anyone brewing beer or making rum?

[GhostHawk]

Yes you certainly can freeze to remove water and concentrate alcohol and sugars.

I personally think it is safer than a still, as it is near impossible to smell, and up here in North Dakota there are dang few folks walking around outside "sniffing" for illicit alcohol.

Just bottle to the shoulder in 2 liter pop bottles and let it age while your waiting for cold weather.

Wild Plum "Freeze Brandy" Yum.

[trapper9260]

I will not say much on this but if there is a will there is a way and how you do it is up to you and how strong you make it.on all that have been stated.

[Col4570]

Marrow Rum,Take one large Marrow (Zuchini),Cut of the top to make a lid,hollow out the centre of seeds and membrane but leave the flesh on the walls,Hang it up and fill with soft brown sugar,poke a small hole in the side at the bottom and insert a loose piece of stick (wood).As the flesh starts to dissolve due to fermentation the resulting liquid will drip off the stick into a container.

[WRideout]

I have been brewing since about 1999. Have made all sorts including various ales, IPA, stout, and lager. The lager needs to be fermented cold; if you visit a commercial brewery in the US they ferment in huge tanks inside refrigerated warehouses. I once made a dark lager that I got carried away with. Kept adding a little more of this and that dry malt. When I got done it was rather potent. A friend had some, and said he couldn't imagine drinking three in a row.

Alcohol content in any fermented beverage is dependent on the amount of sugar or malt added. I made some wine once that was up around 18% and it would try to crawl out of the bottle when it was uncorked.

Wayne

[MaryB]

Worst alcohol content was an ale I made with a friend(we shared brewing equipment to cut the cost). Stuff was 13% and potent. 3 was it for me. Now I really want to get back into brewing. I moved for a job and sold my share of stuff to him so have to start over on some of it. I can and have a turkey burner so have a big enough stainless pot to use as a boiler. I would go the keg route, stays fresher and I know a fried would get a growler or two a day from me to use it fast enough(my limit is 2 beers a day on the meds I take).

[nhrifle]

My best batch I called Chocolate Covered Cherry Ale. So smooth and silky on the tongue, and oh so easy. Just a basic mildly-hopped pale ale, with the addition of two cups of baking chocolate powder and two cans of cherry pie filling. The chocolate is added during the boil and the pie filling is put into the initial fermenter. Keep it out of the sun and let it be for atleast a month. Rack into the secondary for a couple months. Bottle, keep in a cool (not cold) place for 4 to 6 months, and refrigerate for a day before serving.

[Duckiller]

I believe you are allowed to distill a small quantity of spirits for personal consumption. At least you used to be able to do so. May want to check with ATF. If you are not running a major shine operation why get in trouble with the feds?

[Denver]

[QUOTE=Duckiller;2830254]I believe you are allowed to distill a small quantity of spirits for personal consumption. At least you used to be able to do so. May want to check with ATF. If you are not running a major shine operation why get in trouble with the feds?[/QUOTE

A popular belief and wishful thinking, but 100% wrong.

[dragonrider]

Denver is exactly right. Because your uncle levies a tax upon ever drop of alcohol that is distilled, and he wants his tax, just ask the bootleggers. Funny story, years ago I was wandering around a state fair and came upon a fellow selling corn burning stoves, these stoves where just stating to get used around here and he had a good crowd around him and his stove that was operating with corn. As a sales pitch he said that you get 20% more heat than with pellets or wood stove because of the alcohol that was naturally occurring in corn. I could not let that pass so I said that he was wrong and that alcohol was a product of fermentation. He insisted he was right, so I said if there was alcohol in corn the ATF would have a tax stamp on every kernel in the county. He was unhappy but most of the crowd realized he was wrong. Still the stove was quite impressive.

I have not brewed for about a year, gotta change that real soon. Some years a go a friend brewed some mead made only from Honey, 17 pounds of it added to enough water to make five gallons. Boil for thirty of forty minutes while skimming all the junk that come out of the honey, bee parts etc. Cool and pitch with champagne yeast, attach vacuum lock and let ferment for 1 year. Rack and bottle as you normally would, it was absolutely awesome. You don't drink it like beer it's more like sipping whiskey. I have been meaning to make some ever since but haven't got to it yet. I use to make a rye beer that was very good, perhaps I'll make that again soon.

[Moonie]

Denver is exactly right. Because your uncle levies a tax upon ever drop of alcohol that is distilled, and he wants his tax, just ask the bootleggers. Funny story, years ago I was wandering around a state fair and came upon a fellow selling corn burning stoves, these stoves where just stating to get used around here and he had a good crowd around him and his stove that was operating with corn. As a sales pitch he said that you get 20% more heat than with pellets or wood stove because of the alcohol that was naturally occurring in corn. I could not let that pass so I said that he was wrong and that alcohol was a product of fermentation. He insisted he was right, so I said if there was alcohol in corn the ATF would have a tax stamp on every kernel in the county. He was unhappy but most of the crowd realized he was wrong. Still the stove was quite impressive.

