anybody made beer?

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Yes theres actually books dating back to the 40's on how to do it at your public library. If anyone plans on distilling real liquor remember pour out the 1st 10% because that contains methenol and will make you go blind. You also throw out the last 10% because of contaminants and quality control issues. Then proof the 80% left with 1:1 water and your rollin. If you want white lightning drink it clear, if you want real whisky put it in a oak barrel thats charred inside for 3-12 years. The whisky will pull the caramels out of the char and wood turning the white whisky brown, you then have whisky or bourbon etc.. Use fruit instead of corn and suger and you have brandy. I'm about done building my still. Its not traditional, just need to find a 10-20 gallon pyrex pot, I've already got 5ft water cooled pyrex distillers.
I've heard that the nasties in the first part ("heads") are called aldehydes - caused by oxidation of alcohol, and that there are many types of aldehydes that can be released released into your white lightening, methanal is just one of them. It can be hard to judge what volume the "first 10%" of the yield will be, and the 10% thumb rule is not worthy of staking your eyesight on. I've heard that it could be as much as the first 1/3 or could be less than 10%, based on factors I'm not knowledgeable of. I saw a special on Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe visited a small rum distillery where the guy had a big pot still. The guy said that you can detect the presence of Aldehydes with your eye. Aldehydes irritate your eyes, so he had a small tasting glass he would hold under the spout, catching samples and holding the glass up to his eye to see if it made his eye burn. When it stopped making his eye burn, he knew it was safe to drink and would start collecting it. The last bit I don't remember how to know when to stop collecting it.
 

VoodooMojo

Joined Nov 28, 2009
505
Use fruit instead of corn and suger and you have brandy. .
flavord whiskeys are a bit different than brandy.
Brandy is produced by distilling wine. The finer the wine, the finer the brandy.
Cognac is also distilled from wine but from special wine made from special grapes from a special region distilled in special copper pot stills for a special amount of time.....yeah, I like cognac...
 

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
Do you know the Metaxa cognac? It's a Greek product.

About 5 years ago I got my hands on a Hennesey cognac. I tasted like heavens, but I got to drink only a couple of glasses. I couldn't find it since in the local market. Since then I was drinking Metaxa, and got used to its taste. The 5star label has a rich yet strong taste.

Last year, during my stop in Amsterdam, I bought a Hennesey at the duty free store. I bough a 1lt bottle for 60 euros. Quite expensive. I saved it for a special occasion and only opened it three months later. I poured a bit in the glass and... it tasted like watered vinegar. Well, not exactly, but I had got used to Metaxa so much, that the Henessey tasted very out of the ordinary and without a kick.

Since then, I love my Metaxa even more... especially in the cold winter nights.
 

VoodooMojo

Joined Nov 28, 2009
505
a Poulopoulous family are very dear friends of mine and they introduced me to the Metaxa family of fine brandies. Yes, I must admit that the 5 star is exceptional!

there is a 7 star? I have never had the pleasure...
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Ouzo Metaxa caused my wife to want to marry me....I guess it was a good thing....
I like having a snort of Ouzo from time to time.
About twice a year I get a taste for it.
That and Absinthe....
It's a craving thing more honestly!
I've got a bottle of Spanish Absinthe I picked up in spain while I was in the Navy, along with a box of Cohibas. I have held on to the Absinthe for 5 years now; I only pour it when I want to show it off, and you only get one glass. I gave the Cohibas to my brother in law becuase he's the only person I know who appreciates cigars. Funny story, on the Subamarine, there is a chemical in the air called monoethanolomine. It is because of the air purification system. When you're on the boat, you can't smell it, but when you come off the boat and breathe fresh air, once you smell your clothes you realize that they reek of it ('amine). It permeates your cigarettes and makes them taste like total A$$. You can't smoke a pack of cigarettes on the pier that you took underway with you. You save that pack for when you go back underway. Even unopened packs, the 'amine gets through the cellophane. Keeping them sealed in plastic bags doesn't seem to help either. I didn't want this to happen to the Cohibas so I wrapped them in alternating layers of Glad Freezer bags and duct tape; about 20 layers each. The box doubled in size and I gave it to my brother in law like that. He thought it was some kind of gag and tried to quit several times while opening it, thinking there was going to be some worthless empy box in the center. I had to keep prodding him along, ensuring him that there really was something good in there. When he got to the center and found real cubans, he was beside himself.
 

loosewire

Joined Apr 25, 2008
1,686
Can you see me bare foot walking around smashing plums with my bare feet.

