Sherry

[Airgead]

You're kidding, right?

:huh:

I suspect not. I also suspect that its not the sort of thing you drink without running it through a "water purifier" first.

 

[Tanga]

So if I make alcoholic water using dex and run it through a (charcoal based) water filter then I'll get (mostly tasteless) alcoholic water?

Neat!

I might do a small batch first and see how it turns out. Any recommendations for yeast?



Perhaps that's what the potato is for - ie to absorb the bad flavours? I know it works with salt.

 

[drsmurto]

If people are that desperate for cheap booze i can save the contents of my drip tray for them. :chug:

I've also got 3 bottles of aged Carlton Cold you're welcome too.

 

[Fents]

If people are that desperate for cheap booze i can save the contents of my drip tray for them. :chug:

I've also got 3 bottles of aged Carlton Cold you're welcome too.

:lol:

 

[JestersDarts]

Perhaps that's what the potato is for - ie to absorb the bad flavours? I know it works with salt.

No - Thats to keep away the witches.

 

[Airgead]

So if I make alcoholic water using dex and run it through a (charcoal based) water filter then I'll get (mostly tasteless) alcoholic water?

Neat!

I might do a small batch first and see how it turns out. Any recommendations for yeast?



Perhaps that's what the potato is for - ie to absorb the bad flavours? I know it works with salt.

Your LHBS will have "turbo" yeast designed for exactly that purpose. It will ferment up to around 20% or so. The idea then is to filter then flavour with essences (also available at the LHBS) to make imitation rum/whisky/whatever. Most of them taste pretty foul but it could make an OK base for your own concoctions.

The LHBS should also have the right sort of filters as well. From memory they are pretty fine and it takes hours to slowly drip through. My LHBS guy gave me a demo once.

A charcoal water filter may work but you may have to run it through a couple of times depending on how fine it filters. They come in a bunch of different grades.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Tanga]

If people are that desperate for cheap booze i can save the contents of my drip tray for them. :chug:

I've also got 3 bottles of aged Carlton Cold you're welcome too.

Urgh!

I'm not a lolly water fan myself, but many of my friends are. Keeping a supply of carbonated alcoholic water and various cordials (ginger beer cordial, apple, berry, etc - hell even some of the cola and lemonade mixes that sodastream make - or the coke syrup if I can scam some) on hand will be kind cool.

Your LHBS will have "turbo" yeast designed for exactly that purpose. It will ferment up to around 20% or so. The idea then is to filter then flavour with essences (also available at the LHBS) to make imitation rum/whisky/whatever. Most of them taste pretty foul but it could make an OK base for your own concoctions.

The LHBS should also have the right sort of filters as well. From memory they are pretty fine and it takes hours to slowly drip through. My LHBS guy gave me a demo once.

A charcoal water filter may work but you may have to run it through a couple of times depending on how fine it filters. They come in a bunch of different grades.

Cheers
Dave

Thanks Dave. That's some great advice. Doesn't turbo yeast have ammonia in the packet though? I was thinking I'd be better off using a taste neutral kind of wine yeast? I'll look into the LHBS filters though =).

 

[Airgead]

Thanks Dave. That's some great advice. Doesn't turbo yeast have ammonia in the packet though? I was thinking I'd be better off using a taste neutral kind of wine yeast? I'll look into the LHBS filters though =).

It has diamonium phosphate which is a yeast nutrient. Never used them myself but I am told they are designed to be completely neutral so you get a clean, flavourless product at the end.

 

[Tanga]

No - Thats to keep away the witches.

:lol: - Doesn't work on me.

PS - I meant the potato absorbs salt from over-seasoned casseroles, etc. I'm thinking they might be there to absorb any nasty flavours you get from fermenting sucrose.

It has diamonium phosphate which is a yeast nutrient. Never used them myself but I am told they are designed to be completely neutral so you get a clean, flavourless product at the end.

Ah, that sounds better =). Cheers! I might start a thread just for this =).

 

[essjay]

lol yes very serious, and it is the kind of thing you need to "filter" first. And for those STILL confused as to why "filter" is in parenthesis, look for the word all in capitals. thats what you need to filter it out... For yeast its ordinary bakers yeast, this recipe is the poor mans version, because everything in it is dirt cheap, a few dollars plus few kilos of sugar each time. the Turbo yeast mentioned before are expensive, this recipe total is less than what the turbo alone costs. plus rocketing up to 20%alc in just 5 days leaves some off flavours, something that believe it or not the potato water recipe does not.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE dont brew this up and run it through a few coffee filters and drink it, im sure it would be absolutely disgusting, iv never tried it and dont plan to.
Do your homework via google and its all pretty easy to do, no harder than brewing beer or cider or mead, just as rewarding though. Google "bokabob" if your keen its a good starting point. Just whatever you do dont brew this and run it through a water purifier and try to drink it, but if you do make sure you let us know what a 15% abv potato vegiemite wine tastes like will you?

