Alcohol

[maximusg]

Heh, lucky you. I think NZ is one of the very few countries were you can distill your own own high proof liquors at home and its perfectly legal. Good luck with your still

[Chemguy]

Thanks, it is one of the only countries. My uncle used to have a still a t my age, back when it was illegal, the police came to there house once or twice but never found anything, they didn't know what they were looking for, And my uncle said it was for distilling water .

 

I will pick it up tommorow I hope, I planning to start off small, since I have never worked a still before. When I get used to it, hopefully before christmas so I can give alcoholic drinks to people as presents.

 

EDIT: I will pick it up on sunday morning.

[asilentbob]

Stupid alcohol tax... If only it was done away with...

 

I started a 1gallon sweet metheglin (sp) (mead) batch (4lbs honey used) with mint leaves, it should be good. Also im supposidly going to get around 5 swing top bottles pretty soon.

[Chemguy]

Well I've just got my still ,and it comes with so much stuff.

A 23L fermenting barrel.

A still (obviously)

2 hydrometers

A thermometer

Rum, whisky and bombay flavouring

LOTS of sodium metabisulfate

tubing

30 bottles

4 big glass bottles, and 4 big plastic ones

Stoppers

big stirrer

Various measuring cylanders

Some special wine filter

how to brew book

1L jug

 

edit: Found some more stuff...

4 more large plastic bottles

Smoothing agent

wine sterilizer

Filtration bucket and funnel type thing.

 

I will buy turbo yeast and activated carbon soon when I fully understand the still.

 

Also, I will post a picture or two of the set up, it isn't going but it's all there.

 

Here is the fermenter barrel

Edited November 19, 2006 by Chemguy

[Chemguy]

Here is the main still, and the box of various filters and chemicals.

 

The still

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3220/still009wincevu3.th.jpg

 

The items.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7261/still012winceza2.th.jpg

 

Check out that airlock!

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/6561/still016wincekl2.th.jpg

 

And there it is!

[asilentbob]

I must say, i am a happy man.

I just got a few 1L swing top bottles, siphon equiptment, a 5 gallon food grade plastic primary/secondary/bottling bucket (to add to my collection of 1 gallon glass jugs), a spigot for it, airlock and stoppers, yeast nutriants, carbonation tabs, potassium metabisulfite, potasium sorbate, and some other goodies i can't remember. This greatly expands my brewing inventory.

 

I'm thinking about starting to isolate and propagate wild yeast cultures in the refrigerator for brewing. I have found a couple pages that give good info. I'm thinking of starting with yeast from natural honey or, if i can find some, wild grapes. I just need to find some petri dishes and a few more test tubes.

[Chemguy]

My brew is coming to an end, I did 5kg of dextrose with turbo yeast, distilled it giving off 70% alcohol, I watered it down to around 37% filtered it, So far I have 1.2L of Whiskey, 1.2L of Dark rum, and another 4L of 37% stuff to come, which I will make austrailian rum and maybe vodka from, tastes good, and smells like meths! .

[Mumbles]

Are you using extracts to create the rum and whiskey? I'm interested in how liquor from extract compares with liquor from the standard processes.

[Chemguy]

I am using extracts, much easier for a beginner like me . Spirits made the real way taste better most likely, as they are more aged. I'm not really sure how to make them though, however you can buy whiskey wood chips which is toated oak, and put that in for 5 days and it will taste more real. Whiskey from extracts is similar to apple juice from concentrate, that's the best way I can think of.

[asilentbob]

Jack Keller - Welch's frozen grape juice concentrate wine

 

I'm going to try this out today using one red and one white grape juice concentrate to make some somewhat pinkish wine thing. The man's site is very good, so im hoping that this recipe will make something good too. After winter ill be looking around a good deal for local mustang grapes and im going to chat with my uncle who has made a mustang grade wine once or twice for his additional input beyond what i have found on the web thus far.

 

My sweet mead is still bubbling away slighty, its been a bit cool though, so the fermentation has slowed appreciably. Should be around 10-15 days left until its realitivly finished fermenting. Then ill take hydrometer measurements and findout where it stands. Then clearing, stabilizing, and if for some freakish reason it needs it, sweetening... then ill put it in my lovely Grolsch and 1L swing top bottles...

 

I'm putting thought into growing a grape vine or 2 when the season is right along with sassafras, wormwood, more peppers of various kinds, and a plethora of other neato plants...

