January 4, 2008

[jimtyrrell]

It's Friday! I'm working, and then playing at Shooter's. Tomorrow I'll be at the Seven Barrel Brewery with one of my cover bands. The beer they make is outstanding. Which brings us to the

Question Of The Day: Have you ever made your own booze? I did a batch of wine a couple years ago and gave most of it away as Xmas gifts. It was from a box kit, and it was done with the help of the guys at Fermentation Station in Meredith, NH. I'd like to make some beer sometime.

[Spud]

I have made beer on several occasions. This was one of my favorites:

The Freeman Bros. on the label was actually me and my dad. We thought it was funny. I later made beer with my brother under the same "brewery" label. I have always done it at a self-brewing facility, however, and they keep closing. Must not be a very profitable business.

[Hoblit]

qotd: No. I had a friend that used to make watermelon wine... but usually because he couldn't wait long enough for it to be liquor.

I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. It sucks.

[HeuristicsInc]

I made beer a couple of times, twice I think. One I can't remember, but the second was a Scottish Ale. Then I made wine once. It was a Chilean Merlot. Nice stuff. I have been wanting to do both again, but I'm trying to put a hold on new projects until after GOM + SFNYC are done.
-bill

[Spud]

I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. It sucks.

Actually, it bites. Being thirsty sucks.

[Hoblit]

I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. It sucks.

Actually, it bites. Being thirsty sucks.

If the hunger wasn't making me so irritable I would have thought that was funny.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. It sucks.

Are sunflower seeds allowed? I love'um, and I find that popping a half dozen at a time in my mouth and pouching them in my cheek, then grabbing them one at a time, shelling and spitting the shell, then eating the reward, is a great way to occupy your mind, increase your mouthle skills and hold your appetite at bay. Of course I'm outside all the time, so if you are a desk job guy, you'll have to use a finger shell removal technique.
I just found a new brand that I really like. Jim Beam now has sunflower seeds. Three different flavorers, but I like the jalapeno flavor. They soak them in Jim Beam bourbon before drying them. Very interesting flavor.

[Hoblit]

I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. It sucks.

Are sunflower seeds allowed? ...if you are a desk job guy, you'll have to use a finger shell removal technique.
I just found a new brand that I really like. Jim Beam now has sunflower seeds. Three different flavorers, but I like the jalapeno flavor. They soak them in Jim Beam bourbon before drying them. Very interesting flavor.

Desk monkey here. That I'm not crazy about sunflower seeds, they're alright but not really my thing.

The soaked and dried ones sound very caloric.

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm just drinking a lot of coffee but I even have to stop that by 4pm so I don't stay up all night.

The good thing: I'm very determined.

[Caravan Ray]

Back in my poor student days, a mate and me experimented with trying to inexpensive but tasty beer substitutes. We noticed that pineapple juice was extremely cheap when bought in large quantities - so we got about 10 litres of it, chucked in some yeast and let it ferment...and hey presto! Sparkling Pineapple Beer!

At first it was quite unpleasant, sort of like fizzy vinegar - but when left to mature for about 2 months, it become merely not very nice, but drinkable if you were desperate (which we usually were). So I guess that was a success. The best bit was the little labels we made for it. We called it Golden Shower.

[HeuristicsInc]

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm just drinking a lot of coffee but I even have to stop that by 4pm so I don't stay up all night.

Try tea? Has less caffeine, or perhaps none if you go herbal. I am drinking tea right now.
-bill

[roymond]

QotD: made wine a few times. Eldeberry, celery, quinc, something else. Also grew stuff, but while home-grown it wasn't home-brew. Ended up cooking most of the rewards since it went down easier as a brownie.

[Billy's Little Trip]

Ive made beer for 7 or 8 years now. It started with a little kit I got as a gift, then like most things I do, I became obsessed with it to make the perfect beer. I can say that the beer I make now is much better than when I started.

Cool label, Spud! I need to get a pic of one of mine. It has my Family crest with a skull and flames. I call it Dienst Saft, German for Dienst Juice. Dienst is my last name. But Dienst actually translates to service, so its really service juice, lol.

[sausage boy]

The best bit was the little labels we made for it. We called it Golden Shower.

