Brew News Online

Issue #2, 1998

Well it seems like our web site is a smash hit. We have received many favourable comments from our customers who are delighted to have such a large resource so close at hand. We have also received e-mail from surfers all over the world congratulating us on a "great" web site. We are flattered and appreciate all your kind words. Keep the feedback coming. It's the only way for us know what you want.

We hope you  will enjoy this, our second issue of "BrewNews Online". Our feature article this issue is all about water. Water is often the forgotten ingredient in wine or beermaking, yet over 80% of our wine or beer is water. Without water there would be no beer or wine (sob) so it is indeed very important. Since over 80% of your wine or beer is water, the quality of that water can have a dramatic effect on the finished product. Don't miss this very interesting and informative article.

We are working on our web site to make it even better and intend to add a lot more content over the next few months. We are presently working on a bulletin board so wine and beermakers can leave messages and interact with each other. This is great if you have a problem. You can post your message so other wine and beer makers can see it. Quite often you will get an answer to your problem from someone who has encountered the same problem. It is also a good way to contact other people who enjoy the hobby. We hope to have this running in the next couple of weeks. Check our home page for the announcement. - Bill Reddy

How Important is Water?

In the back of our store there is a steam distiller which manufactures our Professor Purewater. This is the purest water you will find anywhere. A lot of our customers now use Professor Purewater to make their wine and beer, while many others use it for their daily water consumption. If you are not familiar with steam distilled water or find yourself asking the question, "Does it make a difference?" We hope this article will help you get the answers.

The Miracle Of All Water - Distilled Water!
Distilled water is water which has been turned into vapour, so that virtually all of its impurities are left behind. Then, by condensing, it is turned back to "pure" water. Distillation is the single most effective method of water purification. It is God's water for the human race.

In a manner of speaking, distillation is nature's way. The weather of the world is created in the tropics, where half the heat reaching the earth falls on land and water masses. Here heat energy is stored within water vapour through the process of evaporation, nature's distillery. When the jet streams return ocean water to inland areas, they do so without sea salts and minerals, all of which have been left behind.

Nature's Natural Distilling Plant
Distilling water turns it into vapour, and then through condensation, back again into pure water. Rising vapour cannot carry minerals and other dissolved solids-it will not carry disease germs, dead or alive. The secret is that the vapour rises between all the suspended particles and chemicals in the air. When condensation occurs as falling rain, it picks up airborne pollutants! Not so in a vented distiller where most of them are eliminated.

If pure distilled water is boiled in a tea kettle, no calcium or minerals of any kind will collect to coat the inside of the kettle, even though you used the same kettle for ten years.

The World's Greatest Secret
Distilled water then, is water of the purest kind. It is odourless, colourless and tasteless. There in lies the secret to why our Professor Purewater is so much better for your wine and beer making. Most 4-week wine kits contain 5 litres of concentrate and sugar. You have to add 18 litres of water to the wine kit to make up the 23 litre batch. That means almost 80% of your wine is the water you have added! Does it make a difference? You can bet on it.

San Miguel Style Spanish Lager

A good Spanish lager.

1.7 kg. Morgans Light Unhopped Extract
1 kg Golden Syrup or Corn Sugar
45 gm Hallertau Hops
15 gm Hallertau Hops
1 pkg of Lager Yeast
1 cup Corn Sugar for bottling

Method:
Add around 500gm of Extract to 4 litres of boiling water. Boil with 45 gm of Hallertau hops in a bag for 45 minutes. Switch off heat and add extra 15 gm hops and steep for 5 minutes - remove hops. Add remaining Extra Pale Extract and Golden Syrup, stir to fully dissolve. Pour into fermenter and make up to 23 litres with cold water. Add yeast. Ferment as usual.

Your Questions

My wine smells like rotten eggs! What happened?
What you are smelling is hydrogen sulphite gas. This is a natural by-product of fermentation. Some yeast strains are notorious for generating excessive hydrogen sulphite gas. Most good quality wine kits use yeast strains that produce very small amounts of this offensive gas. If you use one of these better kits you should not have a problem. If a "rotten egg" smell is detected, it may often be eliminated by early racking and aerating of the wine while the fermentation is still in progress.

I tried one of you Cooler Quik kits but I find it too sweet. Is there something I can do about this?
Indeed there is. In your Cooler Quik kit there is a package marked "3A". This packet contains an artificial sweetener. Put this packet away until you are ready to bottle. Siphon your cooler into a clean bucket and add 1/2 of packet "3A". Stir well and taste. If it is sweet enough start bottling and discard the remainder of the packet. If you like it sweeter add a bit at a time until you reach the desired level of sweetness. Note: You still will have to add the 1/2 cup of priming sugar. This sugar is used to generate carbonation and does not have any affect on the sweetness of the cooler mix.

Sometimes my beer has little particles floating in it. Is this a problem?
It depends on how long you plan on storing the beer and the conditions you store it. These particles are most likely protein matter. This is a common problem in "no boil" beer kits. Boiling precipitates these protein flakes causing them to fall out of your wort where they settle with the yeast or trub. The only beer kits that do not need boiling are the Morgan's and Brew House. These kits have already been boiled for you. Protein particles tend to make your beer unstable, resulting in poor shelf life. If you do not boil your beer kit, you should store it in a refrigerator and consume it in a reasonable period of time. If you do boil your beer kits adding a half teaspoon of Irish Moss during the last 5 minutes of the boil will help protein precipitation.

What is your favourite beer?
Anything with lots of hops in it. I must confess-I'm a hophead. But I guess if I had to pick a favourite it would have to be a well-hopped English style I.P.A.

What's New?

Two New Brew House Beer Kit Styles
The ultimate beer kit has just added 2 new styles to its line-up. Make beer like the pros, when you use Spagnol's Brew House beer kits. These are the only all-grain beer kits on the market! Now you can enjoy two more classic styles. Wheat Beer: a true Bavarian wheat beer (Hefeweizen). A crisp light-bodied beer. This is the only beer kit that contains true Hefeweizen yeast. Stout: a true Irish Stout Beer. Contains real roasted barley - no flavourings or extract resulting in a true-to-style dark, rich flavour with a smooth bitterness. Brew House kits are also available in: American Premium Lager, Classic Czech Pilsner, Pale Ale, Extra Special Bitter, and Munich Dark Lager.

New Improved Big Blue Wild Berry Additive Kit
You asked for it. More blueberry flavour, more body, and a deeper colour. Our improved Big Blue blueberry kit delivers all this and more. Now contains oak and elderberries. Be careful! This one packs a wallop. Our Wild Berry Additive Kits are also available in our original Secret Blueberry, Partridgeberry, Partridge/Blueberry, Rhubarb, Strawberry, and Dogberry.

Cellar Classic Rosso Grande
A new addition to our popular Cellar Classic Premium wine kits. Make a really BIG red wine with Rosso Grande. Big, full-bodied and dark.The King Kong of red wines! Inviting, deep ruby-garnet colour, with vibrant aromas of ripe berries and black cherries.Awaken all your senses! Clean, dry and perfectly balanced.A powerful wine with finesse and elegance!

A.L. Van Houtte Filter Ground Coffee
We now carry pre-ground A.L. Van Houtte coffee. You can have your choice of either whole bean or convenient filter ground. Either way you will enjoy this famous coffee which is the product of almost a hundred years of roasting expertise.