WTF Did I Make?!

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HIM_Tattoos

HIM_Tattoos

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So I wasn't to certain on what category this would fall under considering it's not really a beer but uses the ingrediants, not a wine but isn't carbonated, and not a mead because there is no honey.

I'm sure this has been posted but searching returned no result so here it is.

1 pound Ale Grains
4 pounds sugar
1 package of brewers yeast
4 gallons of water


What the hell is it? Just thought of it on a whim but I have no idea how it will taste, I know it won't be all that strong unless I still it but dont have a still so that does me no good. What is it and how will it taste?

Any suggestions on bottling?
 
I think I'd call it "cheap nasty hooch", or maybe "cheap nasty hooch with some grain in it" if you want to make it sound a little better...
 
the_Roqk said:
That almost looks like dorm hooch! Sorry, but why not try and find a brewing software and input your recipe so that you'll get an idea of what it is you're looking to make. Here's a supposedly free one. Try the link and see what you get.
http://www.usermode.org/code.html
Click to expand...

Didn't know such a thing existed.
I'm still very new so I figuired I would experiment alittle. Any suggestions on what to do to it to save alittle?
 
I believe that would be termed "hooch".

Out of curiosity, can you describe your process (ie. what did you do with the ale grain)?
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Didn't know such a thing existed.
I'm still very new so I figuired I would experiment alittle. Any suggestions on what to do to it to save alittle?
Click to expand...

What are you trying to save? The hooch or the recipe? Try downloading the qbrew and see what you can come up with. If you are new to brewing then why not get a kit and try your hand at a tried and true recipe. Atleast you'll be making something that's gonna taste like beer.
 
magno said:
I believe that would be termed "hooch".

Out of curiosity, can you describe your process (ie. what did you do with the ale grain)?
Click to expand...

Exact process:

Santized everything
put one pound of grains in muslin bag and crushed (6 row btw)
started yeast
mixed 4 pounds of granulated sugar with 4 gallons of water
added muslin bag
stirred to ensure that sugar was well dissolved
added yeast
currently fermenting

I got the idea from what would be a moonshine recipe but I changed it alittle.
 
the_Roqk said:
What are you trying to save? The hooch or the recipe? Try downloading the qbrew and see what you can come up with. If you are new to brewing then why not get a kit and try your hand at a tried and true recipe. Atleast you'll be making something that's gonna taste like beer.
Click to expand...

Yeah I got the brew program and it's kind of confusing currently I will work with it and learn. I have a full kit but I'd like to experience more than beer so i figured I'd give low grade liquer a try so this was my first shot.
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Exact process:

Santized everything
put one pound of grains in muslin bag and crushed (6 row btw)
started yeast
mixed 4 pounds of granulated sugar with 4 gallons of water
added muslin bag
stirred to ensure that sugar was well dissolved
added yeast
currently fermenting

I got the idea from what would be a moonshine recipe but I changed it alittle.
Click to expand...


OMFG!

Look lad! You need to read and stop looking at videos! READ, READ, READ, READ!!!!

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
So the only thing I left out was hops...

It didn't have anything to do with a video....

I fail to see how this is any different than a beer with no hops and added sugar.
Click to expand...

Look, there are peoples on this forum that will work you over because of what you posted. My suggestion from what your "recipe" stated, is to read. John Palmer is an excellent source. His book will give you the "CORRECT" knowledge on how to properly brew a fermentable beer. From what I saw of your recipe and the way you mixed it together shows to me and some others that you need to "read" up on the proper technique to producing real beer. I'm not trying to be difficult. But you need to read to first understand the theory and practice. After that it's all good!
 
the_Roqk said:
Look, there are peoples on this forum that will work you over because of what you posted. My suggestion from what your "recipe" stated, is to read. John Palmer is an excellent source. His book will give you the "CORRECT knowledge on how to properly brew a fermentable beer. From what I saw of your recipe and the way you mixed it together shows to me and some others that you need to "read" up on the proper technique to producing real beer. I'm not trying to be difficult. But you need to read to first understand the theory and practice. After that it's all good!
Click to expand...

