hootch.....

[the_whingnut]

The bootlegger's bible will cover a lot of stuff and has some serious recipes. The biggest thing to remember is clean everything before and after and don't forget to sanitize your stuff. You can use store bought juice to make wine. You just need to research the juice to select the right kind. Making your own whiskey is not illegal completely. There are very strict laws involved but not illegal to make some for personal consumption. You can not sell it that's illegal. Check your local laws and go from there, federal law allows for 100 gallons a year per household for personal use. State and Commonwealth laws are the ones you really need to check. Virginia its illegal to own any distillation device. Just check your local laws and see what you can do. You might be surprised what you find. Jacking falls under a lot of distillation laws.

 

[~gd]

The bootlegger's bible will cover a lot of stuff and has some serious recipes. The biggest thing to remember is clean everything before and after and don't forget to sanitize your stuff. You can use store bought juice to make wine. You just need to research the juice to select the right kind. Making your own whiskey is not illegal completely. There are very strict laws involved but not illegal to make some for personal consumption. You can not sell it that's illegal. Check your local laws and go from there, federal law allows for 100 gallons a year per household for personal use. State and Commonwealth laws are the ones you really need to check. Virginia its illegal to own any distillation device. Just check your local laws and see what you can do. You might be surprised what you find. Jacking falls under a lot of distillation laws.

Whingnut at least you had the good sense to advise checking local laws [Virgina - it is NOT illegal to own any distillation device (if it was they would be back in the dark ages chemically) distilling devices must be registered with the state and availablle for inspection at any time registered=legal This is also Federal law but is rarely enforced] The federal rule you mentioned allowes FERMENTED beverages [Beer and Wine] but not "spirits" but you are right that is Federa law but State or Tribal laws can be more restrctive even on fermented goods The law got all screwed up by Prohibition and it's repeal. I used to get audited by the ATF and had to account for every gill of ahcohol used, spilled whatever. and that was on alcohol that had been 'Denatured' [chemicals added to make it unsuitable for beverage usage.~gd

 

[k15n1]

sounds very interesting britesea...hadn't heard of that....But I saw a video on utube...where they froze wine...then spun it in a lettuce dryer...and the small amounts left are liquor....would be so cool to have a peek at those farm journals...
I also have a large jar with fruit, and completely cover with sugar, store in a dark place for 6 months...and you are supposed to have a brandy type liquid...mine won't be ready till February, so cant say if it works...

k15n1...I know the laws change...for folks using a distiller...but really would be surprised, and apaled if it applied to natural ingenuity, shouldn't be a crime to remove ice...but who knows...have heard stranger things..,,

Adding sugar gives the possibility of higher ABV but it's not gaurantee. Not all yeasts can survive in high alcohol so you might end up with a sweet alcoholic beverage. I mean, the yeast may not be able to make all of the sugar into alcohol before they die. Most yeasts I've worked with are good up to 10-12% ABV. There's a Champaign type of yeast that's good well over 15% ABV but I doubt that pioneers had access to that strain. To make true brandy, distillation is required. Or freezing.

As usual, GD has a point. Traditional apple jack generally wasn't very strong because you need super low temps to freeze out the remaining water as it gets more concentrated. Alcohol-based thermometers are used in very cold parts of the world and can measure down to -70 oC [1]. Now, that's for almost 100% ethanol, so in the case of cider, a much more moderate temperature will freeze the solution. I have read that the johny-appleseed-trees of the pioneer days were just not very sweet and only produced low-proof cider---perhaps only a few percent. I'd be surprised if they got more than 12% ABV after freezing several times. For reference, wine is in that same range, while beer is 3-5%


1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_thermometer

 

[Britesea]

I read an interesting anecdote about the origin of the name "eau de vie". It seems a noble lady from the Dark Ages died and it was suspected that she was poisoned (in those days, anything that caused you to die without obvious symptoms, like pock marks or wounds etc, was a suspected poisoning). They performed an autopsy and found that she had a very large tapeworm that was still alive. Supposedly they tried to kill it and the only thing that killed it was some (probably frozen) liquor. They figured that she died from the tape worm, and if she had drunk some of the liquor it would have killed the worm, so they named it "eau de vie" or "water of life". Of course, these are the same peoples that thought you could get rid of warts by burying a bottle of urine at a crossroads for 3 weeks, then digging it back up and drinking it

 

[k15n1]

Great story. Disturbing and entertaining at the same time