Homebrew / Moonshine - Sink vodka appreciation

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

My 12.5% apple cyser turned out pretty good, as in actually getting compliments. And my lighter 3% cider is also pretty nice. Turns out bread yeast isn’t the devil like Reddit said.
My next brew will be a mead with juniper berries, as they grow wild everywhere where I am. I’ll be boiling them into a syrup because I’m less comfortable working with whole fruit, and I personally love the flavor of juniper.
Now that I’m getting more into this, what yeasts would you guys recommend for a basic mead? I’m probably just going to let it go dry instead of stopping it like my cider, but from what I’ve read different yeasts may give different flavors.
Any tips? This brewing thing is pretty fun.

 

[Troonos]

My 12.5% apple cyser turned out pretty good, as in actually getting compliments. And my lighter 3% cider is also pretty nice. Turns out bread yeast isn’t the devil like Reddit said.
My next brew will be a mead with juniper berries, as they grow wild everywhere where I am. I’ll be boiling them into a syrup because I’m less comfortable working with whole fruit, and I personally love the flavor of juniper.
Now that I’m getting more into this, what yeasts would you guys recommend for a basic mead? I’m probably just going to let it go dry instead of stopping it like my cider, but from what I’ve read different yeasts may give different flavors.
Any tips? This brewing thing is pretty fun.

Everything from Lalvin is peak quality.

Here's the table of the resulting flavor profile of several of their popular strains, plus strains from other companies.

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

Everything from Lalvin is peak quality.

Here's the table of the resulting flavor profile of several of their popular strains, plus strains from other companies.

That’s awesome, thanks.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

One should aspire to do better but very very basic fermentation is piss-easy:

1. Get half-gallon of juice from concentrate with no preservatives or HFCS. (Apple cider seems to taste best IME but they all seem to have about the same amount of sugar per serving where I live and therefore are all viable.)
2. Empty out enough so that the "bell" at the top is air
3. Add ½ cup granulated sugar
4. Add one baking yeast packet (active dry only, rapid rise makes a huge mess and doesn't seem to ferment as well for some reason)
5. Cap tightly, turn upside down and slosh the mixture into the bottom vigorously so that the sugar dissolves properly
6. Set down, loosen cap slightly so the CO2 escapes, and store in an area where temperatures are conducive to yeast growth. You can optimize this but a wide range of reasonable temperatures will do.
7. Wait for at least three days but more like five to seven days. Bubbles rising to the surface and audible crackling you can hear if you put the bottle up next to your ear are evidence of fermentation in process and these will slow down if not completely stop after about a week.
8. Serve.

Not all juices have equal taste in the end. Like I said apple cider seems to work quite well but I've tried a variety of different ones and none were completely disgusting in the finished product. It's also surprisingly potent even without specialized yeast. No extra equipment needed besides a measuring cup and funnel.

 

[Troonos]

One should aspire to do better but very very basic fermentation is piss-easy:

1. Get half-gallon of juice from concentrate with no preservatives or HFCS. (Apple cider seems to taste best IME but they all seem to have about the same amount of sugar per serving where I live and therefore are all viable.)
2. Empty out enough so that the "bell" at the top is air
3. Add ½ cup granulated sugar
4. Add one baking yeast packet (active dry only, rapid rise makes a huge mess and doesn't seem to ferment as well for some reason)
5. Cap tightly, turn upside down and slosh the mixture into the bottom vigorously so that the sugar dissolves properly
6. Set down, loosen cap slightly so the CO2 escapes, and store in an area where temperatures are conducive to yeast growth. You can optimize this but a wide range of reasonable temperatures will do.
7. Wait for at least three days but more like five to seven days. Bubbles rising to the surface and audible crackling you can hear if you put the bottle up next to your ear are evidence of fermentation in process and these will slow down if not completely stop after about a week.
8. Serve.

Not all juices have equal taste in the end. Like I said apple cider seems to work quite well but I've tried a variety of different ones and none were completely disgusting in the finished product. It's also surprisingly potent even without specialized yeast. No extra equipment needed besides a measuring cup and funnel.

Mmm, prison hooch.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

Mmm, prison hooch.

Prison hooch depends on wild yeast from inputs like oranges and raisins and maybe even carb-based zoom-zooms and wham-whams from the commissary, even though they've already been baked. It's a much more laborious, uncertain and grosser process. (Though I've heard they actually have the means to carry out crude distillation sometimes to make for a more potent and pure liquor.)

 

[Troonos]

Prison hooch depends on wild yeast from inputs like oranges and raisins and maybe even carb-based zoom-zooms and wham-whams from the commissary, even though they've already been baked. It's a much more laborious, uncertain and grosser process. (Though I've heard they actually have the means to carry out crude distillation sometimes to make for a more potent and pure liquor.)

His technique of a loose bottle cap as an airlock, which is sure to let in fruit flies, oxygen, and infections, is also a trademark of prison hooch.

Hell, prisoners would probably put a torn piece of bedsheet under the cap to keep bugs out. This is even worse than that.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

His technique of a loose bottle cap as an airlock, which is sure to let in fruit flies, oxygen, and infections, is also a trademark of prison hooch.