Right on, I hear you about reading up and I plan on it I am reading right now. Not to worried about "people working me over" cause if they are *****ey enough to sit here and bash me for trying thats pretty weak. I gave it a shot, its not beer nor do I intend it to be. We'll see how it turns out. Soon as I buy a 5 gallon pot I have a stout kit just waiting to be made but until then this experiment will be nothing but a learning experience, which is all I intended it to be I simply came to the forum for a little insight on how it may taste or what exactly to call.
 
Good to hear that you are reading. It will make the a world of difference. Just be patient and tune in to the HBT and you will learn a great deal here. I will tell you that the more you read the better you will be. Good luck and welcome to HBT!
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Right on, I hear you about reading up and I plan on it I am reading right now. Not to worried about "people working me over" cause if they are *****ey enough to sit here and bash me for trying thats pretty weak. I gave it a shot, its not beer nor do I intend it to be. We'll see how it turns out. Soon as I buy a 5 gallon pot I have a stout kit just waiting to be made but until then this experiment will be nothing but a learning experience, which is all I intended it to be I simply came to the forum for a little insight on how it may taste or what exactly to call.
Click to expand...

It'll taste like crap. Not even close to beer. Not wine either. Maybe try drinking it, and posting again, when you turn 21?
 
C'mon Yoop, take him seriously. He's the type of personality that jumps right in and gets his hands dirty when he's excited about something. Nothing wrong with that at all.

HIM_Tattoos said:
Exact process:

Santized everything
put one pound of grains in muslin bag and crushed (6 row btw)
started yeast
mixed 4 pounds of granulated sugar with 4 gallons of water
added muslin bag
stirred to ensure that sugar was well dissolved
added yeast
currently fermenting
Click to expand...

You also left out the mash and the boil, which are absolutely essential. Yeast eat sugar, and excrete alcohol and CO2 gas. The grains have only starches in them, until enzymes to convert those starches into sugars. So I bet the only thing the yeast are eating now is the sugar you added to the mix. Yeast will adapt to whatever type of sugar they're eating, so if you feed them only the granulated sugar they're going to produce only a nasty type of taste. They need the full profile of varied sugars which comes from malted grains properly mashed to create the full flavor profile of beer.
 
Thalon said:
C'mon Yoop, take him seriously. He's the type of personality that jumps right in and gets his hands dirty when he's excited about something. Nothing wrong with that at all.



You also left out the mash and the boil, which are absolutely essential. Yeast eat sugar, and excrete alcohol and CO2 gas. The grains have only starches in them, until enzymes to convert those starches into sugars. So I bet the only thing the yeast are eating now is the sugar you added to the mix. Yeast will adapt to whatever type of sugar they're eating, so if you feed them only the granulated sugar they're going to produce only a nasty type of taste. They need the full profile of varied sugars which comes from malted grains properly mashed to create the full flavor profile of beer.
Click to expand...

To late to remove and boil?
 
It was way too late when you when 4-1 sugar to grain (that's without mentioning that it's 4-0 because you're getting no sugars from the grain). Let alone after pitching yeast.

Save it. Drink it. It will remind you of how stupid the idea was and you'll never do it again.

It's like catching a kid smoking - you make them smoke the whole pack until they puke and then watch them run away from cigarette smoke for the rest of their life.
 
Thalon said:
Yeah. Yeast will die off at about 120*F.
Click to expand...

But I don't need to boil the entire thing just the bag and add more water right?

what about adding new yeast after?

Take it easy guys super newb here. (obviously)
 
:off: ...kind of...Anyone have that link to the YouTube video of that guy that made his own homebrew with sugar and water and bread yeast? This thread reminded me of it and I couldn't find it...had a chuckle thinking about it though.
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
But I don't need to boil the entire thing just the bag and add more water right?

what about adding new yeast after?

