why the anti hooch thread

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shoes45

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what is the deal with the " hooch" threads you guys (moderators) are always squalling about? ive seen it time and again- "no hooch threads" , "closed thread"- ad nausium. do not get me wrong, i am a 30 year brewer, and i strive to make the best product possible. i just dont understand why you feel the need to tell someone their topic is not worthwhile. every one of us HAS made rocket fuel at one time or another, yeah, and we learned that taste and quality are MUCH better than high alcohol.
i would suggest that a slightly more tolerant attitude be used, perhaps it might help hooch makers to see the error of their ways. acually, ive witnessed one Very humerous thread (Thor's thread, i think) that had to do with high alcohol. i dont know of anybody that doesnt like to be entertained.
yeah, yeah, the old "its OUR forum, we can make the rules as we see fit" , thats cool too. hey, dont get me wrong, i love this forum, i learn much, i enjoy this place, but i feel the forum has room for all brewers.
 
every one of us HAS made rocket fuel at one time or another

Let's not open a can of worms by making assumptions about what others are brewing here. Many of us HAVE NOT made rocket fuel and have no desire to. The problem with hooch threads is that it is that the vast majority of hooch posters have been discovered to be underage or do not want any "real" brewing advice. They just want strong, potent alcohol to get smashed on.
 
every one of us HAS made rocket fuel at one time or another

No we haven't... but to better explain, a new "member" shows up and instantly starts talking about making hooch just to get drunk... It is safe to say that most all are under 21. Its just not worth it. I consider homebrewing a priviledge that I don't want to be taken away by encouraging any of that stuff.
 
Let's not open a can of worms by making assumptions about what others are brewing here. Many of us HAVE NOT made rocket fuel and have no desire to. The problem with hooch threads is that it is that the vast majority of hooch posters have been discovered to be underage or do not want any "real" brewing advice. They just want strong, potent alcohol to get smashed on.

+1 "MOST" of them are under age
JJ
 
okay, so you have not made rocket fuel. not even without trying? com'on guys, you've never made a brew that was hoochy, with a burn that would scorch satens throat? then you my friend, are the perfect brewer. really though, i'm not trying to "assume" anything about anybody else, i was just trying to get a handle on the thought prosess that says "no hooch threads",
and then somebody says brewing is a privelige, dont want to lose that privelige, but the forum takes ads for stills. correct me if i'm wrong, disstilling is illegal unless youve got a federal license. and i'm NOT buying into the thought that those guys buying stills are licensed. it sounds to me that people want to keep minors out (which is VERY okay with me) to keep in compliance w/ the law, EXCEPT unless it makes coin from ads. kind of hippocritical if you ask me. yeah, i know, you didnt ask me!
by the way, i AM of age, 47 years old to be exact
 
I'm not going to get into this debate except to point out that the ad content is not controlled by the site admin. It's automatically generated by Google based on the content here.
 
Most of the hooch threads have absolutely nothing to do with brewing. It's not a matter of making a batch that's "hoochy" - it's kids trying to make a semi-drinkable sugar wash. The threads are 0% about the craft and 100% about making something that mom and dad won't find out about. And yes, it's kids - I can't tell you how many times the hooch threads are started by someone who's not even smart enough to lie about their DOB when they register.
 
Most of the hooch threads have absolutely nothing to do with brewing. It's not a matter of making a batch that's "hoochy" - it's kids trying to make a semi-drinkable sugar wash. The threads are 0% about the craft and 100% about making something that mom and dad won't find out about. And yes, it's kids - I can't tell you how many times the hooch threads are started by someone who's not even smart enough to lie about their DOB when they register.

HELLLLLS YA!

The Bird has it nailed!
In my private little world, I appreciate them being locked down just so I don't have to sort through the damn things.
 
I'll say, too, that there have occassionally been hooch-esque threads that have not been killed. I'm thinking of the grocery-beer experients, where people were trying to make a decent "beer" out of stuff they'd buy at the grocery store. This shares a lot in common with most "hooch" threads in that the focus of the latter is on using ingredients that can be purchased without suspicion (sugar, bread yeast, etc.). But, these were interesting experiments that people were doing; the intentions were right.
 