I have not brewed for about a year, gotta change that real soon. Some years a go a friend brewed some mead made only from Honey, 17 pounds of it added to enough water to make five gallons. Boil for thirty of forty minutes while skimming all the junk that come out of the honey, bee parts etc. Cool and pitch with champagne yeast, attach vacuum lock and let ferment for 1 year. Rack and bottle as you normally would, it was absolutely awesome. You don't drink it like beer it's more like sipping whiskey. I have been meaning to make some ever since but haven't got to it yet. I use to make a rye beer that was very good, perhaps I'll make that again soon.

Might head over to www.gotmead.com and check out the newbee guide. Boiling the must is no longer recommended as it destroys the flavor of the honey. Lots of great information over there for the novice and pro alike.

[2wheelDuke]

I just ran a Munton's extract kit yesterday. I've got a bucket of Pilsner bubbling away here. My first run was sort of a hybrid kit, it had grains to steep and a can of liquid malt extract. I have one more kit that's a liquid malt extract to use up, then I'm thinking I might want to run pure grain for my next batch.

[dragonrider]

Thanks I will check that out.

[reloader28]

Sunday I bottled just over 2 cases of my house brew.
Yesterday I started 6 gallons of blackberry wine. My second batch. If anyone likes blackberries, I highly recommend this one. It is EXCELLENT.

[facetious]

You can buy stills online... probably land you on a government list somewhere though. A pressure cooker that has a built in thermometer will do in a pinch...(don't ask how I know this).

When I was a kid growing up in MN every spring the church would ship off all the kids thy could to good old camp Christmas Tree for a long weekend of fun, games. Well this one kid shows up with at least six 1/2 pints of his home made hooch. He made it in a pressure cooker and some copper tubing cooking it over a fire back in the woods some place. He said that he started with a jug of cider that he fermented and then ran it trough the pressure cooker still. So that night while the older kids were sneeking off to smoke and grope a few of us went for a little walk in the woods to give this a try. I don't recall the quality of it at 12 or 13 I hadn't spent much time in the "spirit world" but it wasn't to bad. Had about half a bottle and it did seam to make the fun and games more fun.

[vtwhelen]

I brewed beer pro for 8 years. Miss it alot collecting stainless to make a sweet home brewery. Home brewing is almost like casting you can go real hi tech pro or go minimal and still get good results.

[WRideout]

One of my favorites, although I haven't made it in years, is the Ucleduckfay Oatmeal Stout, from Charly Papazian's book. Smooth, very slightly sweet, with just enough bite so you know it's a stout. I'm trying to get my cholesterol down, you know (therefore the oatmeal).

Wayne

[GoodOlBoy]

Yeah home brewing you can do. Home distilling you can't without the proper permits, paperwork, permission, pat on the head, handshake with fingers crossed, and more meddling by uncle. For more information on Home distilling and free links to information you can visit http://www.hillbillystills.com/ I have seen one of their stills in action (used legally by somebody else) and they do make impressive products.

For beer or ale I prefer dark brews over anything watered down (Monty Python - "American beer is like making love in a canoe!") I do enjoy a good mead, but I haven't had any in years.

GoodOlBoy

[762 shooter]

You can home distill in New Zealand, methinks. But owning a handgun is extremely verboten.

I'll take the handguns and 13% home brew thank you very much.

I have made a very dangerous concoction known as Skeeter Pee. Quite nice, but be wary if the beverage is cold and the day is hot.

http://skeeterpee.com

762

[EMC45]

I have 2 gallons of apple juice fermenting right now. I go simple......A gallon of apple juice, 1 packet of Fleichman's, 2 cups sugar. Let it alone for 14 days, rack it, let it sit for a couple more days then rack it again. Fridge it and you're ready to taste. It does not discriminate though and you must be careful. The ABV is enough to burn your nose if you sniff it hard enough. A 16 oz. Tervis tumbler is plenty for me.

[FrankG]

I use the 'brew in a bag' method and a 15 gal stock pot for homebrew. It was easier and less involved for me than the traditional mash tun method and it has been working great .

Just need a heavy hook above to pass a rope over to hoist the mashed grains out of kettle .

I have come up with several good ales . My favorite everyday beer is a pale 5% .

Made a Irish Stout 8.6% for St. Patricks day , smooth with chocolate and coffee overtones

Had to make my own electric grain mill to be grinding 12-15 # of grain at a time is a workout with a hand cranked job !

I need to get a 12 gallon batch of pale going soon