[maximusg]

Are you using extracts to create the rum and whiskey? I'm interested in how liquor from extract compares with liquor from the standard processes.

Weather the extracts/concentrates work well depends on other factors in the process.

 

For example if we want to get the most out of our extract/concentrate that we buy from brew stores, we have to aim for truly neutral alcohol, or close enough to, with the only 'contaminant' water.

 

Good reflux set up, nice carbon filtration set up and all that jazz to remove all the flavour of the alcohol, a blank canvas if you will. Because when you mix those concentrates to an already .... err characteristically rich brew all hell breaks loose as far as good flavour goes... well in my experience any way.

[itwasntme]

Hey guys, got a few questions on making alcohol.

Can I make a relatively pure solution of alcohol for burning and for stars with just bread yeast? I mean 75%, I want to experiment with making alcohol for the hell of it. I know that bread yeast can only make 12% concentrated, but what if you freeze it then take the frozen water off? I read this in some home brew alcohol magazine. Or maybe putting a desiccant in such as rock salt or CaCl2, would this work? I just dont want to heat it with a fire(neighbors will call the police on me for open flames) and then run it through a desiccant, rather put the desiccant into the ethanol/water solution then freeze it or something to separate the water from the ethanol.

 

Is there any way this would work? I dont really care if there's methanol in the solution, I am not drinking this. Thanks for any help.

[Mumbles]

Sodium and calcium chloride both combine with ethanol so they wont work. To get that concentrated you'll need to distill. I'm not sure about the freezing thing. Perhaps someone else will be able to provide more info about it.

[Draco_Aster]

Turns out that the port I made for christmas (see earlier post for recipe) was a big hit. Though there was only one bottle though it IS port and very little is left....but I can fix that. I think the trick is to get ALL the dead yeast out THEN age it. The "american oak" essense used really smoothed out the flavour while the glycerin added gave it more body. Without glycerin it seemed extremely dry and watery.

 

I'm now making some mead that my Dad tried (and loved) in Tasmania. I think its grotty stuff but I just like making it

[_Po_]

Well I made 25L of wash. The yeast was high yield, it said 24% with dextrose and 20.5% with sucrose. Me and my friend didn't want to pay extra for a bit more alcohol because we're cheap. We used a 25L disinfectant container...Figured it'd be clean at least, haha. I drilled a hole in the lid for a rubber tube to go into a container of water as the CO2 valve. Left it for a week.

 

I distilled a fair bit...Drank a fair bit. I ate a tomato and ended up in a ditch on the side of the road in the bush about an hour from home.

 

I made Midori and Kahlua...And had a 50ml bottle of 90% alcohol to mix with whatever (which turned out to be midori with rum and cola). According to my calculations 50ml of 90% alcohol is 3.6 standard drinks. Plus half a can of rum and cola and half a can of midori, the can lasted me a fair while. Me and a friend finished off the bottle of midori, I did half the bottle of kahlua (with a litre of milk), then there was the beers my friend bought me with the money he won, then there was the home made spirits another guy we met there gave us (nothing like very strong very warm spirits mixed with very warm coke on a hot day...), and the thing that left me lying in a ditch in the middle of no where was half a bottle of gin topped up with beer that a girl made me skull.

 

I had a fair bit to drink and I was fairly drunk for over 24 hours. I had arrhythmia or whatever it is when your heart beats really fast for no reason (well...there was reason). I don't think I'll drink that much again, I'm lucky I've got a strong stomach and don't get typical hangovers. I didn't throw up and didn't feel too bad.

 

I don't suggest anyone drink that much. Home made spirits at 7 cents per standard drink are an invitation, though.

 

Anyway, enough of my stupidity, here's my dodgey still made from scraps lying around:

 

Yay.

 

Double yay.

 

Bunsen burners are pretty difficult to control the temp of...Plus there's the hazard of ignition. I use a hotplate now.

 

All in all, I'm very pleased with how this went. I'll be selling some to make back the money it took to make. I won't sell anything over 20% alcohol. People are stupid (including me) when it comes to drinking.

[markx]

My distillation setup (codenamed IGOR). Capable of 2L/hour 95% ABV:

 

The boiler ( 70L stainless laboratory sink, TIG welded bottom plate, electrically heated 3.2kW element):

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/IMG_0422.jpg

 

The column (three sections with threaded adaptors):

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/IMG_0423.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/IMG_0424.jpg

 

The upper section has a custom made structured turbine packing:

 

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt108.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt107.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt109.jpg

 

The reflux head:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt101.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt102.jpg

 

Steam turbine to distrubute the refluxing liquids evenly over the top of the column packing:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n155/markx_01/Pilt104.jpg

[ewest]

......holy crap. Sorry for the pointless post, but holy crap.