I've never made hooch, or had a desire too. Granted I've only been homebrewing since I was 21 (my kit was a 21st b-day present), but I'm still a young 29. I may have a chance to still make some hooch.

If you are so angry about it, www.hoochtalk.com is available, and you may have a market, but I don't think you have a right to get angry on what is / is not allowed on this forums.

I wouldn't want TX to have to shut down this site because someone sued him because their kid got killed from hoochmaking that was encouraged and taught on this forum. Yup we live in that day an age.
 
okay, so you have not made rocket fuel. not even without trying? com'on guys, you've never made a brew that was hoochy, with a burn that would scorch satens throat? then you my friend, are the perfect brewer.
Never made it, certainly not the perfect brewer. Except for my Wee Heavy, my beers have ranged from under 4% to 4.69% ABV. In my opinion , the math's too easy: you kind'a gotta try to create hooch.

Rick
 
Never made it, certainly not the perfect brewer. Except for my Wee Heavy, my beers have ranged from under 4% to 4.69% ABV. In my opinion , the math's too easy: you kind'a gotta try to create hooch.

Rick

+1

There is a ton of information available to allow one to make decent beer without making hooch.

Have all my beers, wines and meads been successful? NO
Would I call any of them hooch? NO

I do think that the hooch threads should be responded to with some informative responses telling the poster where to go to find information on making good beverages. But we should not in any way encourage making sugar water and yeast beverages with the point to get wasted?

As for the distillation and underage brewers. I may not agree with the current laws but they are the laws and I don't think it is in the best interest of this site to encourage people to disobey the law.

Craig
 
The saying, "Life is too short to drink $hitty beer." Has real meaning with the people on this board.

I don't make super strong ABV brews for getting trashed on... I can swill low ABV fast enough if I want to hammered. That's not my goal in brewing and never has.

Don't get me wrong I like the buzz and the flavor beer. What's the point? Most of us aren't trying to get hammered on the cheap. Its all about making what you like to drink and not paying 3x for it.... There is also an entertainment factor that people often forget about, those being ones who don't brew.

Gotta go stir the mash.... (SAISON)
 
I'll say, too, that there have occassionally been hooch-esque threads that have not been killed. I'm thinking of the grocery-beer experients, where people were trying to make a decent "beer" out of stuff they'd buy at the grocery store. This shares a lot in common with most "hooch" threads in that the focus of the latter is on using ingredients that can be purchased without suspicion (sugar, bread yeast, etc.). But, these were interesting experiments that people were doing; the intentions were right.

Thanks for pointing this out...as one of the participants in the GAP experiment, that indeed WAS the premise, to actually make a decent drink that for all intents and purposes WAS beer...or at least beer like.

We were trying to convert unmodified grains, trying to find a suitable substitute for hops, and to, if possible, avoid using bread yeast but rather bottle harvesting yeast from commercial beers...

It definitely was not about making Pruno, or any hooch, but a fermented grain beverage....
 
I agree with the no hootch policy...

It's a pity however that there is no clear definition of hootch threads. Many of the hard lemonaid recipies can degrade very quickly into hootch making, some however are an attempt at very drinkable, even low abv, beverages (often for the ladies who don't drink beer). Some are attempts are to clone commercial drinks like Mikes hard lemonade, or smirnoff ice. I am attempting to make a lemon / lime flavoured malted hard lemonade.

The reason I point this out is last month a thread got locked because it mentioned the word hootch, and possibly because of the low post count. I don't envy the moderators jobs, particularly with regard to the constant barage of hootch threads but I think the one I'm mentioning was due to a European/US language barrier.

You might see what I mean if you read this thread first:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=72126

Then look at these:
http://www.abcenter.com/Hoopers_HOOCH.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooper's_Hooch

Or try switch the word hootch for "hard lemonaid" in the original post.

Oh and I'll finish with restating that I agree with the no hootch thread policy...
 
I'm far from the perfect brewer, but I can safely say none of my batches have been "hoochy." There has to be a lot of sugar to get that high of an alcohol content. Stick around this site a little while and you'll begin to understand the basics.
 
