Cheap Booze!

[torc]

Good, I knew that would get your undivided attention.
With all this talk of booze, I thought I'd make my own contribution to the forum, http://www.spikeyourjuice.com/.
It's probably like the stuff they make in prison. Enjoy.
Happy trails...torc.

 

[Matt.S]

Interesting but there's a cheaper ways of making booze even if you're buying all the ingrediants. My first batch of cider was Scummerfield own-brand apple juice, cane sugar and yeast. My next batch will use Sainsbury's Basics juice (even cheaper) and I'll probably try pitching it with bread yeast rather than pay for cider yeast.

 

[EdS]

Matt - just buy some bottled conditoined beer and use the yeast from that, it will be better than bread yeast and you get to drink the beer.

 

[gregorach]

How much!? A tenner for six wee packets of yeast (probably only equivalent to 1 "proper" pack of yeast), a bung, and airlock, and some labels? What a rip-off! Even if it is in US dollars...

Matt, what you're making there is known in the trade as "turbo cider". Most people use the cheapest juice they can possibly find, and bread yeast. Sounds nasty to me, but then I'm not much of a cider fan at the best of times....

 

[Matt.S]

Matt - just buy some bottled conditoined beer and use the yeast from that, it will be better than bread yeast and you get to drink the beer.

Brilliant idea! Could I use the sediment from the bottom of the demi for the subsequent batch when I rack it?

Matt, what you're making there is known in the trade as "turbo cider". Most people use the cheapest juice they can possibly find, and bread yeast. Sounds nasty to me, but then I'm not much of a cider fan at the best of times....

I used Young's cider yeast first time round -- one gallon with pectolase and one without, both with added sugar (to OG 1044). It was in fact very tasty -- dry, slightly carbonated and rather potent. No complaints from my rather discerning cider-drinking mates when we polished off of a gallon in a couple hours (along with many other beverages).

 

[gregorach]

Brilliant idea! Could I use the sediment from the bottom of the demi for the subsequent batch when I rack it?

Provided it's clean (which it should be) then yes, you can. C J Berry claims to have kept the same batch of beer yeast going for several years with this technique, brewing once a week (although I wouldn't entirely recommend going that far). You want to mess with it as little as possible to minimise the risk of infection.

 

[EdS]

Matt-- defiantely and over time it with "evolve" into a stain better able to cope with your brew.

That is pretty much what breweries do to get there strains specific to each beer.

Or just buy soem high alcohol tollerant wine yeat - even cheaper than a bottle of beer.

 

[gregorach]

That is pretty much what breweries do to get there strains specific to each beer.

Well, what they did, anyway... And they acid wash to control bacterial contamination, which is the big issue with this technique. And these days, they all keep reference cultures for their strains in case they encounter undesirable mutations - which is the other risk. AFAIK, current practice in most breweries is not to re-pitch the same yeast more than 10 times, even with acid washing.

 

[stovie]

As you may be aware, just made 120 gallons of cider...didn't cost a penny O.G. 1060+

there's a glut of apples this year, get out and scrump...

 

[badgeringtim]

We have some beer yeast which my dad has had for well over 30 years - still works fine, keep in in the fridge ebtween brews and it can stay there for months, just as some water and a bit of sugar to get it going the day before you want to use it and put it somewhere warm

Although i tend to use the high content all purpose brewers yeast from wilco's, if you trying to save on money just use less of it - it will still get there just take a few hours longer at the start. if you got the tinyest amount and started it off a few days before you want it it will replicate out fine. will only save you a mater or pennies though!

This year is a good berry year so i have a bit of 'hedgerow' wine on the go - about 5 gallons all told, i find wine is easier than beer to get good results.

 

[British Red]

We really ought to get together for an October fest at some point

 

[gregorach]

We have some beer yeast which my dad has had for well over 30 years - still works fine, keep in in the fridge ebtween brews and it can stay there for months, just as some water and a bit of sugar to get it going the day before you want to use it and put it somewhere warm

This is pretty poor yeast handling practice. It might work (as in "ferment"), but it I guarantee it won't be clean, and it won't be whatever it was when you started. Whatever you do, don't look at it under a microscope! You'll be horrified.

Although i tend to use the high content all purpose brewers yeast from wilco's, if you trying to save on money just use less of it - it will still get there just take a few hours longer at the start. if you got the tinyest amount and started it off a few days before you want it it will replicate out fine. will only save you a mater or pennies though!