I put it to you that you make some more golden shower and send me some. It sounds like an excellent and worthy endeavor. You should have applied for government funding!

Never made beer myself, though I have toyed with the idea now and again. A mate of mine started making beer (possibly at around the same age, and for the same reason as Caravan Ray) but his was woeful. Way too much sugar in it, so it had too much fizz. Take two mouth fulls, and your stomach was full of gas, you couldn't eat or drink anything for hours afterward.

[fluffy]

qotd: I've made homebrewed root beer and ginger ale, which TECHNICALLY aren't booze, BUT they contain trace amounts of alcohol. For whatever that's worth.

drc: Finished up another major chunk of work today, with perfect timing since next week I'm going to CES so I'm glad to not leave anything half-finished before another extended break from actually getting anything useful done.

[jimtyrrell]

Ooh, that's a really good idea. My boys would love to make a batch of ginger ale.

[fluffy]

Ginger ale is extremely easy to make and also easy to get the ingredients for. Root beer is also easy to make, although it takes longer to ferment and the ingredients are a bit harder to come by (you can get root beer extract at brewing suppliers or by mail-order, or you can try to try sassafras root and I have no idea where one would go about getting that).

[Reist]

QOTD: Never considered it ... could be fun. It could also end pretty badly, but when has that stopped me?

[Billy's Little Trip]

you can try to try sassafras root and I have no idea where one would go about getting that).

When I was a kid in Ohio, we would find sassafras in the forests. We would make tea from the roots. It was pretty good and tasted like flat root beer.
Id like to try making ginger beer someday.

[Caravan Ray]

I used to make ginger beer a lot back in my student days. It came in a kit - and if you added extra sugar you could make it really alcoholic. So you could get really pissed - while at the same time alleviating motion sickness. In theory.

I also made a lot of home brew beer when I lived in Kiribati, because real beer was sometimes hard to come by. If the supply ships were late, the country sometimes ran out of beer. The locals drank kaokioki, which is the sap drained out of a coconut tree left to ferment in the sun for a few days. Lovely stuff.

Best tip for home brewing - don't use glass beer bottles - use plastic P.E.T soft drink bottles. The bottles swell up from the pressure of the in-bottle fermentation and form a really tight seal at the lid. I never had one burst or split. Heaps easier than trying to bang caps on beer bottles with a hammer.

[Hoblit]

you can try to try sassafras root and I have no idea where one would go about getting that).

When I was a kid in Ohio, we would find sassafras in the forests. We would make tea from the roots. It was pretty good and tasted like flat root beer.
Id like to try making ginger beer someday.

Same here, you can find sassafras root in Georgia as well. We'd bring it home to our mammas and they would boil it up.

[anti-m]

Not that it has stopped me from consuming it -- but the US FDA has determined that sassafras is "mildly carcinogenic." Make of that what you will.

The only booze I've ever made that yielded acceptable results is hard cider. If you've never done it, I really recommend it! It's delicious!

The only tricky part is getting your hands on unpasteurized / unpreserved apple cider. Your best bet is to go to an orchard in the fall where they press their own apples.

Here's the very unprofessional way in which I make cider:

1. Loosen the cap on the jug of cider so that it allows some air to escape (otherwise you'll have a messy explosion!)

2. Let the jug sit in a dark, cool place. Not the fridge -- that's too cold. Try a basement. No need to add yeast -- the apples should have natural wild yeast on 'em already. If you want to make sure you've got some yeasty beasties in there, drop a couple raisins in.

3. Wait.
I seem to remember it taking about two weeks. You don't want to wait TOO long, or you'll get vinegar!

There are many more complicated / professional recipes out there, likely due to the fact that it is almost impossible to come by unpreserved/unpasteurized cider out there -- but this one works, if you can get the real deal!

[Billy's Little Trip]

I've had hard cider, but I've never made it. Again, in Ohio, apples are plentiful and hard cider was an annual thing.

But thinking of what you said about naked apple juice, I have a juicer that I used quite often, but I've never made apple juice. I make vegetable juice on a regular, couple times a week, bases. I like to drink and party, so my body tells me when I need to cleans. I'll try the apple juice.