Why no /bru/ thread, Veeky Forums? What are some recipes that you have tried and liked? What do you typically use as a sanitizer? I haven't done any beers, but homebrew beer discussion is welcome.
I'm planning on making a mead and was wondering if anyone had had any experience in using brown sugar as opposed to honey and would know what kind of results I could expect. I did read that beer brewers will sometimes add it to increase the alcohol content of their brews, but I just happen to have a lot of the stuff on hand. I was hoping to do that with some backyard peaches, my town used to be orchard back in the day so there are weird semi wild fruit trees all around and the ones in my backyard are mostly like peaches but they might have some apricot or something them, idk but they're better than anything anyone's ever sold me. So yeah, homebrewin' thread.
Why no /bru/ thread, Veeky Forums? What are some recipes that you have tried and liked...
The only homebrewing I've ever done was making a gallon of blackberry wine by fermenting it in the jug the juice it came in. Mixed in a cup of white sugar and winemaker's yeast as directed by some tutorial I found online.Stuck it in my closet for a month with the cap loosened and a plastic bag wrapped around it. The result was sickeningly sweet, but still got me hammered. Will definitely not be adding sugar next time, shit was like liquid candy and barely tasted of alcohol at all.
Sounds decent, I always thought about trying that kind of stuff out as a teen but was always worried that I'd get botulism or something. I've made a couple fruit meads so far with honey, but shits just too spendy. If I'm taking the time on it though, I want it to be better than some storebought juice. I'll let you know how my brown sugar brew comes out, I think that it sounds like the happy medium between cost and quality.
I make mead but haven't got one going at the moment. I've made blackberry, blueberry and pomegranite but never tried peach. I'm not sure I understand your question about substituting sugar. Afaik, mead shouldn't have any added sugars other than the sugars in fruit.
I've got 12 gallons of blueberry wine I started 5 days ago fermenting in my 15 gallon pot. In 7 days I'll transfer it to carboys. I used 32lbs of blueberries and 18lbs of sugar.
>just too spendy
I'm the guy that posted . Try to find a local honey producer. I found a guy that sells me 5 gallons (60lbs) of honey for $145. I usually use 12-15lbs/5 gallon batch and that's pretty damn cheap.
might have some brew threads
I'm still alive, didn't make me sick. I just made sure to clean all the utensils and measuring cups I used with soap, hot water, and rubbing alcohol before using them. Rinse in hot water too. I used some organic blackberry juice that also had some grape and apple juice blended in that I got form Trader Joe's. Stuff even had some fruit pectin in it, so the taste wasn't bad at all through the sugar.
Never made beer but I have made red and white wine with my dad before using filters, a glass keg and some pre-production grapes already destemmed and pressed.
The Reds are usually decent but the whites are almost always shit probably because of the climate.
Have made
>beer
>wine
>cider
>gingerbeer
>various sodas
And that's not counting the food stuff i've fermented (currently on a ferment hotsauce spree)
Currently making
>nonalocholic gingerbeer (aka under .5% alcohol)
>Sumac Soda (same idea as the ginger beer)
and more hotsauce.
Also fixing up an antique fruit press I have
As for teh brown sugar part, go like 1/3rd honey, 2/3rds brown sugar. And pick some really flavorful honey too. I know a lot of cider makers that strengthen their 5 gallon batches with a cup or two of brown sugar, and i've done that before too. It has worked out pretty decently in the past for me.
Also, use champagne yeast. Probably the best/easiest to find.
2lazy to make a new more focused fermenting thread, so I Might as well shit up this one a little
in the fermented hotsauce thread last week someone asked if they could add canned tomatoes for fermenting hotsauce, and I said I would look into that.
And today I sorta am. I have some pickles going, and half an onion and some garlic left over, so I thought I'd try something stupid.