Complete n00b/advice on my method...

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LDLOL

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I use the 2nd method listed here (just sugar)...

http://www.warpbreach.com/6/6.html

Because I'm cheap and don't trust kits/wanna spend the money, since it doesn't seem like DIY if I'm using a kit.

Anyway, do you have any recommendations for better tasting beer from that or modifications to the procedure?

Or a better airlock? Instead of a balloon I just use a ziploc bag with a few holes punched in it and rubber-banded to the top, and after the first week I put the milk jug lid over the top of the ziploc, or else I take the bag off entirely and screw the lid on almost all the way. I have no idea how to rig my own better airlock...

And what all does secondary fermentation do? Does it increase alcohol content or just make it taste better?

Also, how often should I stir/shake during primary fermentation?

Or should I just let the yeast and sugar settle to the bottom?

If you can't tell, I'm a cheap college student on a budget, started brewing just for cost-efficiency, but I'd sort of like to turn it into a semi-hobby/improve my results.

I don't wanna go all out pro/expend lots of money on equipment, just a few simple suggestions/tips...

Also, I'm using baker's yeast (I've used champagne/wine yeast before, but I have to order it because they don't sell it around here, AFAIK, and the shipping is outrageous unless you order a ton of yeast and spend money on yeast that will last you for like... a lifetime)... which I'm sure makes it taste even more crappy. What's the max ABV you can get from baker's yeast? I've heard 11-13% in perfect conditions, but tasting mine, I don't think it's that high...
 
Is this a joke?

They have startup kits on eBay for 50$ and you can buy the ingredients for around 25$ and make a quality beer.

Buy your supplies from a HBS that offers free shipping... I prefer Austin Homebrew Supply.

Think more in terms of quality of beer instead of quantity of ABV as well.
 
Dude - that is G-H-E-T-T-O! LOL! :D Props for trying it though. So did you make wine or beer? Couldn't tell by your post. In summary (and don't take this the wrong way) if you want to make something that tastes good you'll have to at least make a SOME investment in equipment and decent ingredients. Will your jail cell set up get you drunk? Probably. Will it taste good? I'd bet dollars to nickels that it's gonna taste like crap.

A couple notes:
*The ziplock and/or balloon will not keep out bacteria. Contaminated alcohol (whether beer or wine) tastes bad. An airlock costs a buck.
*Secondary fermentation allows your beer to clarify and finish fermentation without sitting on dead yeast. But I wouldn't worry about it with your setup.
*The sugar shouldn't settle on the bottom because you should make sure it's completely dissolved prior to pitching yeast.
*Bakers yeast is a whole different critter than beer or wine yeast. I've never tried it but I heard it makes your end result taste breadlike.

I was a college student once too. You can buy a barebones brewing setup for less than $100. Take back a few beer cans and buy a book to learn about brewing first. Then take back a few more beer cans and buy some basic equipment.

Whatever you end up doing, I think that set up you got looks sweet even if the product sucks. If I was in college I would show it off to all my friends and then give the booze to a bum or something. Please please please at least taste it and tell me what it tastes like. That website is priceless.

AHU
 
Umm.... not sure what to say about this really. I use bakers yeast all the time.. all the time... to bake with..... keep the stuff in the freezer it will last forever:)

But back to beer though.... do yourself a big favor and don't go this route. You said you are a college student. When I was in college (and not so many years ago), you could get yourself $2 by opening a nearby garbage can with all the cans of pop you would find in it.

I aplaud you at your efforts to by a complete DIYer. I am a die hard one myself. Anyone who has seen my replies concerning Bud knows what a fan I am with the battery acid, but I think in this case... Bud would taste ten times better then anything you might come up with doing what you are thinking of.
 
It's actually sort of an acquired taste, not too bad once you get used to it.

So I shouldn't stir/shake then?

Anyway, this costs like, I dunno, under $5 easily per brew, and I really don't feel like shelling out $50 + $25 for ingredients... =(

I was just looking for some quick tips/cheap ingredients to add to improve the brewing and taste, and maybe some suggestions on how to MacGyver up my rig for better results...
 
Acquired taste? Not bad once you get used to it?

A coffin is just a small apartment with no leg room! WTF?!?

I apologize if you are not from deep in the woods of Mississippi, but are you kidding?

I wouldn't have thought about making that crap even if I was 10 years old.

