Homebrew / Moonshine - Sink vodka appreciation

[Falcos_Commisar]

Necroing for lockdown reasons: not long after the UK closed down, I checked on some wine in three carboys that I had totally neglected and assumed would be vinegar: it was all totally fine. This was stuff I had started before my OP in March 2019, not in bottles, just left in plastic carboys. One had a dry airlock, which means it was exposed to oxidation, but was still perfectly drinkable. The red, which was a pricey kit (around £100) is a fantastic wine I'd happily pay 10 to 15 quid a bottle for (a kit will produce about 27-28 bottles). It's practically impossible to fuck this up. Fellow wine drinking Kiwis, unless you are as rich as Croesus and enjoy expensive French vintages, get fermenting, save big bucks, and stick it to the man (no alcohol duty)!

My Mom needs to get into this.

I've been brewing mead for the last six months. I'm finally getting to the point where I can do the "best practice" process pretty reliably and get a product that people might actually drink.

I have three old batches that are so shitty that even I don't want to drink them: strawberry (which tastes like a bandaid, a common problem when brewing with strawberries), blueberry cardamom, and apple cinnamon. I'm brewing a traditional batch right now to blend with them and see if I can cover up some of the shittiness.

Now that I'm out of my newbie phase, I have a Lehua blossom honey and passion fruit batch that I'll be lightly dry hopping and then carbonating. I have a Mamane blossom cyser made with freshly pressed apple cider, which I'll flavor with mulling spices in the secondary. I just started a coffeemel that's Meadowfoam (tastes like a toasted marshmallow) honey in a gallon of my homemade cold brew coffee, which I'll likely oak in the secondary.

And I have five half-gallon traditional taster batches; I brew one every time I buy a new honey varietal just to get a baseline for the taste each honey produces (Lehua, Mamane, lemon blossom, Meadowfoam, and coffee blossom).

This week, I'll be starting 3 gallons of an ale style mead using coffee blossom honey and my leftover Irish Ale yeast. Next week when Fireweed honey is back in stock, I'll be starting a Moscow Mule mead with that honey and Kveik Lutra yeast on a heating pad because that strain needs 90-100°F temps to ferment, then I'll put ginger juice and lime zest in the secondary and carbonate it to mimic a mule.

I've been considering an oaked maple bacon acerglyn (uses maple syrup instead of honey), but getting bacon flavor into it is a logistical challenge.

Always looking for other recipe suggestions from all my creative KF comrades.

Neat. Mead can have a very TART bite to it.

I have been home brewing (beer, cider, wine) for a long time. I mention my brews in a couple DMs and now I can unload here!

People have DM'ed me about starting - Can you make instant ramen noodles? You can make beer.
Limitations for beginners: Understand you will be starting in the ALE spectrum - not LAGER,
Lagers require a cooler, longer fermentation, at controlled temps. Advanced techniques.
Also, you won;t be making hard seltzers or PB&J flavored stuff. You can do this later - walk before you run

Absolutely fascinating.

I think ratebeer or beer advocate has a section for homebrewing with recipes and the #1 starter beer is usually a Cream Ale.

 

[Troonos]

or here's a vlog
https://www.northernbrewer.com/blogs/new-to-brewing-start-here/how-to-brew-beer-homebrewing-101 I'm not shilling - but I like their stuff. Too convenient and ok prices. They make their own extract syrups too.
There is always a sale

Yeah, I buy all equipment from them and from MoreBeer.

4) Be wary of Amazon - expired and substandard ingredients/equipment are common.

Agreed. I started brewing May 2023. Bought about $60 of yeasts, and every single one expired between March and September of that year. If you're going to buy wine yeast on Amazon, only buy it from the seller called "CAPYBARA". They sell yeast that expires in 3-4 years.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

(Repost from a dead homebrew thread)

Currently on tap:
(just drank 3)
A French Farmhouse Honey Ale - Honey Saison. Brewed with a pound of honey.
Primary ferment- strong phenol notes- 'pepper' that were eliminated with 2ndary fermenting. Don't rush aging, or you risk the dreaded 'band-aid' taste of a green Saison.
I fermented for 2 weeks, aged for an additional 2, then kegged and carbonated.
Final: Lovely medium ale (color 12-13). Sweet with floral notes and a near undetectable 'pepper' finish. Perfect Saison.

From the Cellar
Dandelion Wine - read about it in the wine thread. All organic must and a field of home-grown dandelions.
Apple Cider. Made on a whim. Turned out strong and sharp. Very nice for hot days or cool nights.

