Month: January 2012

Posted on

Shared: Danstar’s “Beer School 2012” Contest

Danstar’s “Beer School 2012” Contest

From now until April 12th 2012, every time you use Danstar Premium yeast, you can use the empty package to enter for a chance to win a professional brewing course! In the “Beer School 2012” contest, Danstar will sponsor one lucky winner in a random draw for fully-paid tuition in the 2012 World Brewing Academy web-based Concise Course in Brewing Technology. A $3,200 value, the Concise Course offers intermediate-level training that will build on your brewing knowledge to give you a complete understanding of the commercial brewing process. Whether you want to build your homebrewing skills or build a career as a professional brewer, this course will change the way you think of beer & brewing.

Posted on

Shared: Anheuser-Busch InBev purchases Czech ‘Budweiser’ rival

Anheuser-Busch InBev purchases Czech ‘Budweiser’ rival

A-B InBev has purchased Budjovicky Mestansky Pivovar (BMP), the smaller of two breweries from the Czech town of Ceska Budejovice. Both have long claimed that they — and not A-B InBev — own the right to sell a beer called Budweiser on world markets. No purchase price was disclosed, and the only assets A-B InBev bought was BMP’s Budweiser trademarks – its parent company transferred the actual brewery and employees to a different firm prior to the sale. Still, the deal could have big ramifications.

Posted on

Shared: Gasoline and alcohol: do they mix, or not?

Gasoline and alcohol: do they mix, or not?

Anti-alcohol people are often working from personal pain, and they are doing a good thing, trying to prevent that pain from affecting more people. But so many of them are completely clueless when it comes to risk assessment and picking your battles. Phil should have said something like “It’s the person that makes a dangerous drinker, not the container.” Is that asking too much?

Posted on

Shared: Protovis

Protovis

Protovis composes custom views of data with simple marks such as bars and dots. Unlike low-level graphics libraries that quickly become tedious for visualization, Protovis defines marks through dynamic properties that encode data, allowing inheritance, scales and layouts to simplify construction.

Posted on

Shared: Forced Wort and Forced Ferment tests

Forced Wort and Forced Ferment tests

The “forced wort” test basically tells you whether your wort is stable and free from contamination. You take a sample from the run-in to your fermentor, before you pitch any yeast. You need a properly sterile flask for this – merely sanitised probably won’t do the job (although I haven’t tried) and could well give false positives – and you need to take the sample in as sanitary a fashion as possible. Then you simply put the flask somewhere safe and warm (on a shaker if you’ve got one – I haven’t) and check it every day for haze, bubbles, or off smells or tastes, for the next few days to see if anything grows in it. Ideally, it should still be clear and stable at least 7 days later. Don’t put it on a stir plate, as constant stirring will make the remaining proteins go cloudy (I know, I’ve done it).