Take it easy guys super newb here. (obviously)
Click to expand...

I'm tryin! :fro: But you've already ruined this grain by soaking it for as long as it's been. This one's a goner.

Brewing with all raw materials is the most advanced method of brewing there is. You have to prepare the ingredients just right (for example, exactly how finely the grain is crushed is extremely important), get them to the right temperature with the right ratio of water to grain, hold that temperature steady within 1-2*F for over an hour, rinse the grains with just enough water at just the right rate, boil that runoff water for another hour adding the hops at the right time, and cool it as fast as you can. Then you could pitch yeast and ferment it into beer.

It's MUCH easier to get into brewing by starting out with concentrate, called Malt Extract. You skip all the grain stuff and just dissolve some extract in the water and boil with the hops. There's PLENTY to learn just to make that simple procedure turn out good beer.

It's taken me almost a year of brewing with extracts and countless hours of reading books and lurking in the forums here to get to the point where I just did my first all-grain brew this past weekend. It's like conducting an orchestra at times - you have a lot of factors that have to work together just right in order for it to even come out presentable, let alone turn out good.

http://www.howtobrew.com

Awesome online resource on brewing.
 
To be honest, this is something I would have tried way back when and didn't know any better. I think he's honestly trying to make some beer, but diving into it without knowing the subtleties and complex process to making some great beer.

I looked at your post history, and you have a lot of enthusiasm, but not a lot of experience brewing. Honestly, this batch is going to taste like potatoes and bread soaked in sugar and everclear. In the recipe database there's tons of super-easy recipes. Heck, I even made some welch's peach wine out of 100% concentrate and wine yeast for fits and shiggles and it turned out great!

Now, if you're the kind of person that really likes to dive in and experiment instead of reading theory from a book, I strongly suggest you get a brewing buddy, or find someone in your area to help you (like posting an ad on craigslist). Many brewers have this sickness that compels us to want others to learn to brew beer too, and asking around or finding a local homebrew club can bring you a wealth of information.
 
Thalon said:
I'm tryin! :fro: But you've already ruined this grain by soaking it for as long as it's been. This one's a goner.

Brewing with all raw materials is the most advanced method of brewing there is. You have to prepare the ingredients just right (for example, exactly how finely the grain is crushed is extremely important), get them to the right temperature with the right ratio of water to grain, hold that temperature steady within 1-2*F for over an hour, rinse the grains with just enough water at just the right rate, boil that runoff water for another hour adding the hops at the right time, and cool it as fast as you can. Then you could pitch yeast and ferment it into beer.

It's MUCH easier to get into brewing by starting out with concentrate, called Malt Extract. You skip all the grain stuff and just dissolve some extract in the water and boil with the hops. There's PLENTY to learn just to make that simple procedure turn out good beer.

It's taken me almost a year of brewing with extracts and countless hours of reading books and lurking in the forums here to get to the point where I just did my first all-grain brew this past weekend. It's like conducting an orchestra at times - you have a lot of factors that have to work together just right in order for it to even come out presentable, let alone turn out good.

http://www.howtobrew.com

Awesome online resource on brewing.
Click to expand...

Thalon, thank you for providing info instead of **** comments. I have brewed with extracts before I have been for about 8 months now. (Mr. Beer) So I know the basics but didn't realize that I needed to boil the grains to extract the enzymes which make sense now. I will allow it to ferment and see what happens post the results (not good I'm sure) just so you guys know how bad it is and then start over. THank you again.
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Thalon, thank you for providing info instead of **** comments. I have brewed with extracts before I have been for about 8 months now. (Mr. Beer) So I know the basics but didn't realize that I needed to boil the grains to extract the enzymes which make sense now. I will allow it to ferment and see what happens post the results (not good I'm sure) just so you guys know how bad it is and then start over. THank you again.
Click to expand...