 

[Troonos]

(Repost from a dead homebrew thread)

Currently on tap:
(just drank 3)
A French Farmhouse Honey Ale - Honey Saison. Brewed with a pound of honey.
Primary ferment- strong phenol notes- 'pepper' that were eliminated with 2ndary fermenting. Don't rush aging, or you risk the dreaded 'band-aid' taste of a green Saison.
I fermented for 2 weeks, aged for an additional 2, then kegged and carbonated.
Final: Lovely medium ale (color 12-13). Sweet with floral notes and a near undetectable 'pepper' finish. Perfect Saison.

From the Cellar
Dandelion Wine - read about it in the wine thread. All organic must and a field of home-grown dandelions.
Apple Cider. Made on a whim. Turned out strong and sharp. Very nice for hot days or cool nights.

What's causing the bandaid taste in your saison? I've only ever gotten it from strawberries in a primary, and only when seeds are present. I've theorized it's the latex naturally found in the seeds.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

What's causing the bandaid taste in your saison? I've only ever gotten it from strawberries in a primary, and only when seeds are present. I've theorized it's the latex naturally found in the seeds.

(to answer your question - I think the yeast acting on the seeds/seed husk was the source of your phenols)

A saison SHOULD naturally have a taste of peppery phenol (not band aid). But it should be muted.

The flavor comes from the yeast fermenting non-sugar parts of the malt. In this case - some parts of the honey (clove & flower extracts)
In this style it is required, so that's why a Saison yeast will be phenol-sensitive.

Secondary fermenting (decanting the beer off the dead yeast, and allowing the still-living yeast to 'clean-up' off flavors) is crucial for this style.
Longer secondary aging and/or bottle aging = less pepper. If you overdo it - you will end up just with a honey-ale.

 

[Involuntary Celebrity]

I've been brewing mead for the last six months. I'm finally getting to the point where I can do the "best practice" process pretty reliably and get a product that people might actually drink.

I have three old batches that are so shitty that even I don't want to drink them: strawberry (which tastes like a bandaid, a common problem when brewing with strawberries), blueberry cardamom, and apple cinnamon. I'm brewing a traditional batch right now to blend with them and see if I can cover up some of the shittiness.

Sweet mead needs to age. All those fruity esthers will mellow out but not in under six months, unlike your basic orange style which you can drink almost right away.
The first berry-heavy mead I made was absolute gagging dogshit when I bottled it, but pretty nice after a year and a half.

I don't have a recipe or anything since I was riffing, but my favourite was one with caramelised australian native honey, chocolate nibs and rosewater. Pretty godly.

 

[Troonos]

Sweet mead needs to age. All those fruity esthers will mellow out but not in under six months, unlike your basic orange style which you can drink almost right away.
The first berry-heavy mead I made was absolute gagging dogshit when I bottled it, but pretty nice after a year and a half.

I don't have a recipe or anything since I was riffing, but my favourite was one with caramelised australian native honey, chocolate nibs and rosewater. Pretty godly.

Nah, the bandaid never faded in 13 months. I just dumped the strawberry newbie batch. It was irreparable.

You have to be able to kill your darlings.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

Nah, the bandaid never faded in 13 months. I just dumped the strawberry newbie batch. It was irreparable.

You have to be able to kill your darlings.

I had a dandelion wine that was undrinkable for over 8 months. I consulted a wine group, they assured me that a 1+ year aging was critical to eliminating off flavors.
They were right.
But I never made mead. Your mead base and yeast might not clean up like beer or wine.

Market Analysis
BTW- I noticed mead is really hip now. Craft beer is dying, IPAs are long dead.
Normal seltzers (white claw) are holding, but slowly losing ground.
Whacky flavored - super sweet seltzers are on the upswing.

 

[Falcos_Commisar]

Market Analysis
BTW- I noticed mead is really hip now. Craft beer is dying, IPAs are long dead.
Normal seltzers (white claw) are holding, but slowly losing ground.
Whacky flavored - super sweet seltzers are on the upswing.

Yep, craft beers and micro breweries exploded and got way too common now they're being culled.

IPAs are disgusting and need to die.

Flavored alcoholic carbonated water is absolutely booming.

As for mead, some of the stuff coming out now is IPA levels of bitter/sharp.

 

[Troonos]

Yep, craft beers and micro breweries exploded and got way too common now they're being culled.

