Quickest / easiest Welch's GJ question(s). (And hello!)

Hello! First post!

I recently realized how (potentially) easy it is to make your very own alcoholic beverage and I figured that I would want to start off with the VERY easiest and most basic form of this.

So I assumed that this, a super simple Welch's wine, would be the right thing to start with.

Simply put: I don’t really care about taste or quality (Outside of alcohol content that is, I'll worry about that other stuff if I can actually make something that can get the job done and is halfway drinkable ) and was wondering if anyone could tell me a recipe that would meet these requirements.

I'm a total amateur at this. I realize that I would need some grape juice and yeast to start the fermentation process, as well as two container units to transfer the liquid to and fro (To remove the old yeast, right?) but that’s about it.

How important are extra additives like "acid blend" and "pectic enzyme" in the process? (Found in the recipe section.) Do these things contribute to the alcohol content in anyway, or are they more for looks / taste and what-not?

I would be making this/these (More if it works!) drinks in 2 liter plastic containers. (Coke bottles, for example) How much yeast would you recommend considering the 2 liter is nearly full?

One more question: As for yeast, would any old yeast work? Would a specific type be best? (Within reason that is.)

Thanks for your time. Love the entire concept of this site, very cool.

Cheers.

Additives are important if you care about quality; you don't. It is possible to make wine in 2 liter coke bottles, but I would recommend buying a couple 4 Liter glass jugs of carlo rossi to use foor fermenters, but you could bottle in coke bottles. You will also need some way to siphon. Use wine yeast, it is extremely cheap and it works great.

If you don't care about taste or quality then you can ferment sugar mixed with water and some yeast nutrient. You could then mix in some apple juice concentrate and have a sweet and very alcoholic cider. Go to http://hbd.org/recipator/ and use the spreadsheet to figure out how much sugar to use based on the alcohol tolerance of your yeast strain. I think you may find that you do care about taste, though. Buying cheap vodka is a cheaper way to get drunk than making wine or beer. Are you in this for a hobby or just cheap alcohol?

Check out this recipe:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=21093

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

A word of caution:
The statement, "I don’t really care about taste or quality (Outside of alcohol content that is, I'll worry about that other stuff if I can actually make something that can get the job done and is halfway drinkable)," makes it sound as if you're just looking for a cheap/easy way to get drunk (potentially because you're too young to legally buy alcohol). You'll find that folks here tend not to be very receptive to that sort of thing, since we do tend to pride ourselves in making high quality beverages, not just high alcohol ones.

"cough" not 21 "cough" Why would you want to make something that does not taste good?

Ryanh1801 said:

"cough" not 21 "cough"

Click to expand...

Hey now, let's not jump the gun...his profile indicates that he recently turned 21 (though it's certainly easy to lie...).

It's quite possible that his ultimate goal is to make a tasty beverage, but he's willing to accept an inferior product as a stepping stone to greatness.

I just don't wanna see another EAC thread - it started out quite warm and polite on his part - we should keep it that way.

If you do a search for Welch's, you'll find the answers to all your questions! I think we've discussed this recently.

You can ferment just about anything- but for drinkable results, try the 100% juices. For example, Welch's 100% White/Raspberry, White Grape, or Concord Grape. Apple juice makes a tasty wine, too. DON'T use a juice "cocktail".

I wouldn't use plastic coke bottles for fermentation- it might be ok, but it might give you some problems. I'd do what Mew said- go get a glass jug and an airlock and use those. Remember that the Welch's foams up quite a lot at first (when the napkin is over it) so either use a much bigger jug, or put it in a larger bowl. I put the jug in a bigger tupperware bowl, so the mess went in the bowl, not on my beautiful hardwood floor.

The pectic enzyme and acid blend are to make the wine taste better and to clear. Not critical, but less than $2 for a big package and you may want to make it taste good, since you'll be drinking it. It's just as easy to make a wine that tastes good as it is to make one that tastes bad.