The old wash tubs were good for everything,seeing all that stuff between

your toes,does alcohol clean feet.
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
The new member wanted to talk about beer,but you were too busy,she may

not come back.She waited forever,what happen.
The beautiful thing about forum format is that anyone is free to join the discussion at any time. The conversation can exist outside the restraints of time, since it is always here for you to come back to it, and you can address a statement several pages back if you wish. I don't know what member you are referring to, but whoever it is is free to come back and talk. never too late.
 

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
That's strange. I 've never seen the Metaxa brand on an ouzo bottle. A friend of mine says he knows it, so it must be legit. I think it's a cognac though, not a brandy, officially.

Ouzo is a fine drink to accompany food, but it causes a terrible hang over if drank in large quantities.

Absinthe is perfect to show off. It's priceless when you chug a shot and everyone else but you is in tears. I can't get my hands on a decent one, though. The one I have in my freezer tastes like bubblegum, yuck.
 

Markd77

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,806
I just made a very amateurish beer. I realised that I had about 800g of pale malt and 200g of wheat lying around and some hops and yeast in the fridge. It all has expiry dates of 2008/9 and I just used a pan and a straining bag. It seems the grain was still alive because it's tasting sweet (couldn't find my hydrometer but if my calculations are right and the yeast is still alive I should have 5 litres of 4-5% ABV beer in a couple of weeks).
As a bonus my kitchen smells like a brewery.
 

Markd77

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,806
Looks (and smells) like the yeast is still good, another few days and it will be ready for bottling.

I've had a look and I can get 25kg of crushed, malted grain delivered to my door for £35 (about $50). I'm quite tempted, it would keep me in beer for quite a while.
 

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Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Interesting. I can't speak from experience, only from the instructional booklet that came with my beer kit. It said not to expose the fermenting beer to air. It came with a fermenter that had a screw on lid, and it said not to open the lid or the beer would spoil. Looks like you're fermenting in an open bucket? that works?
 

Markd77

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,806
It's got a lid on most of the time. I think cleanliness is very important at the start, before the yeast has really got going, but that foamy yeast head is full of carbon dioxide and by now most of the sugars have turned to alcohol.
The few bad batches I've had have smelled bad from the start.
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
In prison you take bread and put it in fruit box drinks to make "Hunch Punch" Leave the box on the roof of the cell block for 2 days and YUM!!! Prison wine....
 

Adjuster

Joined Dec 26, 2010
2,148
I used to do a fair bit of home - brewing back in the days when my health was better. NO, I don't think there is any cause-and-effect relationship there, my problems are almost certainly due to my long-abandoned tobacco habit, although concomitant consumption of alcohol may have played some part.

(NB smoking tobacco whilst drinking alcohol, though a very common practice, is extremely bad for the health: to be avoided at all costs, as it is worse than either activity done alone, but here I digress.)

What I did want to say is that in any brewing operation, whether beer, wine, or whatever, good hygiene is vital. Use (or over-use) of sulphur-based disinfecting agents has been cited as a health hazard, but a brew full of unwanted bugs is a recipie for a very unenchanting evening and morning after, as well as probably a foul taste. With reasonable care and cleaning of utensils you should be able to avoid this, but put your gear away mucky and you will soon be making vinegar, or worse.
 
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shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
My Grandpa always made his beer in a open crock with just a couple of layers of cheese cloth over it.

Do you guys add a little sugar to your bottles when bottling? It causes a small second fermentation in the bottle to give the finished beer a little carbonation.
 

Brownout

Joined Jan 10, 2012
2,390
OK, I have a question about the process. I was reading intro brewing instructions on the web -- can't find the particular website anymore -- but anyway... after boiling and then cooling the wart, it said to pour the cool wart into a sanitized container that has cool tap water in it. ( shake it up for aireation, etc.. ) then, top off the container with distilled water. So, why use regular tap water in the first place? Other sites say just use tap water, and don't mention distilled water. Does the water need to be distilled or not?

Thanks!
 
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