So... I Finally Got Around To Making My Alcoholic Water

[Tanga]

So... got some oztops for my birthday (thanks Mum, for listening to my oh so blatant hints). One of the things I brewed was some alcowater and, mixed with cordial, the flavour is actually remarkably like an alcopop (does anyone remember sub-zero? - pretty close to that). So far I've only tried lemon and barley cordial and I get a nice pub squash (though it does have a little bit of a winey back-bite which I'll be looking to eliminate in the future). I still prefer it to cruisers though. Next I'll be trying it with a ginger beer cordial.

Recipe

1.8 L boiled (cooled) water
180g dextrose
20 mL lemon juice

It was a slow ferment (especially for oztops), probably because of the lack of nutrients and because the bottled juice has preservatives (oops, should have checked first). Next time I'll be using some nutrient and real lemon juice (probably only 10 mL though, since that's closer to the recommended acidity).

It ends up as 6% alc. / volume, so with cordial added not much meatier than cruisers, but for around 50c / L (taking into consideration the yeast, nutrient, dextrose, etc). I call that a success.

Oh, and my cider's better than most commercial varieties I've tried (except for bulmers).

 

[MarkBastard]

What colour does it end up? I remember when I used to make spirits you'd start with 7kg dextrose / 20L water and it'd end up being a milky colour at the end and something I can't imagine drinking, though that was over 20% probably.

 

[Tanga]

What colour does it end up? I remember when I used to make spirits you'd start with 7kg dextrose / 20L water and it'd end up being a milky colour at the end and something I can't imagine drinking, though that was over 20% probably.

Lightly cloudy yellow (before adding to cordial). This uses nearly 1/4 the amount of dex (it would be 2kg in 20L). I'd imagine that brewing up that high the yeast would be much more stressed, and so throw some pretty off flavours (obviously removed by distilling). Mine has next to no flavour at all (which was the plan), just a slight 'winey' after-taste similar to sub-zero and some other alco-pops. Some alco-pop drinkers may object to it, I'm not sure - I'm taking some around to a mate's place today to see what they think.

 

[zebba]

I was actually wondering to myself the other day whether it would be possible to make a clear beer-like beverage. Dextrose (for alc), maltodextrin (for body) and lactose (for sweetness) + hops. I can't imagine it being something enjoyable to drink, but I was curious if it could be done.

Curious to hear how it will go with nutrient added. I can see a number of my wives bogan friends being interested in your experiment. (note: the wife is not a bogan, she's all class )

 

[brettprevans]

Im glad your happy with the results but can you explain the attraction of oztops? its just a bottle with a stupid 'nipple/valve' thing that pops out when ready and yeast (and maybe some flavouring?). thats nothing differant than what you could make using a fermentor juice and yeast and a few normal bottles

just buy some Wyeast 5151PC - Brettanomyces Claussenii and use it to ferment juice to make cider. lovely pineapply slightly tart flavours. it would be seriously better than oztops. in fact just about any yeast would be. SO4 is a nice clean yeast also. or a wine yeast. hell add sugar if you like to byump up to the %alc.

or just buy a 'water purifier' to make stuff we cant talk about on AHB.

to me alcowater sounds hidious. but to each their own. mind you i think sub zeros taasted horrid

I was actually wondering to myself the other day whether it would be possible to make a clear beer-like beverage. Dextrose (for alc), maltodextrin (for body) and lactose (for sweetness) + hops. I can't imagine it being something enjoyable to drink, but I was curious if it could be done.

uncle arthur falling down water
1 good bitter or ale kit
1.5kg light malt extract
2kg glucose/dextrose
15g Fuggles hop pellets

now of course you could just sub out the fermetables as you like with dex or malto dex and experiment. but again i cant imagine it tasting any good, yeah it will get you pissed but...

 

[Tanga]

I'm an experimenter [strike]Zebba[/strike]citymorgue, with a short attention span, who is also generally lazy, and kind of poor - so oztops suit me down to the ground. Failed experiments cost 2-3 dollars tops (though so far they've all worked). I don't have to spend ages cleaning equipment. And if something really tastes great, than I can redo it in a full batch (x 10).

There's nothing saying that I have to keep using the oztops yeast though, and I'm going to grab a few cheap yeasts and do some side by side comparisons to compare flavour's (something else oztops are good for), as well as some malo-lactic fermentation as well. All in manageable 2L batches.

EDIT: You know Zebba, that would probably work (below) as well, if not as quickly. I like being able to retain some of the sweetness though. It would certainly work for experimenting with beer and very dry wines / ciders though.

 

[zebba]

Just FTR, I wasn't the one questioning OzTops, and indeed I know nothing of them besides the fact they exist

Although I will ask if you'd considered just using gladwrap and a rubber band around your 2l bottle top, after adding yeast of course, and once fermentation has finished add enough sugar to prime and put a standard lid on.

