Homemade alcohol

[smoke]

Hey guys, just wondering if anybody's ever tried to brew up their own beer, wine, etc.

My friend's made mead a couple of times with some success. He started with lots of honey and various other secret ingredients, and let it ferment for about a month. The result was a very bubbly, very drinkable brew that was sweet and got you drunk pretty fast, (the only downside was that there was some residual...stuff in the bottom of every bottle. You just didn't drink that part.)

So anybody ever done this little hobby, or know anyone who has, or anybody just slam down shots of Listerine and call their astranged ex at 4 AM?

 

[Rhombaad]

Two of my best friends have been making their own brew for a couple of years now. One time they added too much of something (I know almost nothing about brewing alcohol) and several of the bottles exploded a couple hours after they'd been filled and sealed.

 

[Walter]

Several years ago me and some friends "baked" some mead, drink of the gods. It was awful. Tasted like Locorice. Admittedly, we were none of us experts in the art.

Another time I experienced homemade alcohol, I was living in the mountains, getting a haircut. My barber was sipping some clear liquid out of a paper cup and asked if I wanted to have a drink. I said sure, how could it hurt? It was moonshine. Even 1 sip of this shit was INSANITY. I had about 3. Then I had to drive home. Hoo boy, what a day

 

[CnC]

I said sure, how could it hurt? It was moonshine. Even 1 sip of this shit was INSANITY. I had about 3. Then I had to drive home. Hoo boy, what a day

haha... well done.

 

[Proj2501]

It was moonshine.

Damn you, you beat me to a moonshine tale. I was camping in upstate NY. We stopped at a liquor store, made small talk with the owner and he sold us a bottle of moonshine. In like a jar...just how you'd picture it to be. DISGUSTING. UGHHHHH. I'll stick to my gin. I had Blue Moon for the first time last weekend, with a slice of orange in it. Fuck that was good.

But I puked later on in the night...I'm not cut out for heavy drinking.

 

[Skeleton]

I love wine, make my own and my brother-in-law's grandfather makes his own blueberry wine. Delicious.

BTW, I love you guys. Coolest. People. Ever.

 

[Dirty Dog]

never had any home-made alcohol.
About that listerine thing, what kind of alcohol is in mouthwash? I always assumed it wasn't ethanol. I'm not 21 yet, so it's quite difficult to get my hands on liqour...

 

[KazigluBey]

My dad made home brew for several years, it isn't extremely hard. He said that when he was in college the main reason he loved chemistry was because it explained all about the processes involving the creation of alcohol. You can buy starter kits, and there are plenty of how to books available. Making liqueurs is a little bit easier, since you make a batch and then just let it sit and do it's thing. I've done home made Kahlua before, turned out pretty good.

 

[smoke]

never had any home-made alcohol.
About that listerine thing, what kind of alcohol is in mouthwash? I always assumed it wasn't ethanol. I'm not 21 yet, so it's quite difficult to get my hands on liqour...

True story:

While working at Wal-Mart, a guy looking very much like Hunter S. Thompson came in, and purchased a huge bottle of mouthwash. I was about to put it in a bag and he said "No need for a bag. I'm just gonna drink it on the way home."

I chuckled and handed him his change, "It's okay," he continued, "I've got a loaf of bread to strain it through. That's how we did it in the old days."

At this point I really had to fight back laughter as I said "Okay, have a nice day."

He left by saying "Yeah, you have a nice day too," then, leaning forward he muttered, "And...good luck."

 

[ShinHell9]

My dad made home brew for several years, it isn't extremely hard. He said that when he was in college the main reason he loved chemistry was because it explained all about the processes involving the creation of alcohol. You can buy starter kits, and there are plenty of how to books available. Making liqueurs is a little bit easier, since you make a batch and then just let it sit and do it's thing. I've done home made Kahlua before, turned out pretty good.

Man, your avatar's gonna make me cry... such a sad ending...

Anyways, my dad and some of his post-midlife crises Italian friends make wine, I was supposed to go help out but I had to work . But as far as I understand they have markets for wine grapes and you buy it and at the same place they use their new technology to crush the grapes and give you all the juice to ferment. I wonder, if you ferment welches grape juice does it taste like Jack Frost or Carlo Rossi? (worst wines I could think of). But yeah, my brother wants to brew beers, artsy kids, they never learn.

 

[Aazealh]

(the only downside was that there was some residual...stuff in the bottom of every bottle. You just didn't drink that part.)

Well, that's nothing special really, it happens with lots of brews, even with good wine.

Anyway, concerning homemade alcohol, it's illegal here if you don't have a permit. There was a time where you could get one, then it was abolished and could only be transmitted from father to son, then in 1959 that was also abolished, and now only some old people can still do it. In any case, I've tasted quite a bit of homemade alcohols in my life, mostly produced by farmers, that sort of stuff. Older folks seem to always have some of these lying abandoned or forgotten in their cave.

To answer the question though, I've never brewed anything myself, nor did any of my close friends.

EDIT: And to add to the anecdotes, while I've never seen anyone getting drunk on mouthwash, once when I was in high school I went to eat at a friend's place for lunch, so we stopped by a deserted convenience store to buy some food. There was only another client there, some mid-aged guy buying his lunch like us. Only when we lined up to pay for our stuff, we saw that the guy had only bought a sausage and a bottle of whisky, which he proceeded to start drinking 2 minutes after exiting the store. I'm not sure I'm conveying the feel of the scene very well, but it was really incongruous and hilarious at the time because it felt that ONE sausage was a really poor pretext to buy whisky.

