HOMEBREW & Non-alcoholic Drinks

Discussion in 'Can Cook, Will Cook' started by 72wilma, Dec 6, 2011.

  1. :burp: + :burp: = :beer:

    chillicamper's Blackberry Vodka


    If you want a quick use for the blackberries, but don't want to brew up a wine, make some blackberry vodka. Its like sloe gin......only with blackberries......and....errrr .... vodka ;)

    3/4 fill up a bottle with blackberries - for every inch of blackberries give a good sprinkling of sugar. The fill the bottle with vodka - leave the vodka just below the neck of the bottle. This way, you can turn and shake the bottle every week and add another spoonful of sugar. After 2-3 months you strain it off and have a great blackberry vodka liqueur.

    You can also make a great alcoholic apple & blackberry crumble with the brackberries - co nothing wasted...mmmmmmmmm




    72wilma's Elderberry Rum

    This is heaven, if you can bare to leave it for a year it's so good with warm water for a sore throat/feeling-like-your-dying-of-cold drink, apparently elderberries have more vitamin C than jaffas and are a traditional cold remedy.

    As many elderberries as you can gather, strip the berries off the stalks with a fork and weigh,

    1lb of granulated sugar to 1lb of fruit

    Warm the elderberries and sugar together, so that the sugar dissolves, don't boil, simmer for about 15 mins to allow the juice from the berries to release.

    Pour into a large kilner jar and top up with 1 x 70cl bottle of white rum.

    Leave in a dark cupboard for at least 4 weeks, at this point it can be strained (discad the fruit) and bottle up, but the longer you leave the fruit to seep in the rum the better. Careful it's powerful stuff!!

    [​IMG]




    LMPD's Hot Chocolate

    If you like chocolate, try making this and you'll never think hot chocolate comes out of a sachet again -

    Quantities given make 6 small cupfuls.

    650 ml (1pint) milk
    3 tbsp cocoa powder
    3 tbsp light brown sugar
    50 gm (2oz) dark 70% chocolate, chopped
    3 tsp cornflour mixed into 2 tbsp cold water

    12 tbsp Baileys or brandy,optional
    Mini marshmallows, optional

    1. Put the milk, cocoa, sugar, chocolate and a pinch of salt in a pan. Melt over a low heat, don't boil.
    2. Pour the cornflour and water mixture into the pan and bring contents to the boil, whisking with a wire whisk. Simmer for a few minutes, beating all the time, until thickened.
    3. Serve. A dash of Baileys or brandy (and probably rum, whisky, whatever you like) can be added for adults. Mini marshmallows can be placed on top



    eveningstar's Spiced Mulled Wine

    100g whole blanched almonds
    700ml red wine
    500ml ruby port
    300ml of vodka (slightly less if you're using cheap vodka)
    2 small cinnamon sticks
    Zest and juice of two jaffas
    100g-150g caster sugar depending on how sweet you like it
    25g dried cranberries

    Preheat oven to 200degrees and boil the kettle.
    Place the almonds in a bowl and pour over the boiling water - leave to soak for 10mins.
    Drain and slice into thin shards, place on baking tray and roast in the oven for 5mins until golden. Leave to cool.
    Place wine, port, vodka, cinnamon, orange zest and juice and sugar in large pan and simmer over low heat (do not boil).
    To serve, remove from heat and cool slightly. Put a teaspoon in a glass to absorb the heat so it doesn't crack. Add some cranberries, top up with the mulled wine and sprinkle with the roasted almonds.

    Am currently using this to try to get rid of my cold. Hoping the headache tomorrow won't be as bad as the one I have now but the vodka does pack a punch! :eek:



    Magical Trevor's Alcoholic Eggnog

    Ingredients
    6 penguin eggs
    2 extra egg yolks
    4 cups whole milk
    3/4 cup heavy cream
    1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of sugar
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
    1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
    1 cup bourbon


    Start by whisking the penguin eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large pan until well-blended. Keep on whisking while you slowly pour in the milk until it is completely mixed-in. Next, set the pan on your stove's burner and turn it to the lowest possible setting. Continuously whisk ingredients for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture reaches 160°F and will coat the underside of a spoon.

