The older I get the more it hurts to drink...that said, I still enjoy a good brew from time to time. Is anyone doing home brew or making some mash for personal consumption?? I'm just thinking about getting into making a bottle or two just to see how it comes out. Any experience here??

LR49:

Please be advised that you are discussing two separate issues. It is legal in the US to make limited quantities of beer and wine for personal consumption.

IT IS FLATLY ILLEGAL TO MAKE WHISKEY FOR PERSONAL OR ANY OTHER KIND OF CONSUMPTION IN THE US WITHOUT GOING THROUGH A VAST QUANTITY OF EXPENSIVE REGULATIONS, PERMITS AND TAXATION I'm not saying you can't do it, just that it is not legal, period. There is a whole area not too far from me that is famous for making good shine without the government's blessing, but every now and then some of the maker's spend free time in the iron bar hotel courtesy of that same government.

I'll second the above about distilled spirits, totally illegal without lots of red tape and taxes.

Now, beer wine and mead are a different story.

For a REAL simple start, you can make a 1 gallon batch of Welch's wine. An old friend of the family used to make his own like this, for the little he drank.

For equipment, you'll need a 1 gallon glass jug of some sort (juice bottle, etc.), fill with water and 2 tbs of bleach for 5-10 minutes to sanitize it, empty and cover with a little plastic wrap to keep it clean. Then get a large balloon (that will go to watermelon size), and run some of the bleach water through it just to make sure.

For ingredients:

16 oz can of (Welch's) frozen grape juice concentrate (can use the white also)
4 cups of table sugar
1 lb of white raisins (if you start ahead of time, freeze the raisins, I'll explain after **)
1 pack of regular bread yeast (check dates for fresh)
water, preferably a gallon of bottled drinking water rather than tap.

Heat the water very hot, to sanitize it, no need to fully boil it.

Add the grape juice concentrate, sugar, and raisins to the jug.

Use a spoon and drip a little water on the inside of your wrist and make sure it is only warm (like testing baby bottles), don't want it too hot or it kills the yeast. If you have a thermometer, when the water gets to 100-110 deg.

Then pour the juice in until it is about 2" from the top of the jug.

Put the yeast in the jug, cover with a little piece of plastic wrap again, and hold your hand over the mouth and shake it up good to dissolve the sugar and get everything mixed.

Take off the plastic wrap and put on the ballon.

Put the jug in a dark corner or even a closet for about a month. It should swell up the ballon but not blow it off, sometimes it goes back down, sometimes not. After a month or up to 6 weeks, take off the ballon, and GENTLY pour out the wine, leaving the sediment (yeast) behind. Better yet, regular brewing procedure would be to siphon the wine out, leaving the sediment, but we're minimizing equipment right now.


Should the wine have a bad odor, then there was some bacterial infection from a dirty jug, the water, or even something in the air, but the steps I listed will greatly minimize the chances (I've only had that happen once out of several gallons)


The wine should be good for about 2-3 months, should it last that long. It's much sweeter than most wines, and tastes like grape jelly with a kick, and it is good. Makes a nice dessert wine. When I was in my beer brewing club, we spun off on a winemaking club all started out because of this recipe minus the raisins. The raisins added a lot of additional flavor.

** The reason for freezing the raisins before startng, is that the freezing allows the ice crystals to pierce the skins and release more of the flavor of the raisins.

You can also vary the flavor and sweetness of the wine by buying wine yeast from a homebrewer shop (local or online). The different strains of yeast will impart other subtle flavors, and they tolerate higher alcohol levels, so they will ferment more of the sugar out, leaving the wine not as sweet. At the shop you can also start getting more info to move up to fancier additions, canned extracts to allow you make specific wine types, and on and on...then beer equipment...

Beer brewing gets more involved both equipment and ingredients, but I enjoyed it when I had time, but my schedule tore me away from brewing, and now I just don't drink enough beer to make it worth while, and can't make my own rum, so...

In case you are wondering, the mead I mentioned above is like a wine made with honey rather than a sugar or fruit base.

I think you're talking about a still. Now if I was going to make a cheap fast still which I wouldn't 'cause it's illegal and I'm too damned cute to go to jail. I would use a big pot like a canner (not aluminum) put some cheap wine in or wine that didn't turn out etc. put 3 wooden dowells in the canner in a crossing fashion and place a small bowl in the juncture of the dowells. Now put a large stainless bowl over the canner and fill it with snow or ice. Slowly simmer the pot--the alcohol will vaporize and then condense on the underside of the bowl, then it will drip into the smaller bowl. This is a very inefficient way of distilling but a cheap and fun way to spend the afternoon. Burn your shine in a spoon after to test the alcohol content if you want.

cheers and don't get caught

the chef

Wow!!! It is suddenly very clear I'm not interested in making hooch or going to jail or meeting Bubba at midnight!!

I made some peach wine once, but it tasted terrible and I threw it out.

I guess I'm looking for a beer idea since I don't drink wine and cheese plugs me up....and I don't eat crackers in bed.....I think I did eat a blonde wine drinker once though.....her name was Judy and she swore she loved me...

Let me re phrase this..anybody out there make beer at home??

I used to make a lot of beer....I was very careful etc. I got very few batches that were actually good. Wine is a lot easier to make than beer.

the chef

You guys have convinced me it ain't worth it!!

Still officer ? not I don't have a still. But they used to do it this way. For example you make apple cider.Mother nature ferments it to hard cider then in the winter it freezes, mother nature again. In the center of the container the freezing process concentrates the alcohol !!

quote:

Originally posted by Dodis:
For a REAL simple start, you can make a 1 gallon batch of Welch's wine. An old friend of the family used to make his own like this, for the little he drank.