You are going to kill yourself. In this case maybe that's not a bad thing...?! Go for it!!
 
One more stupid question (I should probably register so I can edit instead of double and triple posting)...

Which is a better source of nutrients (I can't be bothered to spend money on all these yeast nutrient packs, which, from what I can tell, are only sold in large amounts, i.e. $20 for something that will provide nutrients for hundreds of brews, but regardless, that's $20 up front, and the sites I've read actually recommend buying multiple nutrients seperately instead of just some bulk $20 bag of 'assorted yeast nutrients')...

V8 Tomato Juice... or crushed multivitamin pills? Is there any problem with adding a crushed multivitamin pill to a brew? It probably won't do any good, since one of mine is 10 days into the brew, and the other is 8 days, and you're supposed to add them at the start, or 2-3 days in... but I figure it can't hurt.

And yes, I fully realize how ghetto this is and am ashamed, but I have to start somewhere, and I promise that when I get a good paying job (hahaha, more like 'if') I'll buy good equipment, treat my brews with more loving care, and make you guys all proud and end up here or somewhere else answering the questions of complete newbies like me (actually, looking at other newbies/the newbie forum, I'm like... a step below a newbie).

:)

And why would a brew like this kill me?
 
Your beer made with your magic pixie dust probably won't kill you. If you want a real good buzz try putting an open jar of mayo in the sun for a few hours. This probably won't Kill you; you CAN eat road kill too, if you really want to.

I would expect the plastic of the milk jug to leach something into the beer (I stored beer in one once and it picked up a plascticy flavour pretty quickly). I doubt it's leathal, but probably kills more brain cells than neccessary.

Please refer to this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2134
 
LDLOL said:
I use the 2nd method listed here (just sugar)...

http://www.warpbreach.com/6/6.html

Because I'm cheap and don't trust kits/wanna spend the money, since it doesn't seem like DIY if I'm using a kit.

Anyway, do you have any recommendations for better tasting beer from that or modifications to the procedure?

Or a better airlock? Instead of a balloon I just use a ziploc bag with a few holes punched in it and rubber-banded to the top, and after the first week I put the milk jug lid over the top of the ziploc, or else I take the bag off entirely and screw the lid on almost all the way. I have no idea how to rig my own better airlock...

And what all does secondary fermentation do? Does it increase alcohol content or just make it taste better?

Also, how often should I stir/shake during primary fermentation?

Or should I just let the yeast and sugar settle to the bottom?

If you can't tell, I'm a cheap college student on a budget, started brewing just for cost-efficiency, but I'd sort of like to turn it into a semi-hobby/improve my results.

I don't wanna go all out pro/expend lots of money on equipment, just a few simple suggestions/tips...

Also, I'm using baker's yeast (I've used champagne/wine yeast before, but I have to order it because they don't sell it around here, AFAIK, and the shipping is outrageous unless you order a ton of yeast and spend money on yeast that will last you for like... a lifetime)... which I'm sure makes it taste even more crappy. What's the max ABV you can get from baker's yeast? I've heard 11-13% in perfect conditions, but tasting mine, I don't think it's that high...
Click to expand...

When I read this forum I thought it was a joke. I bit my tongue for a little bit and going against better judgement will answer your questions you ask. I thought someone was trying to get a rise out of me, which very well be but here are some tips. Dont go all Sanford and Son on us. If you want to make good beer then break down and spend a $100 on a complete set of equipment. Im sure your drinking buddy's have tons of beer bottles you can have. There is no reason to carbonate in milk cartons, Juice bottles, engine blocks... You should shake the heck out of your fermenter before you pitch your yeast to aerate the wort. As for your airlock issue, Is it your birthday, or did you just get finished with a sandwich because thats the only thing the balloon and sandwhich baggy is good for. Put a hose into the fermenter and into a shallow bucket of water called a thumper and that will keep your fermentation bacteria free. The ABV alcohol you can get from bread yeast depends how long you have the loaf in the oven. Unless your making an experimental hogie sandwhich in a bottle dont use bread yeast, and if you cant afford yeast then i will send you some, just STEP AWAY FROM THE BREAD YEAST. Good beer comes from good yeast and they cost about 70 cents a pack. If i sound sarcastic, its because im still on the fence here deciding if this is a joke or real, if its real then i apologize. I think ORRELSE has something to do with this. Anyways it was a good laugh. thank you
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I apologize if you are not from deep in the woods of Mississippi, but are you kidding?
Click to expand...

