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Here's one to try!
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Big Brewers take Caffeine out of Energy Beers
Posted on: 12-19-08 by Drew VicsThere seems to be some unspoken rule about not criticizing commercial breweries and respecting all brewers as if there is some code of honor. Actually that may not be an unspoken rule, I think I read it somewhere.
Well, I do respect brewers, and I honor the good and talented, but I don't respect or agree with what some large commercial breweries do. I criticized Sam Adams for producing a Raspberry Wheat beer and calling it a Lambic. That is what one might call misleading the public and completely misrepresenting a style of beer.
I also criticized Anheuser-Busch for making an "energy" beer, called Tilt, no doubt to appeal to a younger, hipper (?) audience. I had the opportunity of tasting Tilt beer before it hit the market, and in my opinion, it sucked. Not to mention that I think it was a bad idea. And apparently I wasn't the only one. Though it took others longer than I to notice.
Amazingly the Tilt "energy beer" — I mean what else would you call it — must have proven popular enough because it is still in production, along with Bud Extra (no kidding), and MillerCoors even jumped on the bandwagon behind AB and began producing a beer boosted with caffeine and other stimulants, called Sparks.
Finally someone saw the light and these beers have been dubbed potentially unhealthy by many attorney generals. As I said, I figured it was a bad idea to begin with. I'm glad others took notice.
Look, I'm not scientist, and I know that most people wouldn't fare too poorly after consuming a couple of these beers, I mean how often have many of us consumed "mass quantities" of beer, like Beldar, then go have a shot of espresso or a cup or two of coffee. We do it all the time at weddings and other family and social events.
But what about those among us who might experience some ill effects from drinking too many of these beverages which take your nervous system in two different directions? What about those who actually believe that the caffeine would counteract the effects of the alcohol? Duh.
As I said earlier, I hold all beer brewers in the highest regard, but I will not turn a blind eye to a brewing company who is duping the public, misrepresenting a beer, or producing a product that could be potentially harmful to consumers. Yes, alcohol itself is potentially harmful to a consumer, but that directly depends on the consumer's use. Sorry, beer does not need to double as an energy drink.
Who needs an energy drink anyway? Can't we get energy through natural means — eating right, sufficient rest, exercise, drinking plenty of water? I've never had an energy drink, and if I've ever experienced a lack in energy it was directly related to a deficit in one or more of the areas just mentioned. Sure, I like a coffee or tea kick-start in the morning, but I don't rely on it. And I don't spike it.
That's just my two cents. But to outline the possible dangers of mixing alcohol and caffein energy drinks, I'll close with this information found online at the website for Brown University:
What happens when energy drinks are combined with alcohol?
Energy drinks are also used as mixers with alcohol. This combination carries a number of dangers:
Since energy drinks are stimulants and alcohol is a depressant, the combination of effects may be dangerous. The stimulant effects can mask how intoxicated you are and prevent you from realizing how much alcohol you have consumed. Fatigue is one of the ways the body normally tells someone that they've had enough to drink.
The stimulant effect can give the person the impression they aren't impaired. No matter how alert you feel, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the same as it would be without the energy drink. Once the stimulant effect wears off, the depressant effects of the alcohol will remain and could cause vomiting in your sleep or respiratory depression.
Both energy drinks and alcohol are very dehydrating (the caffeine in energy drinks is a diuretic). Dehydration can hinder your body's ability to metabolize alcohol and will increase the toxicity, and therefore the hangover, the next day.
Beer is Top Priority for Prolonged Space Exploration
Posted on: 12-04-08 by The BrewologistA Japanese brewing company has successfully brewed a beer with barley grown on the International Space Station. I'm glad to see we've got our priorities straight as to what will be necessary for astronauts during future prolonged space missions.
I mean, think of it, it's 2022 and we've got a select crew on a mission to Mars. It's going to take awhile to get out there so they'll have some down time, it's only natural that they have some form of recreation. Growing barley malt, hops, and actually brewing beer in space is a must! I can't see a bunch of astronauts standing around playing darts with water in their hands.
Wait, maybe darts wasn't the best example there. Who the hell knows where those things may end up bouncing to if they miss the board. Not safe. Well, maybe Velcro™ darts would work. Come to think of it, a number of bar games may be out of the question due to the danger of certain objects careening about in weightless space. Billiards for example, or shuffleboard. Pinball would be safe.