    Next, remove the mixture from heat and strain it into a large-sized bowl, making sure to get out any pieces of cooked egg. Now stir in the bourbon, vanilla, and nutmeg, and transfer your mixture to a covered dish. Refrigerate the mix for at least 4 hours before proceeding.

    Finally, when you're ready to serve your eggnog with alcohol, grab the heavy cream and whip it well. Now just fold in the chilled mix, pour, serve and enjoy!

    Makes 14 servings.
     
    oxiderenegade and Surfari like this.
  2. i just read this as 'dinkys poos' - i must wear my glasses more
     
  3. Bodyrock's Ribena wine.

    This recipe is for 1 Demi-John which is approx 5 litres:


    Ingredients

    1 ltr bottle of Ribena, the normal stuff not the 'no added sugar' stuff - you can but it means adding more sugar. (You can also use the Strawberry version or even the Apple but again make sure you use the full sugar one)


    1 Cup of strong black tea - The tea replaces a 1/4 teaspoon of tanin ..which i think is supposed to add a depth to the taste of wine.


    Yeast - about a teaspoon worth


    Yeast Nutrient - 1 tsp tomato purée


    25ml Glycerine - This will give the finished product a nice texture when you drink it.


    Sugar - Around 680g if your using the full fat Ribena, 1.5 kg if your using the 'no added' version.


    Juice from one lemon


    Method

    Start by cleaning and sterilizing everything your going to use.


    You need a large saucepan, empty the bottle of Ribena into the saucepan with the Sugar that needs to be added and boil this until all the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 20 mins to cook off any preservatives and added nastys. The yeast doesn't like any of that.


    Once cool empty into your Demi-John, add the tea,the lemon juice, Glycerine and top it up to about 4.5 ltrs (around the bottom of the shoulder) with water.


    Add the yeast and yeast nutrient (tomato purée).


    Shake, Fit airlock and leave.


    When fermentation has finished which could take up to (depending on ambient temp and various other variables) 2/3 weeks, basically once all the bubbles have stopped from your fermenter, Back sweeten with Ribena (I used 150ml) you'll find a lot of the flavour has gone during the ferment.


    You should now have your Ribena wine at around 14%!


    Enjoy ;) ;D
     
  4. Bodyrock's Homemade MEAD

    For those of you that don't know, Mead is a honey based alcoholic drink that has been made for centuries. Today I decided to make a batch up and see how it turns out, there are many ways to make Mead but the recipe I chose seemed the easiest. Making Mead, normally, is a slow and long process.


    So without further a do I introduce to you:



    Joe’s Ancient jaffa and Spice Mead


    A little caveat before we continue. This recipe flies in the face of just about all standard brewing methods used to make consistent and good Meads. It was created by Joe Mattioli to make a fast and tasty drink out of ingredients found in most kitchens. It is therefore perfect for the beginner, which has resulted in it being perhaps the most popular Mead recipe available on the internet. As Joe himself says “It is so simple to make and you can make it without much equipment and with a multitude of variations. This could be a first Mead for the novice as it is almost foolproof. It is a bit unorthodox but it has never failed me or the friends I have shared it with. (snip)...it will be sweet, complex and tasty.” Follow the instructions exactly as provided and you cannot go wrong. If you want to make larger batches, just scale up the recipe keeping all ingredients in the same proportion.


    1 gallon batch


    3 1/2 lbs (1.58KG) Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)


    1 Large jaffa (later cut in eights or smaller, rind and all)


    1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)


    1 stick of cinnamon


    1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)


    optional - a pinch of nutmeg and allspice (very small )


    1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast (now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then) - ideally use champagne yeast


    Balance water to one gallon


    Process:


    Use a clean 1 gallon carboy/Demi-John


    Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in Carboy/Demi-John


    Wash jaffa well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights - add jaffa (you can push them through the opening - rinds included - its ok for this mead - take my word for it - ignore the experts)


    Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few days frenzy)


    Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.