Hey watch out now... I'm from Jackson, MS and learned to make beer and wine from the deep woods of Mashulaville, MS ... population of less than 500.
 
Hmmm... thanks for the thumper tip. I'm confused as to what's to keep bacteria from getting into the water though (or do you change the water in the thumper regularly)?

Course, I'm not going to use a hose... in keeping with my ghetto set-up, I'm going to cut a hole in the milk jug lid, and use that tacky/putty stuff to seal a straw (maybe a few straws slid into one another) in there that leads to the water glass.

I guess I will splurge on some wine yeast... that Premiere Cuerve or whatever since it looks like the best for beginners/most tolerant... or perhaps their other product (forget the name).

Anyway, I've been doing this and drinking it for 9 months without getting sick yet, but I'll try a better airlock regardless...
 
LDLOL said:
Hmmm... thanks for the thumper tip. I'm confused as to what's to keep bacteria from getting into the water though (or do you change the water in the thumper regularly)?

Course, I'm not going to use a hose... in keeping with my ghetto set-up, I'm going to cut a hole in the milk jug lid, and use that tacky/putty stuff to seal a straw (maybe a few straws slid into one another) in there that leads to the water glass.

I guess I will splurge on some wine yeast... that Premiere Cuerve or whatever since it looks like the best for beginners/most tolerant... or perhaps their other product (forget the name).

Anyway, I've been doing this and drinking it for 9 months without getting sick yet, but I'll try a better airlock regardless...
Click to expand...

Get some tin foil and make a hole in the center. Put your tubing through the hole and into the pot filled with a little water. Put about 2 to 3 cups of your buddy cheapest vodka in the thumper water. That will keep it pretty sanitary. Just as long as you keep it covered you wont have to change the water and vodka. Just make sure none of your frat buddies take a leak in it. Sorry I cant change your mind on your extravagent home brewery you got there. any more questions, feel free to ask

Oh if Im ever in the pin, in some cell block with a guy name susie, you will be the first person I call on how to go about making a batch of PRUNO!!!!! Cheers
 
sounds likea reecipe for nightrain.. Ibelieve _that_ is an aquired taste..as in die hard rummy alcoholic, sleeping in the streets on a cold winters night because the shelter won't let you in with your brown paper bag, kind of aquired taste.


There's tribes that mix cow urine with fresh cows milk and let it sit in the sun till it ferments... now _thats_ what I call a drink!!
 
Would the V8 juice/vitamin pill cause any excess methanol to be formed?
 
usmcruz said:
Put about 2 to 3 cups of your buddy cheapest vodka in the thumper water. That will keep it pretty sanitary
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? If he won't spend money on an airlock or yeast he definitely won't waste money on vodka for the thumper. Ha ha!:p

LDLOL - why do you want to put vitamins and V8 in there? Going for "Ghetto Xtreme" or just trying to stay healthy? Ha ha!

AHU
 
AllHoppedUp said:
Are you kidding? If he won't spend money on an airlock or yeast he definitely won't waste money on vodka for the thumper. Ha ha!:p

LDLOL - why do you want to put vitamins and V8 in there? Going for "Ghetto Xtreme" or just trying to stay healthy? Ha ha!

AHU
Click to expand...

i think ldlol is a fake forum name somebody settup to stir things up. I dont think he's legit. I come from brooklyn and im not even that ghetto.
 
I just wanted to thank all of you who kept this post going. I just read it for the 1st time, and got one of the best laughs of my life. BTW please please tell me this is some kind of gag, the thought that someone is drinking that outside of prison is just to much.
 
OH.... My... God.... You can't be serious.

Ok, ok. When I was twelve I threw some bakers yeast in some orange juice that I squeezed myself and after the condom I threw on top blew up I tried to distill it with a heating blanket. I used the heating blanket to heat it and ran a tube into a bucket of ice water with a plastic pepsi bottle in it and ended up with.................. a teaspoon of water.


True story.

Edit: Now I make beer, and it's good.
 
Actualy now that Ive had a little time to think about it I have a new theory. It could be that our mental friend here isnt old enough to buy beer, and therefore may be under the misconception that he/she can't buy the supplies to brew.

However i still hope that this is just some gag. BTW my whole family and some of my friends found it to be absolutley hilarious. Even my mother who doesnt know anything about brewing found this to be hillarious.
 

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