IPAs are disgusting and need to die.

Flavored alcoholic carbonated water is absolutely booming.

As for mead, some of the stuff coming out now is IPA levels of bitter/sharp.

I dry-hopped my coffee blossom honey Irish Ale the last 4 days and racked it off tonight. No bitterness or sharpness, but the flavor and aroma of English hops are there. I'll throw it in my big keg and carbonate it tomorrow.

 

[Trigger Me Timbers]

If I upload pics of my fermentation setup, will my phone camera dox me?

 

[Iron Jaguar]

IPAs are disgusting and need to die.

God, yes. I've always hated them and been bitterly resentful at their ubiquitousness over the last several years.
I have been amused at the thought that Viz magazine has had a regular strip called The Real Ale Twats that predates the IPA craze.

Flavored alcoholic carbonated water is absolutely booming.

Flashbacks to Asti Spumante in the early 90's, and the RTD mania of the late 90's/early 2000's.
I moonlit at a bar/nightclub and we sold literally thousands of these every week:

@Trigger Me Timbers
If I upload pics of my fermentation setup, will my phone camera dox me?

Maybe take screenshots of the pics and upload those instead.

 

[indomitable snowman]

Anyone else have experience making or tasting drinks involving whey?

Yes, I made blaand mead once from yogurt whey. It turned out drinkable. Not sure if I would do again.

If I upload pics of my fermentation setup, will my phone camera dox me?

It can, make sure to strip the exif metadata from them before positing.

 

[Stan]

I’ve done this several times for sake and mead but I would not recommend home distillation. The potential methanol content can make you go permanently blind if you dont know what you’re doing and I also think there are some risks of the alcohol vapor exploding.

But uh, homemade beer, wine, rice wine, mead, prison wine, etc. is reasonably safe… but I think you can get botulism if you mess it up. Never happened to me, but fyi. (Generally won’t happen cause you’re not going to drink wine with botulinum cultured into it unless you’re desperate, because it will taste really really bad.)

 

[indomitable snowman]

Risk of methanol poisoning is overblown and is mostly a result of governments or bootleggers intentionally adding it. Government to make it undrinkable for prohibition or tax reasons; bootleggers because it's a cheap adulterant.

 

[Orange Rhymer]

More info for my Beginner Bros.

You read my post and were kinda upset. There is nothing like a crisp lager on hot summer days and nights.
But Orange said that I can't make lagers. Something about fermenting at cool, controlled temps...
Crap.

Well - FEAR NOT!!! There is a new (last ~5 years) strain of yeasts that were found in the farmsteads of Norway - called
KVEIK ( CUH-VIE KH).
With these crazy yeast strains, you can do shit with beer, never before attempted.

Want to ferment WITHOUT using a wort chiller at 90 degree (F) temps? YUP!
Want to make CRAZY esters and 'flaws' that taste like an entire bowl of oranges, limes, grapefruit, and mangos? YES!
and most importantly...
Want to make a NEAR PERFECT ale clone of an actual lager WITHOUT a chiller/ferment chamber/spare fridge on a thermocouple? YESSSSSS!

This crazy yeast strain has got it all. I was COMPLETELY (kinda still am) in love with this strain.
-I made an IPA that tasted like it was made with 5lbs of orange peels
-I made a 'tropical drink' IPA that started fermenting while the wort was too hot to handle.
-I made an MGD clone that tasted IDENTICAL, but at room temp (no ferment chamber needed).

So, if you need to make that American or German lager - YOU CAN!
-Technically it's called a PseudoLager for reasons below*.

*(one flavor that will be missing is the flaw called 'diacetyl', it's a 'butter' taste, and SHOULD be faintly present in a lager. A true lager requires WEEKS of aging to reduce this taste to minimal levels. The Kveik strains don't make it at all, which is fine by me cuz I hate it.)

 

[Troonos]

More info for my Beginner Bros.

You read my post and were kinda upset. There is nothing like a crisp lager on hot summer days and nights.
But Orange said that I can't make lagers. Something about fermenting at cool, controlled temps...
Crap.

Well - FEAR NOT!!! There is a new (last ~5 years) strain of yeasts that were found in the farmsteads of Norway - called
KVEIK ( CUH-VIE KH).
With these crazy yeast strains, you can do shit with beer, never before attempted.

