Beer and wine making

[bigwheel]

Has been an interest and hobby of mine since a pal and I managed to smuggle a five gallon jug of ho made beer past his Mama and fermenting is his front closet posing as a 9th the grade science project. Since then have brewed up about everything and made ethanol for a while till figuing out it was illegal without a permit...so sold my whiskey making uttensils to a gypsy for cash. Past few years have devolved into making ginger champange. Which I attribute to keeping me so young handsome healthly and still having a real job at an advanced age. It should be a good skill when the guvment collapses and we go back to barter system. Anybody who likes to chat about such things..feel free to jump into the discussion.

[Mad Trapper]

Fall 2023

26399

26400

[Slippy]

Fall 2023

26399

26400

Cheers!

[Prepared One]

I'll drink to that. :beerchug:

[Mad Trapper]

Cheers!

That batch was dry, yeast ate all the sugars, it had ~ 1-lb sugar added/gallon. Lavin EC-1118 yeast is supposed to take up to 20% AVB before it gets pickeled/drunk. I added ~ 1 oz of fresh sugary cider to each bottle to get a 2nd ferment and carbonation in the bottles. The bottles pop now but not really carbonated yet.

Next batch is working since last week. Added another 1-lb of sugar to ~4-1/2 gallons pure cider to see if that is enough to pickle the yeast (5-1/2 vs 4-1/2 lbs)? Also added some crushed cinnamon sticks and a few whole cloves and allspice. Hoping for "mulled" hard cider for Chirstmas/New Years :beerchug:.

3rd batch I'll get the hydrometer out and check the cider before and after added sugar, then again at end of ferment. Get a crude "scientific" estimate of alcohol %.

Most ciders have enough sugars to ferment to ~6-8% without added sugar. I'll start that one next week as first batch was going fast........

I've made batches using honey (~80% sugars) instead of sugar and those were delicious, like a fine mead, but lots more expensive. Another alternative is maple syrup (~60% sugars). Now I've got myself looking up honey and maple syrup contents, and reviewing sugar chemistry, and pricing ingredients........

honey

https://books.rsc.org/books/edited-volume/1813/chapter/2125161/Sugars-in-Honey

https://lifewithbees.com/what-is-the-density-of-honey-in-kg-m-g-cm-g-ml-kg-l/

maple syrup


https://www.cbmaplefarm.com/blogs/news/density-of-maple-syrup

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603788/


Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct; 19(20)

Maple Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Health Impacts, Safety and Quality Control, and Food Industry Applications

[Slippy]

That batch was dry, yeast ate all the sugars, it had ~ 1-lb sugar added/gallon. Lavin EC-1118 yeast is supposed to take up to 20% AVB before it gets pickeled/drunk. I added ~ 1 oz of fresh sugary cider to each bottle to get a 2nd ferment and carbonation in the bottles. The bottles pop now but not really carbonated yet.

Next batch is working since last week. Added another 1-lb of sugar to ~4-1/2 gallons pure cider to see if that is enough to pickle the yeast (5-1/2 vs 4-1/2 lbs)? Also added some crushed cinnamon sticks and a few whole cloves and allspice. Hoping for "mulled" hard cider for Chirstmas/New Years :beerchug:.

3rd batch I'll get the hydrometer out and check the cider before and after added sugar, then again at end of ferment. Get a crude "scientific" estimate of alcohol %.

Most ciders have enough sugars to ferment to ~6-8% without added sugar. I'll start that one next week as first batch was going fast........

I've made batches using honey (~80% sugars) instead of sugar and those were delicious, like a fine mead, but lots more expensive. Another alternative is maple syrup (~60% sugars). Now I've got myself looking up honey and maple syrup contents, and reviewing sugar chemistry, and pricing ingredients........

honey

https://books.rsc.org/books/edited-volume/1813/chapter/2125161/Sugars-in-Honey

https://lifewithbees.com/what-is-the-density-of-honey-in-kg-m-g-cm-g-ml-kg-l/

maple syrup


https://www.cbmaplefarm.com/blogs/news/density-of-maple-syrup

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603788/


Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct; 19(20)

Maple Syrup: Chemical Analysis and Nutritional Profile, Health Impacts, Safety and Quality Control, and Food Industry Applications

Wish I could sample a few (...dozen :headbang:) with you! Never got into beer/wine/cider making but have tasted some dang good Home-Brews! Again, CHEERS!