 

[primusbrew]

Hi all,

So I finally got around to putting this together this morning. I was able to pick up all of the ingredients including the fresh yeast from a supermarket around the corner.

Here is a photo of the recipe:


My conversions and estimates:
3 lbs Sugar = 1.36kg B&G White Sugar
4 pints of water (boiled and cooled) = 2.27 litres of water from the tap (boiled and cooled in a pot on the stove)
2 packets of Sunmaid raisins = 375grams of Sunbeam raisins (I wasn't sure what size packets the recipe was asking for. 375grams is simply a guess.)
4 medium potatoes washed and cut = 800grams of Sebago potatoes roughly cut into 2cm cubes
1/2oz yeast spread on toast = 14 grams fresh yeast spread on a piece of multigrain toasts



Step 1
I brought the water to a boil in a cast iron pot on the stove and then let it cool down to room temperature.

Step 2
I measured out all of the ingredients, cut the potatoes, toasted the bread and spread the yeast on it.




Step 3
All of the ingredients apart from the yeast spread on toast were mixed together with the water in the cast iron pot. I thought about putting it into a fermenter with an airlock but in the end I decided to stick with the original recipe and let it ferment in a pot.

Step 4
With all the other ingredients in the pot, I placed the piece of toast so that it floated on the top. I am pretty sure that this it what is supposed to be done. I am still not entirely sure why the yeast is added in this way and not mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.


And that it is it. All I need to do now is stir it once a day for the next three weeks and bottle.

I took an OG reading and it was above the range of my hydrometer which goes up to 1.150. If it ferments out fully it will be in excess of 20%abv. I wonder if the yeast will be able to take it that far.

I decided not to use any sanitiser for this. I made sure that everything was thoroughly cleaned and rinsed but again I wanted to recreate what they would have made and maybe a little bit of infection is part of the finished product. I am not too worried considering the amount of yeast and sugar in there though.

I will post some updates as it goes.

 

[Bribie G]

So how is the starch in the potatoes converted to fermentable sugars? I would guess in places like Russia and Poland where they make vodka from potatoes they would use some barley malt as well to provide the diastase to convert the potato starch.

 

[ekul]

this looks like prison hooch!

 

[Ross]

Primusbrew,

The beverage you're making will taste nothing like Sherry & quite honestly will most likely be undrinkable... all you are basically doing is trying to ferment out sugar water with bakers yeast.
As much as I love seeing people experiment, this is just plain daft & a waste of money!!!

cheers Ross

 

[primusbrew]

Hey Bribie, my understanding is that the potato starches will not add to the fermentables and are there to provide nutrients for the yeast.

Ross, I appreciate that this is not sherry and will most likely not taste great but that is not the point of the exercise. Instead the aim is to recreate a recipe written by my great grandmother to get a bit of an insight into some things that she would have done. I have no idea how she would have used this but if she took the time to write out the recipe then it must have had some purpose. If you consider this to be daft and a waste of money then you are more than welcome not to do it.

 

[Airgead]

the aim is to recreate a recipe written by my great grandmother to get a bit of an insight into some things that she would have done.

Your grteat grandmother didn't spend any timne in prison did she?

Seriously, interested to see how this comes out. I have tried to re-create some old booze recipes and have found them to be universally awful. Not sure what was going on back there. Maybe no one could afford the real stuff and this was the best they could do at home. I suppose it was depression era. If it were me, one sip and I'd go teatotal...

Cheers
Dave

 

[machalel]

I'm super keen to hear how this turns out...

I don't care what anyone else says, if there is something weird that you want to try, or a crazy experiement you want to attempt, as long as you are having fun in the process, go for it!

Too many people in the world are afraid of going out on a limb, but seriously, as long as you aren't under the impression that it's going to win awards what's the downside if it doesn't work? A couple of bucks and a few hours of your time, so what?

 

[Gar]

Good fun if nothing else, looking forward to the results myself :icon_drunk:

 

[mjadeb1984]

I'm super keen to hear how this turns out...

I don't care what anyone else says, if there is something weird that you want to try, or a crazy experiement you want to attempt, as long as you are having fun in the process, go for it!

Too many people in the world are afraid of going out on a limb, but seriously, as long as you aren't under the impression that it's going to win awards what's the downside if it doesn't work? A couple of bucks and a few hours of your time, so what?

+1 well said, cant imagine this is gonna be one to bust out for a special occasion but is interesting none the less

 

[Maheel]

i get a SG of around 1.18 - 1.20 and somewhere around 28-30% alc maybe more when adding in all those sultanas (assuming you could get it to ferment out)

but i dont think the yeast will cope with that high a % and will stall leaving you with something "sweet"

i have grave concerns with just "washing the spuds" i would have peeled

are you seeing much activity ?