Tankard, dont let my low posting fool you, i've been lurking on this site for almost a year. as for the basics, i think in the past 30 years of homebrewing, i've kind of picked up the basics. by NO means do i consider myself a master brewer, but i damn sure make a real nice apple wine ( oh, wait, you guys call it that fancy german name, face it guys, its hard cider)
i did not start this thread to begin a confrontation, i really just wanted to know why the censorship.
as to Warped saying i dont have a right to get angry over something, bull crap, plain and simple. i have a RIGHT to get as angry as i want over ANYTHING i want. it dont have to make sense to you or anybody else, as long as some body is not pissing in your cornflakes, they get to say what they want. right to free speach, and all that
again, i did not want this thread to degrade into this, but it just gets my dander up when people with that elitest attitude start censoring other peoples ideas because they dont like them.
i bow out of this thread with appolegies to all i have offended
 
shoes, I don't think you've offended anyone. the_bird gave the rationale as to why we tend to close the threads quickly. You do have the right to get angry, disagree, and even protest. As a privately owned site, we also have the right to censorship. We try to keep it to a minimum. Clearly, we can't please everyone.
 
It's not censorship when quite frankly Distilling in the US is Illegal, and the owner of this thread is an American...It is done quite simply so that this forum, which just like every other beer or wine making forum is most likely monitored by the BATF, doesn't get shut down...

And we'd really not like to get shut down...Don't forget Homebrewing in the US was still illegal in most of our lifetimes....And the mindset of Prohibition hasn't disappeared from the American psyche, it's just gone underground and come out as things like the "sin tax," "healthier lifestyles" and Mother's Against Drunk Driving...Heck homebrewing is still illegal in a handful of states.

So a lot of us; Mods, and others, do some self policing, because we respect and are grateful for TXbrew putting this community together.
 
hey shoes, stick around and get to know us and we'll start to believe you are really 47 with a 30 year brewing experience. As it stands now, you could just as easily be a 17 year old disgruntle kid who's mad because he got called out on making hooch!
 
hey shoes, stick around and get to know us and we'll start to believe you are really 47 with a 30 year brewing experience. As it stands now, you could just as easily be a 17 year old disgruntle kid who's mad because he got called out on making hooch!

:D and he called us elitists. :p
 
Tankard, dont let my low posting fool you, i've been lurking on this site for almost a year. as for the basics, i think in the past 30 years of homebrewing, i've kind of picked up the basics. by NO means do i consider myself a master brewer, but i damn sure make a real nice apple wine ( oh, wait, you guys call it that fancy german name, face it guys, its hard cider)
i did not start this thread to begin a confrontation, i really just wanted to know why the censorship.
as to Warped saying i dont have a right to get angry over something, bull crap, plain and simple. i have a RIGHT to get as angry as i want over ANYTHING i want. it dont have to make sense to you or anybody else, as long as some body is not pissing in your cornflakes, they get to say what they want. right to free speach, and all that
again, i did not want this thread to degrade into this, but it just gets my dander up when people with that elitest attitude start censoring other peoples ideas because they dont like them.
i bow out of this thread with appolegies to all i have offended

For someone as old as you claim to be, you really do come across as a typical angst-filled teenager with posts like these. 47 year olds typically don't bow out of a thread with a "f*** the world!" kind of tantrum, like you just demonstrated.

Bottom line, this site is for homebrewing, not distillation. If the former interests you, stick around. If not, see ya!
 
The reason I point this out is last month a thread got locked because it mentioned the word hootch, and possibly because of the low post count. I don't envy the moderators jobs, particularly with regard to the constant barage of hootch threads but I think the one I'm mentioning was due to a European/US language barrier.

You might see what I mean if you read this thread first:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=72126
Oh man, that's a shame. I remember Hooch - when they first started making alcopops, the lemon-flavored Hooch was the only one I could stomach. That thread certainly does look like a case of cross-cultural misunderstanding, but I guess there's no way the mods would know that. And with no disrespect intended to that poster, I'm not sure missing out on that particular recipe is such a great loss.