Hell, prisoners would probably put a torn piece of bedsheet under the cap to keep bugs out. This is even worse than that.

No fruit flies or other insects ever got into any of my batches and I'm sure the smell of what seemed like decaying fruit was a huge beacon to them. The cap should only be just a little loose. As far as the invisible stuff is concerned I can't say anything definitive other than never getting sick (besides hangover of course) and I've read that the yeast crowd out other microorganisms.

 

[Troonos]

No fruit flies or other insects ever got into any of my batches and I'm sure the smell of what seemed like decaying fruit was a huge beacon to them. The cap should only be just a little loose. As far as the invisible stuff is concerned I can't say anything definitive other than never getting sick (besides hangover of course) and I've read that the yeast crowd out other microorganisms.

Thanks for your anecdote.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

I don't think any of us is doing laboratory science here

 

[Troonos]

I don't think any of us is doing laboratory science here

I am. The wider homebrewing community is.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

I am. The wider homebrewing community is.

Well be that as it may for the time being my bloated liver and I don't mind creating a brew with no bugs or other apparent problems and about the same potency as Four Loko for a fraction of the cost with little effort. If I end up going septic and dying from my simple method I'll leave it in my will to notify everyone here of my error.

 

[Catgirl Tyranid]

Well be that as it may for the time being my bloated liver and I don't mind creating a brew with no bugs or other apparent problems and about the same potency as Four Loko for a fraction of the cost with little effort. If I end up going septic and dying from my simple method I'll leave it in my will to notify everyone here of my error.

Ignore the pretentious science aspect.

Dude. Just get an airlock. You can probably find a cork size that fits any plastic juice bottle you want. If you're committed to the prison hooch bit, use some saran wrap and a curly straw bent into a sideways S or something.

 

[Troonos]

Ignore the pretentious science aspect.

It isn't pretentious. It's how you make a quality brew. Without science, you won't know the ABV, you won't know if the pH is in a range that's conducive to fermentation, you won't know if fermentation has completed, you won't know how much to feed the yeast or when a certain nutrient will ruin the brew, and you won't know how to protect your brew from the environment. Hell, you won't even be able to come up with the recipe for the desired end product.

Brewing - Science = Prison Hooch

I don't understand this Reddit mentality of wanting to get into a hobby but not spending even the most minimal energy reading to learn a good method for it.

 

[Catgirl Tyranid]

It isn't pretentious. It's how you make a quality brew. Without science, you won't know the ABV, you won't know if the pH is in a range that's conducive to fermentation, you won't know if fermentation has completed, you won't know how much to feed the yeast or when a certain nutrient will ruin the brew, and you won't know how to protect your brew from the environment. Hell, you won't even be able to come up with the recipe for the desired end product.

Brewing - Science = Prison Hooch

I don't understand this Reddit mentality of wanting to get into a hobby but not spending even the most minimal energy reading to learn a good method for it.

It's not the science itself that's pretentious, it's specifically the way you talk about the science. Your advice is golden, I fully believe you know exactly what you're talking about, but the way you present that knowledge makes me want to steal your recipe book and leave you dangling from the inner rim of an active volcano instead of saving you.

 

[Belisarius Cawl]

I don't understand this Reddit mentality of wanting to get into a hobby but not spending even the most minimal energy reading to learn a good method for it.

I have read about airlocks etc. However, in the terms of the late Herbert Simon, I've been "satisficing" rather than "optimizing". I saw a method of getting trashed cheaply and it worked. Probably better if I lay off the sauce for a while regardless.

 

[Joshua Connor Tomar]

Recovered brewing grains make great dog treats.

I didn't trust how much hop juice got on em when I was putting them away.


My beer came out thick. It wasn't like that when bottling so IDK what I'm doing wrong

 

[Troonos]

I didn't trust how much hop juice got on em when I was putting them away.


My beer came out thick. It wasn't like that when bottling so IDK what I'm doing wrong

What was your recipe?

 

[Ass to Ass]

Below quote is my post in the fermentation thread. Explains my setup and recipe. Pretty strong, dry wine.

Currently doing a batch of wine with some secondhand equipment that I've fashioned into a decent carboy and airlock setup.

Below is my fermenting setup for said wine.

 

[VeteranOfTheRetardWars]

I had a coupon for strawberries and raspberries, and because I work there I know where we keep the secret clearance local honey that is still perfectly fine (regulations regarding foodstuffs, not because it's expired or bad). So, today I'll start on a melomel, and given that I fucking love raspberries it'll be fun.
My cyser went from hillbilly wine to proper wine after it aged a few months, it got good reviews from my friends and it's kind of neat to make your own brew from your own tree. I really like how it tastes, real smooth and appley with various cider spices adding to it pretty well.

UPDATE:
It reads 1.08, you can taste all the raspberries and strawberries really well, the yeast is now grooving, I’m pretty hopeful for this one.

My next big project will probably be prickly pear wine, the season to pick them will be here soon and I’m thinking a juniper and prickly pear wine would be pretty neat. For that one I’ll definitely get more fancy yeast and do more reading.