As a kid I got my hair cut from a guy my father worked with. His barber shop was in his basement along with a big stack of Playboys,wine brewing stuff and his still. This old guy always gave you a glass of wine or brandy all homemade. When I was teenager this was the first set-up he taught me.I made the stuff all the time in my teens. When my father told me of his death I asked about the still. I would have gladly drove from Houston to Chicago for it.

We use to buy Blue Ribbon Malt at grocrey store, with 5 pounds sugar and a cake of yeast, you get around case and a half of beer.

Dodis, when making with Welchs, have there been any negative affects from drinking this? More specifically, how can you tell which alcohols, like ethanol or methanol, are being produced? Is it strong? Thanks for the help.

KennethI,
Negative effects? Well, too much, and the usual results will be obvious. As for any out of the ordinary negative effects, I have not experienced any. I don't know if there is a way to tell which alcohols without some heavy chemistry equipment. No it is not that strong, compared to regular wine. The grocery store bread yeast dies out before it can make full strength alcohol levels. If you can find a local homebrew supply shop, and get some wine yeast, you can get a full strength and less sweet result. And they can also help you choose a yeast variety based on some of the subtle tastes they generate.

Lowrider 49,
I didn't respond before, but I used to make beer as well, I offered the wine as a low equipment startup option. Brewing is like reloading, you never seem to have enough equipment. You're always wanting that next item or trying another recipe (different load) or another style (caliber), or trying to start kegging your own (more equipment). Since reloading can be done in one sitting, and brewing takes at least 2-3 weeks to see the first results, it was hard to keep up the brewing due to time constraints. I still have most of my stuff, and still want to make some more, but probably won't until I get out of my apartment back into a house and have room to work. Most any homebrew supply store should have a simple starter kit for beer that won't set you back too much, give it a shot.

quote:

Originally posted by KennethI:
Dodis, when making with Welchs, have there been any negative affects from drinking this? More specifically, how can you tell which alcohols, like ethanol or methanol, are being produced? Is it strong? Thanks for the help.

One nice thing about brewing and/or wine making is that absolutely no toxic pathogens or compounds can be created by the process. Even badly contaminated brew is not toxic, it just tastes sour. In fact, you have to process good alchohol to make denatured (the bad one).

One point of care, though. Hops (the herb used to flavor and preserve all beers) is toxic to dogs and more than one novice brewer has killed the family pet by throwing used hops out in the 'ole compost pile. Bag 'em and trash 'em in the can.

If the brew is toxic, it won't ferment. The whole process revolves around some relatively delicate living organisms (yeast) eating sugar and excreting ethanol as a waste product. Preservatives in your juice will kill the yeast...and you can drink them just fine.

Anyways, we tried a couple of gallon bottles of generic apple cider in our dorm in college. Not good, but cheap! The yeast was just a couple of fresh grapes thrown into the bottle. That white on the outside of wild grapes...yeast! Not the best flavor, but cheap!

Good luck, and have fun!

Wow, you guys are pretty hard core!!!! If you want to make wine/beer/hooch, then go to a brewing store and buy a starter kit. Ask the guys for pertinent instructions....things will work out. Don't: go to the store and buy bakers yeast, don't use welches grape juice, don't add grapes to apple cider etc. etc. Do search out the proper way to do things.....professional inputs get professional results.

sheesh I thought I was a little "back woods"

the chef

Folks,

I just finished reading the .50 AK vs .45-70 vs .50-110...my head hurts and I need something stronger than any of you can make...legally!!

Dodis,

Great analogy!! I have 11 reloading presses (but I only use about 7) so I can't allow myself to go down the "brewing" road or I will loose my kids, farm and so on.....once I start I can't easily stop...I can see it now going to meetings..."Good evening, my name is Lowrider and I'm a brewaholic"....best if I don't go there!! I'm currently fighting off the urge to buy my second smoker this month to go with my other 3.... best if I don't go there!!!!

I was brewing beer before Carter made it legal. Many many many many cases of different brews have been created. My favorite was "steam beer". It was really quick to brew and ferment and absolutely wonderful to imbibe.

I have been making my own beer for many years. I do it the hard way by grinding my own malt and mashing it. I even grow my own hops.
The best way for you is to buy a kit and some good brewing books. It is very easy that way. There are a million recipes on the net also.
Some do's and don'ts; EVERYTHING MUST be sterile. Every thing on earth loves malt. Boil all water added to your beer.
Do not use clorinated water from the tap. boil it first. Do not use bleach to sterilize unless you have boiled water to rinse because the water from your tap may not be sterile. You do not want ANY bleach in your beer. I use B-Brite and drain dry, no rinsing needed. I was losing a batch once in a while and tracked it down to my well water that I was rinsing with.
Use a good liquid beer yeast, it's worth the little it costs. When you remove your finished beer from the fermenter (preferably from the secondary) you can have another batch cooled and put it right in with the yeast left in the fermenter and you will not need to buy more.
Do NOT add sugar to your beer unless the recipe calls for a little brown sugar or candi sugar. If you want a better beer, add another can of malt, never white sugar. A small amount of sugar (it has to be boiled and cooled or it won't ferment) is added at bottling to carbonate the bottles but it will not effect the flavor. You can use dry malt instead too.
When making wine, do not use bottled grape juice like Welches or cider from the store. The companies found out wine was being made from their juice and now put stuff in that will kill yeast. The cider has a preservative and you need to find pastuerized or fresh squeezed or it will kill the yeast too.
And last, NEVER use bread yeast for any drinks unless you don't care what it tastes like. YUCK!
By the way, methanol is wood alcohol. It is also a product of oil refining. Any fruit, sugar, grain or vegetable will not make it.

Sears sells a handy water distiller.

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