Want to ferment WITHOUT using a wort chiller at 90 degree (F) temps? YUP!
Want to make CRAZY esters and 'flaws' that taste like an entire bowl of oranges, limes, grapefruit, and mangos? YES!
and most importantly...
Want to make a NEAR PERFECT ale clone of an actual lager WITHOUT a chiller/ferment chamber/spare fridge on a thermocouple? YESSSSSS!

This crazy yeast strain has got it all. I was COMPLETELY (kinda still am) in love with this strain.
-I made an IPA that tasted like it was made with 5lbs of orange peels
-I made a 'tropical drink' IPA that started fermenting while the wort was too hot to handle.
-I made an MGD clone that tasted IDENTICAL, but at room temp (no ferment chamber needed).

So, if you need to make that American or German lager - YOU CAN!
-Technically it's called a PseudoLager for reasons below*.

*(one flavor that will be missing is the flaw called 'diacetyl', it's a 'butter' taste, and SHOULD be faintly present in a lager. A true lager requires WEEKS of aging to reduce this taste to minimal levels. The Kveik strains don't make it at all, which is fine by me cuz I hate it.)

Yeah, Kveik is amazing. I just fermented my Moscow Mule mead with it. It finished in 30 hours and tastes amazing.

 

[Braphamut]

Papazian - The Art of Home Brewing from your fav torrent site. Russians love to share this book.

I bought a copy and had it with me as a reference through my first two ale runs, and if you can produce a functional ale then you're more than equipped to make a good table wine, mead, or cider.

I think it is a worthy addition to a small homesteading library. My interest in brewing has waned a bit but I still do 2-3 batches a year for holiday gifts.

Advice to the new and ambitious that is worth repeating: Unless you've got a specific recipe I'd discourage adding 'extras' like spices and herbs in your primary fermentation. Not only do they tend to lose the aromatics you're hoping to gain, you're quite likely to gain some unpleasant off flavors and inhibit yeast production. Try one or two by the book and enjoy that success before you mad scientist. Look into tinctures and teas as a secondary fermentation or conditioning window if you really need to vanilla mocha chai your pumpkin spice.

 

[Captain Wetbeard]

Not a moonshiner- but I have read some scathing reviews/critique regarding the air stills (StillSpirits products).
The root of the problem is Plastic, Silicone, and Rubber.
Leaching of plasticizers and solvents into the final product has been detected. Glass Stainless, and copper being the only acceptable materials.

Thoughts? Opinions?

I wouldn't bother with an airstill, they're overpriced and have little to no temp control even setting aside their other problems.
For someone getting started I'd recommend getting a pot with a pressure cooker top, a decent sized bucket, and some copper tubing, some nontoxic silicon sealant, and a hot plate/ electric burner (hob if you're British) and building from that.
Remove the bit that covers the hole in the pot lid, and cut a hole in the side of the bucket near the bottom.
Put one end of the copper tubing through the hole in the bucket, and twist it into a spiral up along the inside of the bucket, and run the other end into the hole in the lid.
Use nontoxic silicon sealant to seal the gaps around the sides of the tubing where it enters the lid and where it exits the bucket.
Bonus points if you use a pipe flaring tool on the ends of the tubing before applying the sealant to help keep from accidentally pulling it out and fucking up your seals.
Just fill the bucket with ice and water when you want to run your still, and replace the water with more ice as needed since it'll melt before the run is finished.
It isn't going to make a lot at one time, but neither is an airstill so it kind of serves the same purpose as something for hobbyists who are just starting out on a small budget.

 

[Captain Wetbeard]

I’ve done this several times for sake and mead but I would not recommend home distillation. The potential methanol content can make you go permanently blind if you dont know what you’re doing and I also think there are some risks of the alcohol vapor exploding.

But uh, homemade beer, wine, rice wine, mead, prison wine, etc. is reasonably safe… but I think you can get botulism if you mess it up. Never happened to me, but fyi. (Generally won’t happen cause you’re not going to drink wine with botulinum cultured into it unless you’re desperate, because it will taste really really bad.)

Just throw out the 1st fluid ounce or two of liquor coming out of the still per gallon of stuff you're putting in the still depending on how high it's alcohol content is.
You aren't making the methanol, it already exists in things like wine and beer alongside ethanol. Generally speaking if you forget to throw it out you just end up with a nasty hangover.
Also don't try to put things over like 20% abv into a still, you shouldn't be boiling liquor. If you're re-distilling something you should water it down first.

If you can safely make crab salad or sushi then you can probably handle brewing wine or beer, if you can handle deep frying things and using pressure cookers you can probably handle distilling liquor.