    When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)


    Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's - wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.


    Racking --- Don't you dare
    additional feeding --- NO NO
    More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch


    After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that, you are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the jaffas will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet), likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
    If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.


    And there you have it. You have made your first Mead.




    Recipe taken from: http://www.gotmead.com


    [​IMG]
     
  5. Bodyrock's MILK WINE

    Came across this recipe and although it sounds a bit wrong I'm intrigued enough to give it a go.


    The recipe is taken from a book which discusses various techniques for producing alcohol which are, apparently, commonly used in Alaska. "The Alaskan Bootleggers Bible".



    The trick is to use lactose-free milk. You can find this in your local supermarket (about £1.26 per 1 litre carton). It's in the fresh milk section - not UHT! This recipe used the full cream variety.




    Method:


    Using Campden tablets sterilize everything your going to use, this is very import for this brew as its easy to get an infection in the brew and ruin the lot.




    Dissolve 900g of sugar in 2 litres of boiling water,


    put it in a demijohn and wait for it to cool to room temperature


    then add 2 litres of lactose-free milk.


    Add a packet of champagne yeast


    and 1 tsp youngs yeast nutrient.


    After a few days it will look like no wine you've ever made before:-




    A slight variation of this recipe uses half honey, half sugar:



    2 Litres of lactose free milk


    1/2 kg white sugar


    1/2 kg honey


    2 litres water


    1 packet champagne (or sparkling wine) yeast


    [​IMG]



    Now it's time to rack. There's about 1 kg of cottage cheese floating at the top of the wine, but it is quite crumbly. So strain the contents through a nylon bag into a bucket, then put that into another demijohn.


    That's definately a white wine:-


    [​IMG]


    What about all the solid stuff? Tastes like alcoholic cottage cheese.


    Leave it to settle and it should look something like this:


    [​IMG]


    Should be around 15%
     
  6. Bodyrock's SOURMASH for Whiskeys

    I've yet to try this but is on my list of things to do, needless to say this is a tried and proven recipe by many:


    This method was originally taken from J.W. Walstad's book Simple Sour Mash to Simple Alcohol Fuel! and has been modified according to my experiences.

    This method is the most inexpensive I have found for producing Corn Whiskey. It is perfect for beginners because it does not rely on skill for mashing and does not require any cooking which greatly reduces the hassles and expenses.

    I used this method for years until I mastered the processes involved in creating a quality sour mash whiskey, at which point I moved on to cooked mashes and more advanced efforts.



    [hr]



    Ingredients


    For a 5 gallon mash: (~19 liters)
    5 gallons soft, filtered water.
    7 lbs (3.2kg) cracked corn. 6-8 pieces/kernel is the proper crack. If using bird feed, make sure it is perishable, or in other words is free of preservatives.
    7 lbs (3.2kg) of granulated sugar.
    1 tbsp yeast (distillers yeast if available.)




    Theory


    Unlike a cooked mash, a simple mash does not rely on grains for starch. The corn is included for a bit of alcohol, but mainly for flavor while the sugar provides the alcohol. The conversion of starches to sugars is a natural process, accelerated by cooking. An uncooked mash will convert starches to sugars but much more slowly and less efficiently. Your added sugar will ferment rather easily and will provide most of the alcohol in your beer.


    Your first distillation run will be a "sweet" run since you will not have any backset to use for sour mashing. I recommend using the spirits you collect in your first run as feints for the next run. Yes, all of them. Your second run will produce your first batch of sour mash, which will be good, but in truth the flavour and consistency will not start to reach their peak until the third or fourth run in my experience.


    Practice, practice, practice!




    First Fermentation



    Put your ingredients into the fermenter in the order listed and close it. You should start to see fermentation of the sugar within 12 hours. It should take 3 or 4 days for the ebullition to end. Siphon your beer out of the fermenter with a racking cane and charge your still.


    Siphoning is the best method because it allows you to pull the beer off the top of your lees, leaving them undisturbed. You do not want suspended solids in your still and this method works quite well in keeping the lees at the bottom of your fermenter.


