RevBrewer
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2013
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 6
I was recently thumbing through an old cookbook my father gave me before I went to college entitled The Impoverished Student's Guide to Cookery, Drinkery, and Housekeepery by Jay Rosenberg (Published in 1965, Doubleday). In the back section is a curious entry about making homebrew. I have included the rather lengthy text of the recipe for your consideration. Just for fun, I want to try and make this beer, as a tribute to my dad, and in honor of all those who made their own beer in the wild and wooly days before homebrewing was "legal".
Your feedback, as always, would be appreciated.
SUBSECTION THE FIRST Beer
A Bit of News Which Came as Quite a Shock to Me and Probably Won't Please You Very Much Either
Strictly speaking (and I must, for reasons of prudence, speak strictly) the making of home-brew beer is illegal. Consequently the discussion and recipe which follow must be viewed as some-thing of a conversation piece, reminiscent of by¬gone days of bathtub gin and fringed-dress flappers.
Non-strictly speaking, the laws of the U.S. of A. have their ins and outs. For example, in a brilliant fit of non-consistency, the government has decided that it's perfectly all right to prepare some 200 gallons of potent wine for personal consumption, provided only that the would-be winemaker first obtain a license to produce same from the relevant Federal Authorities. Again, the laws concerning the making of beer, (which one Internal Revenue Agent tells me date from the repeal of prohibition in 1934 and another assures me have only been on the books since 1959) while they are quite explicit in specifying that anyone who brews beer without being a licensed brewery is in violation of Federal Statute, curiously fail to specify any penalty for such a violation, unless you count the conspiracy laws, which the government does. Of course, the government won't let anybody make distilled liquors or sell any liquors without having a long chat about taxes first.
Anyhow, that is how things stand at present, and a pretty bleak picture it is, too. Remember, if you follow the instructions below you will be Breaking the Law. Don't say I didn't warn you.
As long as I am busily being prudent, it is only politic to point out that production and consumption of all alcoholic beverages is governed and regulated by, and subject to, the state-established requirements in all States of the Union. I have been politic. You have been advised.
Equipments
If you were about to embark on the venture of producing dandy home-brew beer for the first time, you would needs have to procure some equipments. The following is an exhaustive list of the what and the where:
WHAT
1 10-12 gallon crock
or
1 10-12 gallon plastic garbage can 1 Beer Hydrometer
1 Bottle Capper
1 Length Rubber Siphon Hose Bottle Caps Empty Beer Bottles
BASIC BEER
You would start to produce approximately ten gallons of homebrew beer by filling the crock or garbage can with:
10 Gallons of Genuine Water
Now I shall provide you with the rule for governing the strength of your beer. It is this: RULE: Approximately 1 pound of sugar for each 1% of alcoholic content, [i.e., (#pounds/#gallons) x 10 = % Alcohol.]
RULE: Don't exceed 10 pounds of sugar in 10 gallons of water.
[i.e., Don't exceed 10% alcoholic content.]
The first rule is based on the working figure of a ten-gallon batch. You may adjust according to your final level of production. The second rule is based on the following phenomenon:
PHENOMENON: Above approximately 10% alcoholic content, the alcohol content is sufficient to kill off the yeast-beasties which make the alcohol. Hence, in a 10-gallon batch, any sugar above 10 pounds is wasted. So the second step is to dissolve in the water
the appropriate amount of sugar for the beer
which you wish to produce.
Next you will need:
1 can of hop-flavored malt-syrup, light or 1 can of hop-flavored malt-syrup, dark depending on the kind of beer which you wish to produce light or dark. Dissolve the syrup (which is obtainable at most large supermarkets) in the sugar water. Finally, you require:
1 package of yeast (Any yeast will do.) which may also be obtained at your super¬market.
RULE: Yeasts die if it gets too hot or too cold. Keep the crock at about 75-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm it with a 100 watt light bulb suspended 6" above if necessary.
Brewing and Bottling
If the yeasts take, you will be rewarded in a day or two by a nice, bubbly froth on top. If you don't get any bubbles, adjust the temperature of the crock and throw in another package of yeast. Check the beer daily with your hydro¬meter. When the alcohol content gets to within ½ of 1% of the final expected alcohol content, you are ready to bottle.
Wash all the bottles. Into each, place about 14 teaspoon of sugar. This is the "bottling sugar" on which the yeast-beasties expend their last energy producing a nice strong carbonation in the bottle. Siphon the beer into the bottles. Be careful not to siphon in any froth from the top. Abandon siphoning when you reach the last 2 inches or so of the crock. The bottom of the crock is filled with a thick sludge of dead yeasts, and you don't want to get any of that in your beer. If you started with 10 gallons of water, you'll be able to fill 35-37 quarts in the siphoning. Cap the bottles tightly. The capper "dimples" the tops of caps put on correctly. Place the bottles in a cool place and allow at least a month for the beer to mature and the "bottom" to settle out.
When you are ready to serve, remove bottles and without disturbing the bottom, pour gently into a pitcher. Pour thence into glasses and drink. Your costs should be in the neighbor¬hood of 10ȼ / quart.
As accurate records add to both the quality and joy of the final product, you would keep a looseleaf notebook somewhat along the lines illustrated by the sample on the next page. A marking crayon would enable you to label bottles with lot-number and bottling date.
