A few notes....

I think I am going to go ahead and update you guys on some thoughts I have been having on my style. As you all know I prefer the "natural/historic" style. For me this means natural ingredients and historic methods. I think now I am going to go for a full "natural/green" approach. This is a slight off-shoot of my normal style. It varies, at least from my perspective thusly:

1. I pasteurize my honey heating it to 145F. For most honeys this is not needed. From my reading I have been able to gather than the amount of sugar content in honey prevents infections from forming due to there being practically nothing else to live of off for any bacteria. As far as "wild yeasts" (which are the yeasts you and I breathe everyday) these yeasts will be overwhelmed by the introduction of brewing yeasts and will die out as the brewing yeasts thrive (Think Cro-Magnon Man v Neaderthal).

Advantages:
1. No heat required...saving energy. At least on my electric bill.
2. No aroma/flavor loss associated with heating of any honey.

Disadvantages:
1. More physical work on my part. I need to stir the heck out of the honey/water to get
the honey dissolved correctly.

2. I sterilize my equipment with bleach. This is not good for the environment, or my lungs. I have decided for my smaller carboys and any metal equipment to simply sterilize in the oven by baking it at 350-400F for a few hours. As far as the larger carboys....I think just boiling some water and swishing it around the inside would work wonders.

I plan on trying this "style" out with my next batch. If it doesn't turn out well I will go back to my "natural/historic" methods.

Thanks for reading!