    At this point you need to make your first decision. How much backset will you use in your subsequent mashes? The legal minimum for a sour mash is 25%. I do not like to go above 50% in my experience. For the sake of simplicity, let's say you will start with 25% backset. This means that for a 5 gallon mash you will use 1-1/4 gallons (~4.75 liters) of backset and 3-3/4 gallons (~14.25 liters) of water.


    Since you will be running your still for hours, you do not want to leave the fermenter empty. Put your 3-3/4 gallons of water back into the fermenter so your yeast won't die while you distill. While you're at it, this is a perfect time to scoop the spent corn off the top and replace with an equal volume of newly cracked corn. Later we'll add the 1-1/4 gallons of backset and 7 more pounds of granulated sugar.




    Basics of Pot Distillation



    There are two basic types of pot distillation:


    The first involves a traditional pot still, which has no cooling in the neck or column. The distillate produced is lower in proof than that produced by a reflux still with a fractionating or splitting column. This is the traditional method of distillation and requires multiple runs. The distiller will save up enough low wines from the first runs or stripping runs to fill the still for a second run. If a triple distillation is desired, the product from second distillations are collected until enough spirit is saved to fill the still for the third spirit run, and so on.


    The second type of pot distillation is performed in a reflux still equipped such that the column can be cooled during distillation. This type of still is far more efficient and can produce a high proof, high quality spirit in a single run.




    First Run


    Pot distill your wash, being careful to keep things running slowly. For beginners, 2-3 drops of distillate exiting the worm every second is just about the perfect speed. As you collect, periodically put 4-5 drops of distillate into a spoon with an equal amount of water and sip it. You will learn to identify the off-taste of the heads very quickly.


    For your first run it is best to take very conservative cuts. I recommend very generic whiskey cuts, say 80% down to 70%. As your skills improve you will be able to go deeper into your cuts, tasting periodically for the off-taste of the tails. Once you learn to identify the off-tastes of the heads and tails you will be able to make proper cuts without the use of a hydrometer, a big step toward becoming a competent distiller.


    By law any spirits collected above 80% cannot be called whiskey because they are considered too "light" or neutral. In other words, they are too high in proof and thus do not properly imbue the spirit with the flavour of the grain mash. I use anything collected above 80% as feints for the next run. For more information on the legal definitions for whiskies and other spirits check out Title 27 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.


    Remember to discard the first 150ml or 5 fluid ounces collected so you don't get any methanol build up over time and batches.




    Second Fermentation


    Your fermenter should now contain 3-3/4 gallons of water, your old yeast (barm) and your old corn.


    Take 1-1/4 gallons of backset from your previous distillation and add to it another 7 pounds of granulated sugar. This will dissolve the sugar rather easily. Hot backset directly from the still works better at dissolving sugar, but adding hot backset to your fermenter will kill your yeast, so allow the backset to cool if you use this method.


    Next, add this mixture of sugar and cooled backset to your fermenter, which already contains 3-3/4 gallons of water. This will bring your total beer volume back to 5 gallons.


    Now is the time to make sure you have removed and replaced any spent corn kernels, which float to the top of the fermenter. You only need to do this if you plan on a continual ferment, that is, past 7 or 8 fermentations at which point your corn would otherwise be expended.


    Cover the fermenter and let it ferment for another 3-4 days or until the ebullition ends.


    Congratulations, if you have done everything properly you are now ready to run your first sour mash!




    Second Run



    Siphon off your beer and charge your still. Again, replace 3-3/4 gallons of water into your fermenter so your yeast doesn't die while you distill.


    Distill your whiskey in the same manner you did during your first run, being conservative with your cuts until you gain more skill. Anything collected under 80% ABV on this run is considered a Sour Mash whiskey. Congratulations! This spirit is a palatable moonshine when collected directly out of the still.


    Collect your run down to your stopping point.Again, I recommend 70% ABV for beginners, perhaps a few degrees into the 60's if you are bold. Save all of the spirit run as good sippin' whiskey.