I'm all for experimentation, and if I weren't so lazy I'd have a few aldi-apple juice ciders going right now

 

[brettprevans]

Just FTR, I wasn't the one questioning OzTops, and indeed I know nothing of them besides the fact they exist

it was me

I'm all for experimentation, and if I weren't so lazy I'd have a few aldi-apple juice ciders going right now

my 30L of cider with W5151 (BrettC) is with aldi juice and added sugaz.. been fermenting slowly for 3 weeks now and tastes lovely.

 

[stillscottish]

What colour does it end up? I remember when I used to make spirits you'd start with 7kg dextrose / 20L water and it'd end up being a milky colour at the end and something I can't imagine drinking, though that was over 20% probably.

You need to "purify" it to get rid of the milkiness. <_<

 

[MHB]

Well yes the nutrient would be a good start and will possibly reduce some of the off flavours. Many of the commercial versions are White Wine that has been Carbon filtered.
You would only need a teaspoon/Litre of a good quality Activated Carbon to strip out most flavours.
With a simple mixture like your alcoholic water, after fermentation is complete, add the carbon, leave for a couple of days then chill until the "Water" drops bright before decanting.
Should get your brew clear and basically flavourless, ready for whatever flavour you want to add.

MHB

 

[Phoney]

just buy some Wyeast 5151PC - Brettanomyces Claussenii and use it to ferment juice to make cider. lovely pineapply slightly tart flavours. it would be seriously better than oztops. in fact just about any yeast would be. SO4 is a nice clean yeast also. or a wine yeast. hell add sugar if you like to byump up to the %alc.

Ive never heard of this yeast until now....

How does it compare with 4766?

 

[manticle]

Brettanomyces is a wild yeast - found in lambics, some wines (not always favourably) and funkier beers like orval and some Flanders beers.

If you do decide to use it, consider using a glass carboy or buying separate gear or all your brews may turn out with an unwelcome brett characteristic.

Brett is a great yeast for those who love it (me included) but it's not for everyone and not for every brew.

I like the idea of brett cider though. Is yours called Brett's Brett cider CMII?

 

[Tanga]

I had the feeling it did funky things to fermenters. It'd be perfect for a trial run in the juice bottle me-thinks. If it's good I've got a couple of glass carboys now. Win.

MHB - no off flavours. Just a winey kind of aftertaste. I've just been informed that it's much more like ruskis than sub-zero. I knew it was something from my disreputable past. I might give the activated carbon trick a try if it's not too pricey.

 

[brettprevans]

Ive never heard of this yeast until now....

How does it compare with 4766?

Chalk and cheese. Brettanomyces as manticle said is a wild yeast. There are several strains
Brett B - sweaty horse blanket etc of Orval
Brett C - pineapple citrus slightly tart. Very differant to Brett B

 

[Airgead]

Chalk and cheese. Brettanomyces as manticle said is a wild yeast. There are several strains
Brett B - sweaty horse blanket etc of Orval
Brett C - pineapple citrus slightly tart. Very differant to Brett B

You have to let me know how that comes out. Its nearly apple season and a brett cider sounds great. Did you use 100% brett or did you start it off with a regular yeast?

Cheers
Dave

 

[brettprevans]

You have to let me know how that comes out. Its nearly apple season and a brett cider sounds great. Did you use 100% brett or did you start it off with a regular yeast?

Cheers
Dave

Sorry for the thread OT Tanga, but maybe youll be interested.

Brendo picked up the wild yeast in some pure fresh apple juice from kellybrook winery. BrettC took off becuase he was a little lax in pitching his yeast. he ended up pitching another yeast at it, to keep it at bay but the Brett C had taken hold.

So once he had kegged etc i took 700ml of his cider and used that as primary innoculation yeast in my cider. so it should pretty much be all Brett C (which is what i was wanting). I wanted a big Brett C hit. Happy to report back on results.

edit: grammer

 

[MarkBastard]

sweaty horse blanket!!!

 

[brendo]

Sorry for the thread OT Tanga, but maybe youll be interested.

Brendo picked up the wild yeast in some pure fresh apple juice from kellybrook winery. BrettC took off becuase he was a little lax in pitching his yeast. he ended up pitching another yeast at it, to keep it at bay but the Brett C had taken hold.

So once he had kegged etc i took 700ml of his cider and used that as primary innoculation in my yeast. so it should pretty much be all Brett C (which is what i was wanting). I wanted a big Brett C hit. Happy to report back on results.

a bit of a happy accident that one... certainly adds some interest to the cider and makes it that much more drinkable!!

 

[Tanga]

No worries - it certainly is interesting, and I've probably done my fair share of thread hijacks, so it's only fair. =)\

Would love to hear those BrettC results. So I'm guessing it's not one you can buy from the brew shop then?

 

[manticle]

You can buy various brett cultures from Wyeast and I think also from whitelabs. If your local hbs doesn't stock it you can order it from one who does.