There are a few drawbacks to bewing beer in space: Large crops of barley and hops will be necessary to make sufficient amounts of beer. Will yeast ferment in zero G? Also, "top" fermenting or "bottom" fermenting yeasts will become "wherever" fermenting yeast since they will not be affected by gravity.
Also, we know that consuming mass quantities of beer here on Earth leads to mass quantities of bathroom visits to drain the bladder. I guess with the new proposed system to recycle urine back into water they'll have no problems with that. And they'll have plenty of water.
Thar She Blows!
Posted on: May 19, 2008 by The BrewologistDealing with Blow-Off During Fermentation
Sometimes I get emails from home brewers with questions about brewing, bottling, fermentation problems and stuff like that. One recent email brought up a situation that makes for a good topic here.
Jeff Brown, who blogs about homebrewing at the Homebrew Experiment blog, contacted me with an emergency. He had brewed a Samuel Adams clone and ran into a fermenting snafu when his beer began foaming up incredibly, with bits of hops clogging the airlock, causing pressure to build in the fermenter. A disastrous mess ensued.
I quickly replied with a suggestion to rig a "blow-off" tube to allow pressure to escape safely without blasting the airlock into his ceiling again, or causing injury to passers-by. I'll explain the use of a blow-off tube and how to rig one up to prevent this from happening to you, and I'll also cover some other alternatives to prevent this kind of mishap.
Jeff's other question, aside from "How do I stop this!!" was, "Is my beer ruined?"
If you catch it in time and can quickly and cleanly remedy the situation your beer should survive. However, if the lid of your fermenter blows off when you're not around and the liquid is exposed to the open air for a prolonged period, you may end up with some contamination. If this happens to you, don't waste your batch right away, just let it finish fermenting and check for potential signs of contamination along the way, which include off odors, and sour or acidic tastes. Whether a sour flavor is a sign of an unwanted contamination depends on what beer style you're producing too. But that's a story for another article.
What happened in Jeff's case is called blow-off, and it has happened to most home brewers at one time or another. It happened to me during my first brew, but I've managed to prevent it from happening since. There are two reasons for blow-off: very active early fermentation and limited head room in the fermenter. There are two solutions for this: more head room in the fermenter, or a blow-off tube.
Some brewers use a blow-off tube as a standard part of their fermentation, as if blow-off is just an accepted part of the fermentation process. It does not have to be. When I encountered blow-off I had brewed a batch of beer slightly over 5 gallons and fermented in a 5 gallon fermenter. A 6 gallon fermenter is recommended if you ferment exactly 5 gallons of beer, this gives the foam more room to develop. After the initial rush of yeast activity the head will thin out significantly.
Another alternate to a blow-off tube is to ferment a slightly smaller amount of beer, say, about 4.5 gallons. I've done this regularly for quite some time and have produced some great beers, including a barley wine and a stout, without the need for a blow-off tube, and without significantly effecting the final alcohol level. I make up the final 5 gallons by boiling my priming sugar (or malt extract) in about a half gallon of water and stirring that into the beer before bottling.
If you must ferment 5 gallons and only have a 5 gallon fermenter and you are fermenting with a yeast starter, and brewing rather high gravity beers, you'll probably need to use a blow-off tube.
There are a few different ways to go about this. One is to use your existing airlock stopper, whether a rubber stopper or the rubber cap with the two nippies sticking off the top, and run a 3 or 4 foot length of 1/2 inch tubing (or whatever fits on, or in, your airlock stopper or the hole in your bucket where you put the airlock).
The other is to use a length of 1 1/2 inch tubing and fit it directly into the mouth of your carboy. You'll probably need some kind of spacer or flange to take up the space around the tube in the neck of the carboy to seal it up tight.
Example of a Blow-Off tube arrangement. |
Once the blow-off tube is in place and fermentation has started you will see the head develop and grow, and in some cases push right through the hose and into the bucket. At least it won't clog. A larger tube is recommended to guarantee no clogging. Smaller tubes can still get gunked up and plugged.
My recommendation? Get a 6 gallon carboy and keep your wort right at 5 gallons or slightly less, you can always make up a quart or two during priming. Blow-off is something that can be prevented in most cases.
Happy brewing!
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Cryptobrewology.com is an online publication dedicated to expanding interest in the art of home brewing and appreciation of unique, entertaining, even mysterious beers. It is maintained by an experienced home brewer and beer enthusiast. |