Homebrewing

[Moralnihilist]

Anyone other than me brew beer for fun? Currently I got a milk chocolate stout brewing(5 gallons) and a barley wine(1 gallon tester run) and Im finishing off the last irish red ale I made.

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I brew wine actually.  A gallon a month.  Varying results based on the fruits used.  A lot of trial and error.

And one huge colossal error - never EVER use bananas.

[Jason78]

Just finishing off the last of my homebrew lager here.

[SGOS]

I've made lot of beer, but I always thought it was pretty second rate stuff.  I noticed I had extremely intense dreams from it.  Not scary, just intense.

[Moralnihilist]

I brew wine actually.  A gallon a month.  Varying results based on the fruits used.  A lot of trial and error.

And one huge colossal error - never EVER use bananas.

Actually bananas can be used for a quite good melomel(fruit laden mead), made several last year using different fruits including bananas. It takes several months in a secondary and several more months to bottle condition(if I remember correctly the banana one took about 7 months total), but it was quite drinkable.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I've never brewed beer, but have made some high test wines and brandy that when the cork is popped the whole room instantly smells like a brewery. I learned mulberries don't make a particularly good brandy. It tasted like Richards Wild Irish Rose laced with a heavy dose of nasty vinegar at nearly every stage.  :-&

[The Skeletal Atheist]

I know some folks who make shine. Good ol Georgia/Alabama cold medicine.

[jumper]

...

[The Skeletal Atheist]

One of my grandfathers makes some with peppermint candy and such, fucking awesome. He also makes muscadine wine, which is fucking amazing.

[The Fly]

I'm working on a Belgian witbier IPA right now.

This is cool that we have homebrewers among us.

[Moralnihilist]

So the milk chocolate stout has gone into bottles today, going to condition them for several weeks before cracking one. I have a new batch of a sweet stout in primary now.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

I need to become close friends with all of you.

[Alloy Crow]

I have a couple of question on whisky making, Distilling my own liquour has been in my mind for some time, I would like to make some whisky, do they add flavours besides the one the cask gives to the liquid? when I distill some 'beer', be it made with sugar, corn, rice, whatever, the end result should always be ethyl alcohol and water right? or are there other liquids that get condensed with the alcohol and water that add flavour? I have seen some whiskys that clam to have, for instance, fruty flavours, is this added after distillment?

thanks for your input.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

Whiskey flavor in professional outfits is usually the result of the charred barrel aging.

[Moralnihilist]

I have a couple of question on whisky making, Distilling my own liquour has been in my mind for some time, I would like to make some whisky, do they add flavours besides the one the cask gives to the liquid? when I distill some 'beer', be it made with sugar, corn, rice, whatever, the end result should always be ethyl alcohol and water right? or are there other liquids that get condensed with the alcohol and water that add flavour? I have seen some whiskys that clam to have, for instance, fruty flavours, is this added after distillment?

thanks for your input.

Most of the flavor in professional made whiskey comes from years of barrel aging. Some of the flavor comes from other grains besides corn. These grains usually add a non fermentable sugar(like rye) to the wort(non fermented liquid), others add a more fermentable sugar to the wort(and increase the "bite" of the finished product). Plain sugar makes a FOUL tasting final product(the fermentation of it is ungodly).

Unless you have access to pro quality still(NO solder, HIGH quality copper, etc) AND its legal in the country that you reside in, I wouldn't bother trying to distill booze. Homebrewing is simpler, legal damn near everywhere, and ALOT less can go wrong(no worry of still explosions, coper leaching into the final product, going to federal pound me in the ass prison).