I'd just second the thanks-but-no-thanks attitude to (actual) hooch posts on here. There's a phenomenal enthusiasm for making good beer on this site, thanks to which I've learned vast amounts, and make much better beers than I thought were possible. Literally every time I've asked a question on here I've got an answer very quickly. I liken the friendly atmosphere to that of a really good pub, and it's easy to take that for granted. I'd worry that if this place became a favored destination for any random internet hooch-monkey, we'd lose an awful lot. Quite apart from having to wade through endlessly-repeated keyboard-mashing exertions of unhappily sober teenagers, I'd have to find some other site where I could be elitist and censor other people's ideas because I don't like them.
 
Frankly its pretty easy to see when its a shady/underage 'hooch' post, and a total newb brewer that read a Coopers kit and thinks raw white sugar is an integral part of brewing. The latter don't usually get locked.

My first ever brew was apple juice, honey and bread yeast...and was the recipe a guy in the SCA gave me. I was in fact a minor at the time, who didn't drink alcohol despite an unlocked liquor cabinet that was fully stocked. It just intrigued me...the science of it.

P.S. its called Apfelwein, and its a specific recipe. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder sir, and its not doing you any favors.
 
I'd sure miss the eloquent phrasing and near perfect grammar in your posts if you left.

The truth is, I don't think ANYONE that considers themselves HBT regulars has any interest in talking about hooch. That's reason enough to close threads like that down. It's like buying a house in a HOA controlled community. You like the rules because it keeps the riff raff out.
 
Hey, can't we move this thread to the new debate forum? Then we could REALLY say what we think about hooch threads! ;)

I'm interested in the ABV of my beer. I admit it, I want something that I can feel if it's properly balanced. I've experimented a little to get a higher ABV, but soon found that all short cuts are always at the expense of wasting a good ale. There is nothing to be gained from ignoring the excellent advice on this forum. To continue hooch threads would dimininish this valuable resource.
 
Well here's an interesting spin on this....My interest in beer/wine making was spawned by DIY co2 for my aquarium. water sugar and yeast wonderful for the plants. Then I thought I wonder what this stuff tastes like.....so I take a sip, well it tasted lite sugar water. Next batch I mixed up I used apple juice instead of sugar and water, Tasted much better but not good. next thing you know I'm on hbt learning to make beer!

The funniest thing is my beer got me to buy a co2 tank something the aquarium plants couldn't....Thinking back I could have saved a lot of money if I had just bought the co2 tank in the first place

John
 
I've made a few batches that college kids looking for a buzz would probably call 'hooch', but they were all made according to style. A Belgian Dark Strong that's 12.5% abv is not hooch.

6# of table sugar and a can of hopped extract fermented with bread yeast - now that's hooch :D
 
i damn sure make a real nice apple wine ( oh, wait, you guys call it that fancy german name, face it guys, its hard cider)

Must be a VERY experienced brewer to not be able to tell the difference between 3 styles as distinct and different as Apple Wine, Hard Cider, and Apfelwein. I could Identify the difference in my sleep with a half a Jalapeño shoved in each nostril, and Clothespin on my left testicle!
 
Must be a VERY experienced brewer to not be able to tell the difference between 3 styles as distinct and different as Apple Wine, Hard Cider, and Apfelwein. I could Identify the difference in my sleep with a half a Jalapeño shoved in each nostril, and Clothespin on my left testicle!

There's one for the quote thread....as soon as I can stop wincing in pain, from that imagery...Hopefully my balls will drop back down soon...they haven't retracted that fast in self protection since the day I fell through the ice when I was a kid :D
 
Must be a VERY experienced brewer to not be able to tell the difference between 3 styles as distinct and different as Apple Wine, Hard Cider, and Apfelwein. I could Identify the difference in my sleep with a half a Jalapeño shoved in each nostril, and Clothespin on my left testicle!

Bet it would take a few glasses of each before the clothespins came out! :drunk:
 
Must be a VERY experienced brewer to not be able to tell the difference between 3 styles as distinct and different as Apple Wine, Hard Cider, and Apfelwein. I could Identify the difference in my sleep with a half a Jalapeño shoved in each nostril, and Clothespin on my left testicle!


Ok, I get the jalapeno in the nostrils, but what does the clothespin do? Or is that just for fun? :D
 
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