 

[KazigluBey]

Man, your avatar's gonna make me cry... such a sad ending...

Glad to see another Twin Peaks fan. Yeah it was kind of a shocker, but that was Lynch's way of saying fuck you to the network for pulling the show.

My dad made wine a couple times, grew grapes out in the garden in the backyard. Unfortunately it never turned out that great, but I did have fun stomping on grapes barefoot.

I'm pretty sure you can't have a distillery, but for drinks that have a lower alcohol like wine or beer you should be alright. Always smart to check out state laws though. If you like licorice you could try making Anisette, which is a liqueur that you can buy relatively cheap at the liquor store. Just cheap vodka, some simple syrup (sugar melted in a pot with a little water) and star anise, which should be available in bigger grocery stores in the spice aisle. Of course you can find tons of recipes online for this sort of thing. I think Mr. Boston is one brand of Anisette. Kicks ass on ice with a little club soda.

 

[vlad]

Well, I participated in making rakija, brandy made out of all sorts of fruit. I was the "manual labor" component of the brewing process, bringing in the fruit, fire wood etc. so I cant really tell you much about the right mixture of components and stuff like that. I can tell you that A LOT of people here brew their own stuff and that in can be quite awesome. I'm not really that into drinking rakija, but personal favorites are those made out of pears and apricot. Due to EU legislation it will probably become illegal but given the political climate here it is still some time before the brewing stops. Oh and the best wine I've had, though again I'm not much of a connoisseur, was home made from Dalmacija (thats Croatia now).

 

[Aazealh]

I think Mr. Boston is one brand of Anisette. Kicks ass on ice with a little club soda.

If you like Anisette then you should go for Marie Brizard, since it's basically the oldest and the best-known brand of Anisette in the world.

I can tell you that A LOT of people here brew their own stuff and that in can be quite awesome. I'm not really that into drinking rakija, but personal favorites are those made out of pears and apricot. Due to EU legislation it will probably become illegal but given the political climate here it is still some time before the brewing stops.

Well, though unneeded, I can confirm that many people in ex-Yugoslavia make their own alcohol and then drink a lot of it, especially old people. In that regard and given the culture it has, I don't think it's ever going to really stop. Rakija is a great alcohol in general, though some people make it really strong, and Apricot Rakija is awesome.

Oh and the best wine I've had, though again I'm not much of a connoisseur, was home made from Dalmacija (thats Croatia now).

Actually all the Croatian wine I've had was always very good, but it doesn't seem to be well-known internationally.

 

[smoke]

Damn, all this talk of wine makes me want a nice little glass of red wine, accompanied, of course, with melted gouda cheese and toasted hard bread.

 

[White_Hawk]

If you like Anisette then you should go for Marie Brizard, since it's basically the oldest and the best-known brand of Anisette in the world.

I say absinthe for the ultimate in anis flavoured drinks. Versinthe or Fee Parisienne.

Well, though unneeded, I can confirm that many people in ex-Yugoslavia make their own alcohol and then drink a lot of it, especially old people. In that regard and given the culture it has, I don't think it's ever going to really stop. Rakija is a great alcohol in general, though some people make it really strong, and Apricot Rakija is awesome.

I can second that since I live here.We're a nation of heavy alcoholics unfortunately.
Made our own once. Wasn't that much of a flavour but a friend of mine admittetly encountered ghosts afterwards, which is actually normal since hallucinations do occour after heavy rakija usage given all the herbs used in the process. An interesting drink nevertheless...

Actually all the Croatian wine I've had was always very good, but it doesn't seem to be well-known internationally.

There is time. What is currently the biggest problem is the technology. We have a few brands that are truly top notch stuff but just can't produce that much. However it is an old tradition here and perhaps if we can make it past all the european trade agreements it will become internationally approved and cherished as it truly has potential.
Have you been here to Croatia or are there wines avaliable in the US?

And oh yes, what is "moonshine"?

 

[Scorpio]

Apparently my dad used to make gallons upon gallons of gin back when he was around college age, and has offered to help me rig up my own distillery if I can get my hands on some activated charcoal- which I suppose leads me to an important question. Where can I find activated charcoal? So far, my searches have only uncovered tap water filters, or home filters, not pure activated charcoal, which is apparently what I need. The few I have found are one page websites that look a little shady, so I'm not sure if I should trust them. Anyone know of a reliable place where I can get some?

 

[Aazealh]

I say absinthe for the ultimate in anis flavoured drinks. Versinthe or Fee Parisienne.

Well, absinthe spirituous aren't just about anis, nor do they center around it, so I wouldn't say that. They're pretty much their own thing. It'd have to be the famed pastis that takes the prize in the category if we want to be more general about it IMHO.

Have you been here to Croatia or are there wines avaliable in the US?

I'm French and we got all the wines in the world here. And besides my grand-father is Croatian (I did go there once but I was too young to remember).

And oh yes, what is "moonshine"?

It's slang for home-made (illegal) distilled alcohol. I think in the US it refers to beverages using fermented yeast, but I don't believe it's very strict in general. There's a connotation of it being very strong and not often of a good quality too. One of our many American members can probably give you more details than I do. =)

Anyone know of a reliable place where I can get some?

Sorry, no idea. Good luck with that though.