Uh, no. Don't boil the grains. Steep them at around 150 - 155 degrees F.

You know, don't bother with that last batch. Just give it another go and chalk that one up to experience. Don't waste your time. We already know how bad it will be and now you do too.

You've probably been doing those pre-hopped extract kits that tell you to add dextrose (corn sugar) to the mix. Take it a step further and buy unhopped extract, hops, and steeping grains. Don't use any sugar at all. If you get all your fermentables from the malt, you'll have a better brew and you'll be one step closer to Jedi brewing.

Read the entire How to Brew link and good luck. :mug:
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Thalon, thank you for providing info instead of **** comments. I have brewed with extracts before I have been for about 8 months now. (Mr. Beer) So I know the basics but didn't realize that I needed to boil the grains to extract the enzymes which make sense now. I will allow it to ferment and see what happens post the results (not good I'm sure) just so you guys know how bad it is and then start over. THank you again.
Click to expand...

Well actually the part where you hold the temp for an hour is where the starches get converted into sugars... don't let the grains get above 170*F or you'll extract tannins (lip-puckering taste) from the husks. :cross:

The Mr. Beer kits are a no-boil kit, where they have already done the boil part (including hops) for you. The next step up from there is to do what's commonly called a Partial Boil, meaning you boil about 1.5-2.5 gallons on your stove, and top off the rest of the 5-gallon batch with water after the boil. (Virtually all extract recipe kits from homebrew supply stores are going to be formulated for 5 gallon batch size.) The kit will come with instructions on exactly what to do.

Here's a few links to online homebrew suppliers:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com
http://www.austinhomebrew.com
http://www.northernbrewer.com
http://www.morebeer.com

I heartily endorse the brewing buddy idea! :tank:
 
Fingers said:
Uh, no. Don't boil the grains. Steep them at around 150 - 155 degrees F.
Click to expand...

I like to boil mine.:p
DSCF0301.jpg
 
That was my point- I'm usually a very nice person and love newbies. But I don't give how to brew advice to underage people who ask about their hooch.

There are plenty of places on the internet for hooch making. This is not one of them. Anyone can read this board and find information. I've even posted my Welch's grape juice recipe, which is as simple as it gets and actually tastes good! But I'm not going to encourage posting hooch questions from underage people.
 
Banned for a year. No underage kids here, not unless they can convince me that they live somewhere where drinking under 21 is legal. This kid is lives in the U.S.
 
I didn't realize he was underage. Now I look like a fool for helping him. So in the experience of all you forum old-timers, the only people asking questions about hooch are underage, because if you're old enough to drink then in all likelihood you'll want to brew it correctly? Anyone can lie on their public profile age field, this guy just chose not to.
 
Well, it has been my experience that it's the young ones who are trying to make "free" booze because they can't buy it. I've actually had a 16 year old PM me his cell phone number because he wasn't allowed to post! (He must have signed up with a different ID and sent me the PM).

I knew he was 20, but assumed he was in Canada or somewhere where he would be legal.
 
Thalon said:
I didn't realize he was underage. Now I look like a fool for helping him. So in the experience of all you forum old-timers, the only people asking questions about hooch are underage, because if you're old enough to drink then in all likelihood you'll want to brew it correctly? Anyone can lie on their public profile age field, this guy just chose not to.
Click to expand...

If someone's stupid enough to not lie, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. But honestly, 99.9% of all "hooch" posts are by people that have been identified as underage. It doesn't take a mad genius to figure out why....
 
Well, I saw his profile and the only advice that I gave him was that if he wanted to learn the art and hobby was to read, read, read, read. I knew all along that he was making "hooch". But to try and properly educate the lad he needs to hit the books. I'm sure there are peoples here that started out at an early age before they turned 21, and read up on the theory and practice of making beer. If he was enthusiastic about this then he needs to take advice and "read".

Just my $.02 worth for now.
 

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