As mentioned last month, we started to implement some subtle changes to The Worthouse News. One you may not have noticed is the text is now a little larger and should be less strain on the eyes for those of us reading printed copies of the newsletter. It's always one of those trade-offs as the larger the text size, the more paper needed for printing the newsletter. While many of us now read the newsletter in electronic form, there are some members who still like to print out the newsletter on paper.

For the handheld geeks out there with Palm Pilots and Pocket PCs, your editor included, the PDF version of the newsletter has now been optimized to display inside the Acrobat Reader for Mobile Devices. While there are still some text flow glitches to work out, several members have been able to enjoy the newsletter on their Palm or Pocket PC. I can read the newsletter on both the Palm IIIc and the Palm Tungsten while Ken Nyback has had good success with his Pocket PC.

As Roxy mentioned, we are planning a competition for The Brew House kit brewers. I am not ashamed to say I'm one who buys the kits from both Harvest Brewing and Southside Brew Crew. The kits are great additions to the brewer's larder. For those of us who live in apartments with lousy electric stoves and an apartment manager leery of propane burners, the kits have been a great way to make a batch of beer on short notice. The kits are also open to modification with different yeasts, additional hopping and lower dilution factors. I was amazed at the difference in taste between my BH IPA made with the supplied dry yeast and another member's BH IPA made with liquid ale yeast. His beer was much better.

If you have been using The Brew House kits, I am interested in hearing about your experiences for an article I plan to write for an upcoming issue of The Worthouse News. It doesn't have to be a full article, just some comments and notes about your use of the kit and any modifications you make to the kit. I'll even keep your name anonymous if desired. You can send your comments on this or any other subject to BouffordR@earthlink.net. I look forward to hearing about your brewing experiences.