[Box of frogs]

Wish I could sample a few (...dozen :headbang:) with you! Never got into beer/wine/cider making but have tasted some dang good Home-Brews! Again, CHEERS!

I agree 100%
Love to toss a few of those back with you MT.
I have always wanted to get into home brewing. I can’t wait for retirement. So many things I’ve put off for too long.

[Mad Trapper]

Wish I could sample a few (...dozen :headbang:) with you! Never got into beer/wine/cider making but have tasted some dang good Home-Brews! Again, CHEERS!


I agree 100%
Love to toss a few of those back with you MT.
I have always wanted to get into home brewing. I can’t wait for retirement. So many things I’ve put off for too long.

Slippy and BOF. I wish we all lived closer to another, I'd be happy to have a cider party, which would also entail some sort of feast........

Cider is pretty easy to brew.

Need cider with no preservatives, a good brewers yeast (can let ferment with natural yeast, but unknown how much alcohol it might tolerate), a fermenter with an air lock (5-gal glass/plastic carboy), siphon to rack off into bottles/jugs, yeast nutrients/booster (optional), funnel to fill carboy, large pot to mix ingredients, bottles/1/2-gal jugs to put finished ferment in (big bottles with reseal bail tops or 1/2-gallon beer jugs work great, any screw cap jugs that seal work too, small beer bottles are hard to clean and using a capper is a PITA), bottle brush and large brush to clean carboy/bottles, sugar source if you want to boost alcohol content.

Important to keep everything clean. Wash with warm soapy bleach then rinse/drain/dry. Always clean carboy/bottles when empty, don't wait a month(s) then clean up gets ugly.

If you just want to give it a try, you can ferment in a 1-gal wine jug or the cider gallon jugs they come in. The air locks can use various size rubber stoppers.

I've never done wine or beer but have friends who have. One of them distills the wine and makes grappa.

Looking forward to hear others brewery adventures........

[bigwheel]

All we needs to know is what is it and detailed instructions on how to make it. Thanks.

[bigwheel]

My current main past time in the hobby is making gallon jugs of Ginger Champagne.

1. 2 or 3 oz chopped fresh ginger root
2. 2 cups sugar
3. 4 Tablespoons Malto Dextrin (optional)
4. 6 ozs fresh blueberries and or raspberries (optionl)
5. 3 or 4 Tablespoons honey
6. 5 tablespoons earch bottled lemon and lime juice

Place all the ingredients in a 2 qt wide mouth glass fruit jar and add just enough boiling water to cover. Pulverize with an immersion blender then fill the jar on up with more boiling water. Cover and let sit till the mixture cools down to room temps. Strain through a ladies knee high stocking into a big mixing bowl then pour into a gallon glass jug and fill it up with tap water. Add a pinch or two of Champagne yeast and cap it off. Let is set a couple of days till it gets carbonated then move to the refrigertor. Start drinking when convenient. The longer it sits the stronger the ABV and the more it will clear up and settle out. The Champagne yeast can get it to 18% but it takes a while. Once it clears up it can be siphoned into other smaller containers with lids. Store upright.
PS Edit: Just figurered out the screw on lids on the gallon glass jugs needs to be left cracked open a little so it dont bust the glass and waste a gallon or a person could use the one way bubblers as Senor Slippy uses if they had some. lol.

[1skrewsloose]

A while back I got the itch but never got into it. Here's one bookmark that I liked, gives do's and don'ts. Since you brought it up I might get back to it. Thanks

https://milehidistilling.com/

[bigwheel]

Used to keep pretty close tabs on em back in the moonshining hobby..lol. Wound up buying my fancy extractor locally. The guy who made them got scared to death by the Guvment Reveenoers and turned all his customers information over to them. I started getting threatening letters and applications for an ethonal permit..etc. I got scared and sold my gizmo to a gypsy for cash.