Super Yeast Alcopops

I like to live like a student, and as a result am thinking of knocking up some no nonsence falling over liquid. Here is my plan...
I have Alcotek turbo yeast and 6kg of sugar.

Do I add the flavour (Vimto concentrate) in with the brew, or after as I am bottling. it all up ?

I understand that some of you on here are all but professionals but I'm not in this for the professionalism, more for the fun and cheap booze, has anyone else used this yeast, got any advice ?!

mileswilliams said:

I like to live like a student, and as a result am thinking of knocking up some no nonsence falling over liquid. Here is my plan...
I have Alcotek turbo yeast and 6kg of sugar.

Do I add the flavour (Vimto concentrate) in with the brew, or after as I am bottling. it all up ?

I understand that some of you on here are all but professionals but I'm not in this for the professionalism, more for the fun and cheap booze, has anyone else used this yeast, got any advice ?!

Click to expand...

I googled that vimto stuff. It sounds like you might want to put it in the fermenter due to the fact that it has a bunch of sugar in it. If you add it when you bottle, the added sugar will ferment even more and your bottles could explode due to the pressure of the carbon dioxide that the yeast will generate.

You will have to add some sugar to your hooch when you bottle it if you want the stuff to be carbonated when you drink it, but the amount of sugar in the vimto might be too much.

-walker

mileswilliams said:

I like to live like a student, and as a result am thinking of knocking up some no nonsence falling over liquid. Here is my plan...
I have Alcotek turbo yeast and 6kg of sugar.

Do I add the flavour (Vimto concentrate) in with the brew, or after as I am bottling. it all up ?

I understand that some of you on here are all but professionals but I'm not in this for the professionalism, more for the fun and cheap booze, has anyone else used this yeast, got any advice ?!

Click to expand...

Why?

I hope that I am raising my kids to respect alcoholic beverages - not abuse them. Alcohol is enjoyable, but only when it is a part of a whole complex array of flavors in a given beverage. I see brewing as an art form in which the brewer creates a work that is enjoyable in terms of both its flavor and effect. When I see posts like this, I get a dirty feeling about my hobby. When I see helpful replies from knowledgable homebrewers, I get an even dirtier feeling.

Unfortunately, I have noticed that this board is becoming very much a place where young folks can get information about making alcohol for the purpose of getting . While I am not a snobby elitist, I hate to see this forum used this way. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons that I have not yet chosen to contribute $$$ and become a paying member here. I think that we, as homebrewers, have at least a bit of responsibility in terms of ensuring that our noble hobby retains its nobility. Otherwise, we become a bunch of drunks cranking out cheap liquor and helping the many underage trolls do the same thing.

Okay . . . lecture over . . . [steps down from soapbox] . . . carry on.

I'm here to ask and answer questions... not to judge.

Whether or not I answer his questions, he already knows that puttng sugar in water with yeast will produce alcohol. Pandora's Box has already been opened. He's GOING to make alcohol.

Now... the reason I responded was to help keep him safe. If he added that concentrate before bottling, he could have a load of bottle bombs and someone could get seriously hurt.

Like you, I respect this hobby and see it as an artform rather than a way to get hammered for cheap, but to refuse to answer a question because someone else doesn't see the hobby the same way as you absolutely DOES make you an elitist, whether you want to admit it or not.

I mean no ill will toward you sonvolt. Just stating my position, the same as you did.

-walker

Walker-san said:

I mean no ill will toward you sonvolt. Just stating my position, the same as you did.

-walker

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Fair enough!

I just see a lot of folks I meet make a certain face when they find that I am a homebrewer - you know the one . . . that implies you have alcohol problems if you are investing time and money to make it at home. I think that unlike wine-makers, we will always suffer from a certain stereotype if we let ourselves.

Let's face it - this guy is an underaged kid looking to get drunk on the sly. Would you sell an underage kid booze? I wouldn't. Nor would I want my kid making cheap liquor in my guest room closet.

Oh well - I guess that I am just trying to think of the big picture here.

Incidentally, makingitgood just fessed up to his real age on another thread... here's a shocker, 15.

Sunvolt, while I respect what you are saying, I don't think that's reason to *not* support the site. My $15 is in transist to TxBrew right now because it has been worth a lot more than that in terms of making my beer better, and because the people here are damn cool and it's a good place to hang out.

I'm not underage, but I am someone that likes to have house parties, I could buy loads of alcohol but nothing is cheap in the UK. So, I'm going to make my own. There is loads of places that I can get the information I need or I could just experiment. I thought I would ask on here as I have had really informative answers. I understand what you are saying, but there is times in everyones life when getting drunk, making a fool of yourself and falling over is preferable to sipping a fine wine. I'm in that stage at the moment, when I feel like educating my taste buds, I will step up the brewing a notch in terms of difficulty. In the meantime, I'll keep posting the odd question on here, and you can tut if you want, but I think that the odd question like mine shouldn't put you off subscribing to what seems to be a very informative and interesting site. My 2 pence worth.

Thanks for the advice about the vimto, can't belive you don't have it over there, lovely stuff.

makingitgood just fessed up to his real age on another thread... here's a shocker, 15.

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That old? I am shocked. I had him figured for 12 or so from the way he writes.

Making very high ABV brews isn't easy. Making ones that are drinkable even tougher. Malts lack the residual sugars and tannins (we hope) that mask the alcohol flavors in wine. So, most homebrewers "don't go there".

Super yeasts and distiller's yeasts can certainly hit the 18-22% range. Your biggest problem will be keeping the ferment cool. Rather than adding all of the sugar at once, split it in thirds and add it in intervals of a week. And never try to do more than 20L at a time.

Vimto sounds like a real maggot gagger, but to each his own. It shouldn't have any trouble masking the fusel alcohols distiller yeasts produce. Add it just before bottling and you can adjust it to "taste". Since it has a fair amount of sugar in it, chill well after bottling or wrap them in a blast shield.

mileswilliams said:

...nothing is cheap in the UK. So, I'm going to make my own. There is loads of places that I can get the information I need or I could just experiment...

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I'm not sending you away, but see if you have a local CAMRA club in your city that you could join.