobody is crazy enough for that. The CAMRA definition of "real
beer" and "real ale" is a bit laughable. I only hope they aren't
taking themselves seriously. They really should *invent* a term (say
"CAMRA ale") instead of trying to appropriate an existing term, but I
guess companies like Microsoft have given bad examples. As for their
description of kegging, its also redefining an existing term, in a way
that's inconsistent with common usage. When I keg, I don't pasteurize
or filter. The degree of carbonation is also very controllable, so
their claim that it makes the beer "unnaturally fizzy" is another bit
of ignorant blather. My current setup doesn't give as much per-keg
control as I'd like, but even with it, I can maintain a lower pressure
on one or more kegs while forcing a higher pressure on other(s). This
is a normal part of the force carbonation process, as the brewer uses
a higher pressure at first, then lowers it after a short time. For
that matter, my beer (OK, so it's really ale, but we abuse those
words) and mead are "alive", in the sense that you could take a
portion, add it to a sterile wort, and start the whole fermentation
process over. I don't do that, since there's a chance of wild yeasts
having gotten in at some point (and because my brewery supply people
would frown at me for not buying fresh yeast), but others do.

> You're right. I'd been drinking. Real Ale. with secondary fermentation in
> the cask, but not brewed by me, I'll admit.

No need to "admit" such a thing---it just implies you have friends!
While that may differentiate you from a substantial part of the Usenet
population, it isn't really anything to be too embarrassed about.
Well, maybe a *little* embarrassed.

> I'm sorry about the wind-up attempt.

Ooh, I took it as a humor attempt. My bad.

> >> > have been driving after. *One was on a bike, where you need to really
> >> > be more careful.
>
> >> is that a bike or motorcycle?
>
> > Motorcycle. *I ride both, but neither when I've been drinking. *Then
> > again, I also don't drive when I've been drinking much. *The cutoff
> > point for riding is a lot lower than that for driving, as you need
> > more awareness, better response, and a lot more balance on two wheels.
>
> I cycle to pubs and back. Only fell in the canal once, and then I was
> pushed by a low bridge.

I only write this when it's literally true, as it's all too overused,
but LOL.
One time, I was with a couple friends, alternating between taking
shots of tequila (the whole salt, lime, toss one back bit) indoors,
and inhaling oxidized herb outdoors. By the end of the evening, we
were all feeling pretty good. The others drove home, and I went for a
bicycle ride. We all survived, and didn't hurt anyone else! Yay!
I'm sometimes appalled at the incredibly stupid and dangerous things I
did when younger, and try to keep that in mind when I see young people
today doing stupid stuff. Even today, I'm not a real "ATGATT" sort on
the motorcycle, sometimes going with no more protective gear than a
3/4 helmet, gloves, and boots. Maybe one day I'll look back on that
and shake my head. We cruiser bikers aren't nearly as polarized as
crotch rocket jockeys.