TBY2K Forum prep link...

Question regarding proper stockpiling of Beer

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00126t

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), July 06, 1999

Answers

We have a "keg-erator" at home and usually keep a 15 gal. keg on tap at all times. Think I'll get another 15 gal. keg for the roll-over...a back-up so to speak. The extra keg shouldn't go bad here in the cold Midwest (need to keep from freezing) and would be an extra 15 gallons of liquid and calories just in case. Or we could really party if the roll-over goes well. What do you think?

-- Jeff (jeff@home.org), July 08, 1999.

I'm really interested in any information on old methods of brewing beer. I know that it may not end up carbonated, but I'll take warm, flat beer out of my own grain over no beer any day.

-- Jon Williamson (jwilliamson003@sprintmail.com), July 08, 1999.

where i come from, when it's winter and 40 below, beer won't cut it. the preferred beverages would be brandy, everclear, or whisky for your irish coffee to warm you up quickly. a small amount for medicinal purposes. hot soup also if it's available.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), July 10, 1999.

For those who want to make fermented beverages, any search engine will get you some good starts. Who's growing hops, by the way?

FOR THOSE WHO WANT SOMETHING STRONGER, an old and effective way which I can't use because it's too hot in most of Australia was to make "winter wine" or "apple jack" or whatever (depends on your starting material) by putting a tray of wine, cider, even unhopped ale out to freeze overnight. It wouldn't all freeze, but what did was water. Eventually the remaining liquid would stop freezing because the alcohol and other dissolved stuff would act as antifreeze for the remaining liquid water. Take the ice out of the tray, drain any liquid on it back, and the liquid left is much more concentrated alcohol. Could easily work up to around spirit concentration over a few nights, but as I understand it, it was pretty raw. Either needed aging or using in mixed drinks to be palatable, they said.

Caveat: if you're distilling, you can arrange to get rid of (at least some of) any poisonous methanol in your mix. Freezing like this you can't, so you'd need to be confident you were starting with a good pure product - not like something fermented from grape skins, stalks and seeds, for instance.

Regards.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), July 12, 1999.