Tunes while brewing

General brewing information, questions and discussion. Topics that do not seem to fit elsewhere.

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jayhawk
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Tunes while brewing

Post by jayhawk »

Does it matter what kind of music I listen to while brewing? Will the frequency of classical music increase mash effeciency, or is rock better? Will folk slow enzyme activity?

Just thought I would throw this out for the sake of...oh, I don't know. What kind of tunes do y'all listen to while brewing? I find the Tragically Hip (greatest Canadian rock band of all time)to be the best. Crank it up, pop a top, fire up the stove...yee haw! Once that CD plays out, I might throw in a bit of Neil Young or Fred Eaglesmith.

Git Brewin',
Chris
Gravity Thrills
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The Hip are Hip

Post by Gravity Thrills »

My Canuck coworker turned me on to "The Hip," as he likes to call them (They're coming to town next week, too, so he's pretty much useless at work he's so psyched for the show). He also got me listening to Big Sugar, who I guess are copatriates. I drew the line when he busted out his old Chiliwak 8-track tapes, but I let him put on some Kim Mitchell every once in a while... :-).

I used to like brewing to Jethro Tull's "Songs from the Wood" if I was brewing for a camping trip. Now I brew with the Big BTUs out in the yard, so it's easier to just bring the guitar out and serenade the mash myself.

Cheers,
Jim
dartedplus
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The Gods of Rock...

Post by dartedplus »

I'm kinda partial to Led Zepplin. I have a cd player that handles 6 disks, so I load up the 4 and 2 disk box sets and put it on random......endless rock for those stuck mashes. But on the other side of the coin, I find that I really like to turn on the digital cable and turn it to the light classical channel. I sometimes leave it on that all day. Besides, classical music is supposed to make your baby smarter, so what the hell, he seems to like it to.
Ed
"And I'm drinking... a stairway... to heaven"
Azorean Brewer
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Gotta have tight Bass

Post by Azorean Brewer »

Great Thread ... Seeing how I attended R.I. Conservatory of Music from 1975 to 1977 for "Jazz Bass Improvesation" the music has to be funky driven and tight. Give me Victor Wooten of "Bela Fleck and the Flecktones" any day, or Tower of Power, David Sanborn (I also dabble with an Alto) UB40, Susan Tadechi, "Room full of Blues", Robert Cray, Steve Ray Vaugh, Tunderbirds, Mavericks, anything from 1967-1979, "Yes" Zappa (he was a geinius, God rest his soul), Tull, Zep, Genisis, Bethoven, Wagner, Chet Atkins, Knofler (spelling ?), Buddy Guy, Luther Allison OK OK ... you name it I love it all LOL ... Man, I am heading to the fridge for a "Haufbrau Helles" ... Cheers brew buddies ...

Paul.
BillyBock
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My Quantitative Analysis

Post by BillyBock »

Chris: All of my brew sessions include the CDs I listened to in my Promash notes--gotta keep accurate notes! This is my quantitative analysis:

I find that good heavy metal, like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, which has thunderous bass, is good during mash-in, and recirculation. The bass helps mix the mash.

Additionally, while the mash is resting, good classical music, such as Beethoven, "soothes" and "calms" the mash, providing a gentle, yet relaxing and effervescent atmosphere for the enzymes to work.

I've also discovered this great tip. I don't have a direct fired mash tun. So for me to do step mashes the traditional way, it's boiling water infusions or decocting. But, turn up some AC/DC and you can step mash at 2F/min--no propane, no flame, just high voltage rock!

So listening to a combination of classical, heavy metal and hard rock, I've been able to increase my mash efficiencies from a meager 65% to 90%.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? :-)
jayhawk
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You guys ROCK!

Post by jayhawk »

Wow, that is amazing response. I knew this post would get a few bites...but this is great. Not only do I share the brewing passion with you guys, but musical interests cross paths as well. All of your faves reach in to my musical tastes. Between all the beer we brew and the great music we listen to, we could have one hell of a party!
mickeymac
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Marley

Post by mickeymac »

Although I don't plan it this way, I almost always end up throwing some Bob Marley & the Wailers in the CD player when I'm brewing. "Room to Roam" by the Waterboys usually makes its way into the rotation too.
Freon12
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Bunnymen

Post by Freon12 »

Echo and the bunnymen. Nuff said.
andytv
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Second Marley

Post by andytv »

We almost always listen to the Marley box set while brewing. I don't know why.... it just happens that way. Big bonus: The heavy fat bass and soothing rythm puts my 4 mo old to rest.
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