[Mumbles]

Well, I got inspired and started up a batch of mead tonight. In two months I shall be pillaging the village, heh. I suppose it's technically a Melomel or Metheglin. There are some oranges, cloves, and cinnamon.

 

I used this recipe. http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=co...id=118&Itemid=6

 

 

Looks a bit like iced tea right now with some oranges floating.

 

I plan to try another batch soon. If they go well, I might try for a larger batch for a more continuous supply.

[optimus]

Hehehe, mead eh?

 

Reminds me of my time working at 'the tales of Robin Hood'. Much free mead, much firebreathing, and much medieval weaponary : )

 

I'm now sick of the stuff though!

 

Have fun with yours Mumbles!

[asilentbob]

I think i remember seeing IGOR on some site before, very nice job!

 

I havn't moved forward in my distilation endevor yet, i need to find a nice big steel boiling container first. A friend has a crock pot that happens to have a perfect lid with a bolt hole in it and im thinking of bringing some copper tubing over and some mash some day soon and see how well it works for small scale low concentration distillation.

 

I have moved towards always having a bit ready. I have bottled sweet mead and pink wine now., hard cider ready to prime and bottle for a week before its ready, a dry pyment that should be done or finishing now, and i need to start up some more. I just got some frozen blueberries and strawberries, so im thinking a blueberrie melomel and a strawberrie melomel. Then i might use whats left of the strawberries in a fruit wine. I also just got a gallon of pasturized preservative free cider, so maybe a pyment or more hard cider. I have 10lbs of honey at my disposal.

[Mumbles]

I recently found out that a friend of mine keeps bees. If the first few endeavors go well, I shall be meading it up for many years to come. Cheap bulk raw honey, mmmmmmmmm.

 

I rather want to try one of the beer/mead hybrid mixes, just can't r emember the technical terrm right now. I do like beer. Might be more of a party type of beverage.

[asilentbob]

A bragot(sp) made with malt and honey, i don't know about hops or other bittering/preservative herbs, i suppose thats up to personal prefrence. I guess ale/mead yeast. But yeah, i could really go for an ale that has some honey notes to it.

[asilentbob]

Well, got a lb of amaranth at central market and a lb of red sorghum at an oriental market. I'm thinking about making something with a bit of each, or maybe all of each along with the enzymes in some malt extract sometime. Maybe some honey too. It would be like a b-day brew for me to enjoy in a few weeks.

 

Right now im going to go buy 48 12oz bottles, caps, and a capper with B-day money. I'll finally have enough storage to brew 5 gallon batches.

 

St.paddies day is tomorrow and im ready to party with my home made kilt thats from a pair of black jeans that were cut up and sewn back together. I got Guinness ready, however i don't think i have enough pockets on the kilt to hold enough beers, so im thinking ill have to add a carpenters tool belt thingy that has pockets.

 

The hard cider turned out good, I bottled 2/3rds of it and filled the fermenter back up with a different brand of apple juice, so ill have more cider in a few weeks. The pink wine turned out dry and well... wine-ish. The pyment is essentially done. Umm... thats bout it.

[Mumbles]

The mead is still chugging along. It's begging to clear up a bit. It still has a few more weeks though. There is some of the sediment falling to the bottom. This comes in the next paragraph, but I got some yeast nutrients. I broke my airlock, so I figured why not, and added some nutrients. That starting the airlock water bubbling like crazy for a while. It's settled down now. The yeast nutrients smell like bread. The mead should be ready just in time for my fake birthday in about a month.

 

I got some supplies in for faster mead production. Supposedly 3 week mead. I'm planning to use the following recipe. I can't tell if it's supposed to be 1.5g of yeast, or 15g of yeast. I got 15g of yeast. I will try 1.5g first. If that takes more than a month, I'll probably try another batch with the remaining 13.5g, which should be close enough.

 

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=co...id=119&Itemid=6

[FrankRizzo]

Mumbles,

 

Add 1tsp unflavored gelatin to a cup of water, boil for 15 mins and add it to your mead. It'll clear up your brew in no time flat. Be aware that the dissolved gelatin mix does stink when you're heating it, but it will *not* add a nasty taste to your brew. I use it all the time to clarify my homebrew.