    Most moonshiners keep running their stills long after they are finished with the spirit run, collecting down to about 20% ABV before stopping. Together, the heads and tails are reused as feints. I do not normally go as low as 20%, you'll have to find your comfort zone. If you start to get blue or green flecks in your spirit, you've gone too far or run things too hot.




    Repeat the Process


    After your run, collect 1-1/4 gallons of backset to return to the fermenter for your next batch. Repeat the process starting at the Second Fermentation.


    You are now producing a simple sour mash whiskey and with practice you will be able to produce a very high quality moonshine. Age this whiskey in an uncharred oak barrel to produce a traditional Tennessee-style whiskey.




    Safety first, Duke boys. Have fun!






    So, for 40l wash. Recipe goes like this.


    7kg cracked feed corn,
    7kg raw or white sugar (I like raw)
    Dissolve sugar in hot water, then add enough cold water to make 40 l total.




    Strip in potstill discarding 100ml of foreshots down to 20%. Save the strip. While the drum is empty, scrape off 1/3rd of a bucket of corn and add 1/3rd of a bucket of new corn.
    Add some water (20l or so) to the yeast bed so you don’t burn the yeast next step.


    Use 10l of hot slops (backset from the still run) to dissolve 7 more kg of sugar, stir it up and add to the drum. Add water to bring it up to the level it was before.


    Watch it ferment and strip again and again.


    When you have 40l of strip saved up, do a slow spirit run in the potstill making careful cuts. Age it on toasted oak sticks.


    [hr]

    There is a lot to take in here and also requires a still and working knowledge of one, this is not a job for the amateur home-brewer hence the simple recipes I have been posting.


    I'm happy to give advice but with this you are entering the world of distillation which has as much to learn and as many quirks as VW Campers.
     
  7. Firstly, why is this board titled 'HOMEBREW Non-alcoholic drinks' when they are clearly Alcoholic? ;)

    Secondly, the link you added to the mead recipe is incorrect. That is not where it came from, I shall find the correct link if you want me to.

    Thirdly, your html tags have gone a little awry on the last post. ;)
     
  8. It should be 'Homebrew and Non alchoholic drinks', that 'and' and the redirections must have got mashed up in the melt down ;D

    It'll be changed now thanks
     
  9. Lol. Okay dokey.
     
  10. I am so making that mead, it sounds lush :)
     
  11. mead is not just for Christmas ;)
     
    oxiderenegade and paradox like this.
  12. Did you not try it at winter camp?
     
  13. Sadly no, I was already absolutely plastered from the pub :)
     
  14. I think I tried it. I can't remember!
     
  15. Yeah you had it Rich. You liked it, one of the few that everyone liked I think.
     
  16. I've thought about making Mead for a while, I'll try a 1 gallon batch, see how it turns out.I normally only use 1 gallon demijohns for test batches of wine with about 2 to 4 lbs of fruit, since if I'm going to make something I might as well make a lot.I've currently got 15 gallons of Damson Wine on the go, 5 at 14% ABV, 10 at 12% ABV, 26 gallons of Apple Wine at 12% ABV, and a gallon of Greengages Wine at 14% ABV, however, I've got enough Apples left to make a Sparkling Cider of about 4.5% ABV. In addition I have the usual beer kits, but am seriously thinking of doing things from scratch and getting myself a Mash Tun, plus I've seen a nice Still for sale, of purely intellectual interest of course.

    As you can see from my picture, I've made beer specifically for events, ha
     
  17. Tuesday wildchild

    Tuesday wildchild I'm a circle!

    I want a fruit press so I can pick me cidre apples and not just now them.
     
  18. Damn it, the Apple Wine is 13.67% ABV, far too strong, I'm going to have to add water, and depending on the taste, might try blending with the Damson Wine I also have on the go. Problems, problems.
     
  19. Na, drink it as it is!!
     
  20. It might taste better after I've filtered it, at the moment the yeast gives it a bitter flavour, and the alcohol tastes industrial, ha
     

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