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Yes

8 (50%)

No

5 (31.3%)

I hate A-CAP for even suggesting this.

3 (18.8%)

Total Members Voted: 16

[AlohaDawg]

I was in England the first time I witnessed the beer-and-lemonade phenomenon.

It distressed me then and now. It's perfectly good beer. Drink beer. It's perfectly good lemonade. Drink lemonade.

I have the same problem with menthol cigarettes. If I <WANT> a mint, I'm sure as shit not going to SMOKE it.

[jaydub]

One of the perks I have from working at a biotech is access to all the autoclave capacity I could want.  As a homebrewer, this is a very good thing, although its been less necessary since I started kegging my batches a few years back.  I'll gladly ship a few bottles of my brew to all and sundry.

Kelli, I've never brewed a Belgian - how can you tell the difference between a good Belgian and a bad (contaminated) batch?

[wombat]

Kelli, I've never brewed a Belgian - how can you tell the difference between a good Belgian and a bad (contaminated) batch?

I have always wondered this myself. The Technical Staff drinks stuff that, from the smell alone, my reaction is that millennia of evolution are screaming DON'T PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH.  But he tells me that's what Belgian beer is supposed to be like.

[side_show]

Oh man, both beer and gin are lovely.  But I'm not participating as we don't have fixed rate shipping up here, and it's a rare situation where I order something from the US and it's not been opened by customs for inspection.

[Doc]

I would be totally down for this, but even if I fronted the cash for shipping it'd probably get confiscated or some such.
One of us needs to travel the world, visiting each TOUAMBie and passing on the hooch from one to the next.

[Nabubrush]

No shit. Word. Hey Mel, can I just come by your house and get everybody loaded?

[side_show]

No shit. Word. Hey Mel, can I just come by your house and get everybody loaded?

Yes.  But please remember cats shouldn't drink alcohol, no matter how they flirt with you.  My cats are total sluts like that.

[Nabubrush]

Yes.  But please remember cats shouldn't drink alcohol, no matter how they flirt with you.  My cats are total sluts like that.

My kitty will do everything she can to get at a G&T.

[linnea]

Your cats like to drink alcohol?? That's insane. I had no idea that any of them would do that. Crazy.

[wombat]

I don't think that's correct. Even slugs are attracted to beer and my coworker was just telling me today that he thought the best thing to put in a fruit fly trap was red wine.

Oh, and this looks entertaining...

[jaydub]

I've heard stories of bears seeking out fermented berries, and elephants as well (dunno what ferments in their environment, but an elephant with an angry drunk going sounds like a bad time).

Update:  Drunken elephants are a myth.

Bottom line: its hard to get enough booze into one in a short enough time.  Wouldn't happen in the wild.

[Nabubrush]

We had a small infestation of those little tiny bugs that fuck with your houseplants (I am told that it is when you have some mold from too much water) and we put a little saucer of red wine out with a fly strip above it and that thing was hella covered with those little bastids.

Also, for serious, we have to guard the gin because of little Pooey.

[kellichou]

Well, a lot of it depends on what you're aiming for, honestly. 

Although typically strong off-flavors will point to contamination:   buttered popcorn, vinegar, or anything that shouldn't be in the finished product can point to Bad Things in your beer.  As long as everything is kept reasonably aseptic from start to finish, you shouldn't have to worry.

Of course, certain yeast strains can add characteristics to the beer, but it shouldn't come as a surprise if that's the type of beer you set out to make.  Example:  many Belgian yeast strains will give those banana & clove esters, which are desirable in a Belgian beer (example:  a Wit or an Abbey/Dubbel).  And there's normal spice smells, such as those from bitter orange peel and coriander seeds. 

Also, some beers can get a "cidery" taste if you add waaay too much sugar in an attempt to spike up the alcohol %.  Typically when you follow the recipe, you'll be fine.

That's about all I know.  I know that last year, my SO and I had to get rid of a plastic primary fermenting bucket, because it was scratched, so we couldn't sanitize it properly, and so we were getting that weird "buttered popcorn" contaminant flavor in the beer. 

Kelli, I've never brewed a Belgian - how can you tell the difference between a good Belgian and a bad (contaminated) batch?

[Arachno-capitalist]

Hold up, is kelli linnea's twin?

[Nabubrush]

Hold up, is kelli linnea's twin?

No, kelli is a rodent nibbling a berry. Linnea is two bread-cats. They are like opposites.