Now you know how easily homebrew beer can be home-brewed. You know, too, probably without much information from me, how rewarding an undertaking it could be. Ain't it a goddam shame that it's illegal? And the government wants all of us to know our Zipcodes . . .
Your feedback, as always, would be appreciated.
SUBSECTION THE FIRST Beer
A Bit of News Which Came as Quite a Shock to Me and Probably Won't Please You Very Much Either
Strictly speaking (and I must, for reasons of prudence, speak strictly) the making of home-brew beer is illegal. Consequently the discussion and recipe which follow must be viewed as some-thing of a conversation piece, reminiscent of by¬gone days of bathtub gin and fringed-dress flappers.
Non-strictly speaking, the laws of the U.S. of A. have their ins and outs. For example, in a brilliant fit of non-consistency, the government has decided that it's perfectly all right to prepare some 200 gallons of potent wine for personal consumption, provided only that the would-be winemaker first obtain a license to produce same from the relevant Federal Authorities. Again, the laws concerning the making of beer, (which one Internal Revenue Agent tells me date from the repeal of prohibition in 1934 and another assures me have only been on the books since 1959) while they are quite explicit in specifying that anyone who brews beer without being a licensed brewery is in violation of Federal Statute, curiously fail to specify any penalty for such a violation, unless you count the conspiracy laws, which the government does. Of course, the government won't let anybody make distilled liquors or sell any liquors without having a long chat about taxes first.
Anyhow, that is how things stand at present, and a pretty bleak picture it is, too. Remember, if you follow the instructions below you will be Breaking the Law. Don't say I didn't warn you.
As long as I am busily being prudent, it is only politic to point out that production and consumption of all alcoholic beverages is governed and regulated by, and subject to, the state-established requirements in all States of the Union. I have been politic. You have been advised.
Equipments
If you were about to embark on the venture of producing dandy home-brew beer for the first time, you would needs have to procure some equipments. The following is an exhaustive list of the what and the where:
WHAT
1 10-12 gallon crock
or
1 10-12 gallon plastic garbage can 1 Beer Hydrometer
1 Bottle Capper
1 Length Rubber Siphon Hose Bottle Caps Empty Beer Bottles
BASIC BEER
You would start to produce approximately ten gallons of homebrew beer by filling the crock or garbage can with:
10 Gallons of Genuine Water
Now I shall provide you with the rule for governing the strength of your beer. It is this: RULE: Approximately 1 pound of sugar for each 1% of alcoholic content, [i.e., (#pounds/#gallons) x 10 = % Alcohol.]
RULE: Don't exceed 10 pounds of sugar in 10 gallons of water.
[i.e., Don't exceed 10% alcoholic content.]
The first rule is based on the working figure of a ten-gallon batch. You may adjust according to your final level of production. The second rule is based on the following phenomenon:
PHENOMENON: Above approximately 10% alcoholic content, the alcohol content is sufficient to kill off the yeast-beasties which make the alcohol. Hence, in a 10-gallon batch, any sugar above 10 pounds is wasted. So the second step is to dissolve in the water
the appropriate amount of sugar for the beer
which you wish to produce.
Next you will need:
1 can of hop-flavored malt-syrup, light or 1 can of hop-flavored malt-syrup, dark depending on the kind of beer which you wish to produce light or dark. Dissolve the syrup (which is obtainable at most large supermarkets) in the sugar water. Finally, you require:
1 package of yeast (Any yeast will do.) which may also be obtained at your super¬market.
RULE: Yeasts die if it gets too hot or too cold. Keep the crock at about 75-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm it with a 100 watt light bulb suspended 6" above if necessary.
Brewing and Bottling
If the yeasts take, you will be rewarded in a day or two by a nice, bubbly froth on top. If you don't get any bubbles, adjust the temperature of the crock and throw in another package of yeast. Check the beer daily with your hydro¬meter. When the alcohol content gets to within ½ of 1% of the final expected alcohol content, you are ready to bottle.
Wash all the bottles. Into each, place about 14 teaspoon of sugar. This is the "bottling sugar" on which the yeast-beasties expend their last energy producing a nice strong carbonation in the bottle. Siphon the beer into the bottles. Be careful not to siphon in any froth from the top. Abandon siphoning when you reach the last 2 inches or so of the crock. The bottom of the crock is filled with a thick sludge of dead yeasts, and you don't want to get any of that in your beer. If you started with 10 gallons of water, you'll be able to fill 35-37 quarts in the siphoning. Cap the bottles tightly. The capper "dimples" the tops of caps put on correctly. Place the bottles in a cool place and allow at least a month for the beer to mature and the "bottom" to settle out.
When you are ready to serve, remove bottles and without disturbing the bottom, pour gently into a pitcher. Pour thence into glasses and drink. Your costs should be in the neighbor¬hood of 10ȼ / quart.
As accurate records add to both the quality and joy of the final product, you would keep a looseleaf notebook somewhat along the lines illustrated by the sample on the next page. A marking crayon would enable you to label bottles with lot-number and bottling date.
Now you know how easily homebrew beer can be home-brewed. You know, too, probably without much information from me, how rewarding an undertaking it could be. Ain't it a goddam shame that it's illegal? And the government wants all of us to know our Zipcodes . . .