Whilst this is theoretically true, assuming that your wort and equipment is perfectly sterile, in practice, it's a terrible idea. Your wort and equipment is not perfectly sterile, or even close to it. It's positively jumping with spoilage organisms (unless you're working in a surgical-grade clean room and run everything through an autoclave). You really need to get the yeast going as quickly as possible in order to mop up the oxygen and start reducing the pH. Even a standard 6g packet of dried brewers yeast is only about half the desired quantity for a 5 gallon brew length. Plus, the number of generations of yeast reproduction it would take to get up to a decent cell count in combination with the osmotic stress the yeast is under at the start of fermentation is likely to result in mutated, unhealthy yeast with leaky cell walls, excreting all sorts of undesirable molecules into your beer.

I regard a lag time (before visible yeast activity) of more than 6 hours to be a bad sign, and I wouldn't pitch less than 11g of dried yeast for a 5 gallon batch. And that's assuming a fairly recent manufacture date for the yeast...

 

[EdS]

Octoberfest - so passe.

How about a Marchfest for spring instead. And some of the autumns brews should be ready.

 

[Petey]

please forgive a somewhat bullish post, i'm known as "gurgeh" over on jimsbeerkit forum.

bread yeast WILL create a very poor quality beverage - to use it is frankly - and here's the bullish bit - stoopid!

another bullish bit: cj berry is renowned for being a total twit - bin that ridiculous load of nonsense and don't look back.

turbo cider can be mase with very pleasing results and you could grow a culture from a beer bottle - too much grief though.

a sachet of safale s-04 or nottingham yeast will set you back under £1.50 and will create an entirely palatable cider, cleanly fermented and will 'drop out' and be drinkable in 10 days.

sorry, just eager to halt the poor reputation of homebrewing - do it right and have the pride of a craftbrewer!

i used to brew a bbl of cider every year!

 

[telwebb]

Petey - would you mind breaking your process down into bite sized chunks for a complete novice? PM if you like - I'd be very grateful.

 

[gregorach]

please forgive a somewhat bullish post, i'm known as "gurgeh" over on jimsbeerkit forum.

Oh, it's you, is it? Never quite got around to registering (well, I sort of half did once, but it's a long story) but I've read a few times...

another bullish bit: cj berry is renowned for being a total twit - bin that ridiculous load of nonsense and don't look back.

Hehehe... Yeah, he's pretty well regarded in wine-making circles, but he's not much of a brewer (to say the least). I only mentioned him to point out that it's theoretically possible.

sorry, just eager to halt the poor reputation of homebrewing - do it right and have the pride of a craftbrewer!

Good man!

(I'm one of the Scottish Craft Brewers. I'm supposed to be writing some articles on yeast storage and propagation, but I haven't quite got around to it yet...)

 

[Petey]

Thank Yeast for that!

I hoped I wouldn't upset you Dunc!

Yep, it's me - I used to run the chelmsford CBA branch, but sold up my 10gallon steel brewery and bought a canoe, hammock, tarp etc etc etc and here I am

Right - TC is a piece of cake, really really easy Telweb:

5 gallons - no tweaks, no mucking about

step one - visit JBK and read up to the minute advice on brewing. A forum with the same sense of respect and decency you get here. worlds premier resource on brewing (and that includes the CBA!!!!)

but to save you some time...

5 gallon bucket with a lid. sanitise with a bleach solution and rinse out with tap water.

20 litres of apple juice straight in. pitch your (NOT BREAD*) yeast in whilst you're doing it - "nottingham" is your best bet.
rest lid on top and leave somewhere warm and where it won't be disturbed - don't peek!

it'll drop down to 1.000 or maybe even 0.998 after about 10 days and notts yeast will drop out rapidly enough that you're drinking it at that time.

bottles or keg? make the decision before you drop below 1.006 and I'll respond to your situation.

seriously though - get on JBK to pursue this... say Gurgeh sent you and send them my best

 

[gregorach]

I hoped I wouldn't upset you Dunc!

Not at all. I'm pretty serious about proper yeast propagation and handling.

 

[Petey]

Not at all. I'm pretty serious about proper yeast propagation and handling.

I used to pop by the Crouch Vale brewery to get my yeast - a pound or so at a time - loved all that stuff.

*** wittered on about yeast for 5 minutes - all deleted, have moved on and this is a bushcraft forum!!! ***

happy brewing chaps

 

[chjo]

Sorry to butt in folks,gonna have a go myself at a bit of home brew whats the best to start with beer or wine partial to both.Any info where to get the best equipment from thanks boys & girls.