Bob, my wife says Praxair will make up just about any mixture of gas to order. They make all kinds of gas mixtures, for the agricultural biochemistry lab where she works.

It sounds like the nitrogen might be an essential. Skink, you use nitrogen at the club where you work…right? What kind of setup for gasses do the clubs/bars use there? Do they order in N2/CO2 mixture? Or is the nitrogen in the Guinness before it gets to you?

Not to harp on about it but maybe PP, Guinness in Australia is Harp with the black food colouring.

I wonder why Guinness isn’t good when the weather is hot. Bob drinks a low alcohol version for breakfast, there might be a clue in there. Heavier body beers have more dextrins (basically short chain starches) so it’s like having a pint of beer with a slice of bread dissolved in it. It’s, I suppose, a bit like having Irish stew for lunch on a hot summer’s day, but is it the protein and fat in the Irish stew that is the problem, or the starch in the potatoes?

I saw a post from a guy once when I was googling something weird I was thinking of trying (brewing related, not the BIAB babe in a mesh bag thing), and he said he brewed light bodied beers, because he and his friends liked to drink a lot of alcohol in a smoke filled room, and he couldn’t do that with full/medium bodied beers as they made him feel “full”.

Plenty of people drink eight pints or more of Guinness per night and I believe they feel great.

Lighter bodied beers are supposed to have less hangover potential. Not sure if that is true either.

I’m confused about all of this and I’m drinking tea! That is not a promising start to the day! Where am I? Australia or Ireland? Who am I? Help! It’s getting worse!

Oh I know where I am now! Our 3 year old son has just woken up and is yelling for me. The oil furnace is roaring away, so it must be Canada…Stout for breakfast (with lots of nitrogen in it) is sounding more and more like a really good idea!

Have a great weekend!

Guinges,

Normally I brew high alcohol beers just because I can! Recently I went on a all beer diet "BeerFast" I drank a rich and heavy beer for nutrition but being high alcohol I ran into problems. So I brewed lower alcohol brews for the next BeerFast. Low alcohol beers are call "Session" beers for a reason. You can drink more beers (without getting smashed) in a drinking session. I can have beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner except that's is all I get, beer! Last year I lost 18 lbs. (8.1 Kilos) in 14 days. Not bad considering I lost most of it crawling along the floor from the 9.5% beer I was drinking! Low alcohol is better but I don't lose as much weight walking from room to room rather than crawling.

Guinness ads:

More:

SEXY! SEXIST!

BobBrews wrote:Guinges,

Normally I brew high alcohol beers just because I can! Recently I went on a all beer diet "BeerFast" I drank a rich and heavy beer for nutrition but being high alcohol I ran into problems. So I brewed lower alcohol brews for the next BeerFast. Low alcohol beers are call "Session" beers for a reason. You can drink more beers (without getting smashed) in a drinking session. I can have beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner except that's is all I get, beer! Last year I lost 18 lbs. (8.1 Kilos) in 14 days. Not bad considering I lost most of it crawling along the floor from the 9.5% beer I was drinking! Low alcohol is better but I don't lose as much weight walking from room to room rather than crawling.

Interesting logic Bob. For weight loss can I recommend staying away high glycemic foods (basically flour (starch) and sugar) It isn’t the fat and the protein. If you think about it, when we were evolving, we were running around in the jungle (bush for our Aussie friends) catching wild animals to eat and foraging for fruits and green stuff. That’s what we are biochemically designed to eat. I have quite an interest in nutrition and have been to many lectures and have met the people who developed the “glycemic index”. Put that into the mix somehow and you’ll do well. Maybe you did that already. The first people ever to become overweight where the ancient Egyptians because they started growing wheat and eating bread. They actually primarily grew the wheat to make beer, and they paid the workers to build the pyramids with beer (They made Guinness of course, so we can stay on topic). The story and evidence is outlined in this fantastic documentary: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/how-beer ... the-world/

If you like I can post a thread on the health benefits of beer (there are many) and the health related problems. In return, since you are a Vietnam vet you can tell me something about life. It must have been quite a dreadful and eye opening experience, but I can only imagine! I’ve seen a lot of human tragedy in my life too, related to my occupation.

Question 1 for you Bob….does it matter where in the world you live?

This is getting too heavy maybe, perhaps I should change my question # 1 to tell us a really good joke Bob! About Guinness maybe!! And then ask Lylo, your sidekick, to chip in with his amazing wit.

All the best Bob! And thanks for your help on my Guinness journey.

GR, Guinness provide everything from Barrel to tap. The gas comes in cylinders, just marked 'Stout Mix'. And Guinness sales drop in the summer in every pub I've ever worked in, due to it being so 'heavy'.

Thanks a lot Skink!

I’m relying on you here to brew something like it. Ask the guys on here (in Canada that refers to both men and women for some reason. It’s normal to say Hi Guys, or Hey Guys, even if there are only women being addressed) about the BIAB process if you are doing whole grain, maybe partial mash. You will be the one who will now when you have hit gold!

As a non-Irishman, I fear I would be just guessing and deluding myself, even if I did get it bang on! I’m sure going to have a good go at it though!

It’s still a mystery though for me. Although the muddy water (or Guinness) is clearing a bit.

For Guinges,

A completely inappropriate and not-safe-for-work Guinness commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... verified=1

---Todd

How did you know I'd like that one Todd?

Found a nice link on history of, and reasons for, using nitrogen: http://www.tastingbeers.com/school/beer ... 09274.html

Bob I finally laid my hands on cocoa nibs.
When and how did you add them and the coffee to your Guiness?
I have seen alot of different methods but I usually try yours before trying the old tried and trure methods!

lylo,

Your a piece of work lylo! When I use cocoa nibs I usually transfer to a secondary. Normally I don't use secondary's anymore but sometimes it makes sense? I use a 1/2 or 1/3 cup for the nibs? Nibs don't have much taste at all. Try chewing a couple and you will taste what I mean. I don't taste much at all so now I over-do them a bit to get anything out of them. The coffee depends on whether you are using grounds or brewed coffee. I try to be understated when I use coffee. I use ground coffee and add 1/4 cup to the secondary.

The stout I have on tap now has a bit too much coffee. The beer is like cold coffee? It still goes good in the morning because it gets a head on it! I know its a light beer and I can get away with drinking my breakfast! But the taste is a bit to much coffee. So I may have a hoppy beer in between just to keep my taste buds from getting confused.

Sorry if I didn't help much but this boils down to taste and you know I don't have any taste!

GuingesRock,

I missed your post #31 sorry! When losing weight I normally go low carb. I am well aware of the evils of sugar and easily converted foods like bread. I am also a big proponent of living life as we evolved to live it. I know that civilization came about so that these ancient people could stay in one place to brew beer! That is where I try to emulate my ancestors who stumbled onto the plains of Africa (before they moved to Poland) Alcohol is in my blood. Err- I mean brewing is in my blood! Well, I guess both are true at the moment.

I like "BeerFast" because it doesn't effect my normal daily routine of drinking beer and reading about drinking beer. It puts a crimp in my eating during the day but my ancestors didn't eat every day. They were "feast or famine" with emphasis on the famine! So I'll admit that my predecessors didn't have four tappers on a beer fridge but they didn't pay taxes or have to watch election crap on TV! So where is this paragraph going? Nowhere! So I am going for a Guinness! Ta Ta!