Milk Alcohol By A Newbie

[damopo]

Hey! Perhaps you can already feel the youthful naivete and goodwill seeping from this post. If not, I'd like to warn you that I'm pretty new to this field, having only a functional understanding of chemistry and an awed appreciation of beer, lager, ale, and other fizzy brown things I wish I could make myself. However, the reason this post isn't in the Introductions section (and if it really should be, sorry), is that I have a very specific topic I'd like to get your opinions on.

The Mongolian drink kumis is made by sealing mare's milk in an airtight bag (traditionally horsehide) and attaching it to the saddle. The milk gets jostled throughout the day, which keeps it from curdling and has a similar result as mild churning. Bacteria and yeast do their thing (technical term) and the product is fermented milk with an alcohol content of about 2% ish. There isn't a huge amount of information about it, so if any of the above paragraph sounds improbable/illogical to you, you're probably right and I would appreciate any insight.

What I'd really like to know, however, is whether alcoholic cow's milk could be produced. I know that only very rare yeasts break down lactose, but perhaps- and bear with me through this unorthodox procedure- if you used medicines for lactose intolerance you could circumvent this issue. If you let the milk sit with a few drops of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose into glucose and some galactose, you could get a fermentable milk. I suppose after that you'd just add, er, whichever yeast is most effective for glucose. This might all be crazy talk. Anyway, humor me? Thoughts?

 

[Beer_Guy]

Hmmm... a Cream Ale using real cream. Or a Buttermilk Stout?

Give it a shot, and let us know how it goes.

 

[Kunkemonster]

What about keifer grains? They ferment milk and produce alcohol. Probably more lacto than you are looking for though.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

I remember reading a brewing magazine a few years ago about there being way too much milk produced in Japan due to a low demand so a brewery didn't want it all to go to waste and made Bilk.

Check it!

Milk + Beer = Bilk, yo!

 

[KevinM]

I was thinking along the lines of kefir as well. It does break down the lactose and is converted into alcohol, but it doesn't completely remove lactose like yogurt does. The kefir process is pretty similar to that of kumis. Dom's kefir page seems to have the greatest amount of information among kefir makers. You can find info about it in the Kombucha and other's forum which comes closest. I don't think it would have been proper to put into the introductions anyways..

As to using an enzyme to break down lactose and to try fermenting it with something else, it could be possible by those bilk articles. Interesting.

 

[kpr121]

Sounds interesting and gross all at the same time.

 

[beaksnbeer]

My World History teacher tried this about 30 years ago. First you need milk from a horse not an easy find the natural enzymes and bacteria in the milk do the work, one the reasons milk is Homo/Pastuerized (spelling) the other reason for keeping on the side of a horse is for the temperature. He used a small cheese table that has temp as well as kneading controls. .....WARNING the taste/smell is between milk left out a couple of days and old yogurt plus it's kind of gritty as the milk breaks down into smaller then cottage cheese like lumps. Overall just nasty Helped because I was 18 needed the extra credit............my .02

 

[mr_you]

I heared of an alcoholic "fermented reindeer milk" in a book. It was made by Inuit people but it didn't say how it was made.

 

[cklages]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/milk-mead-spin-koumiss-instruction-recipe-info-381045/

 

[m_stodd]

I would try to start small, like milking a cat or something, and see if that works. You can pretty much milk anything with nipples

 

[cklages]

I would try to start small, like milking a cat or something, and see if that works. You can pretty much milk anything with nipples

I have nipples...could you milk me?



[ame]http://youtu.be/bXNwzKo5Yps[/ame]

 

[Turricaine]

I got the kefir grains in the post a couple of weeks ago. It is like a kind of cottage cheese consistency. I've made a few batches so far but nothing impressive has happened yet. All that happens is the milk sours and takes on a thicker consistency but not at all alcoholic; all that i get is lactic acid tart taste, which btw is not meant to be good for teeth enamel.

I added some lactase enzyme to my current batch though and will see how this works out. Maybe milk brewed with lactase and brewers yeast could work? Need to research this further to see what happens.

I also got an electric yogurt maker in the post recently but that is a completely separate issue.

 

[Turricaine]

Ok, I experimented a couple of times since the last post with the lactase enzyme added to try and catalyze the process. I used semi-skimmed goats milk though so funny taste. However, you keep the milk in an airtight container with the kefir grains, leave for ~3 days. Keep it about 20C or so, but not too warm, like don't leave on radiator or it will coagulate/curdle. This works. When you come in 3 days time you open the lid of the container it smells fruity sort of smell. Better to keep airtight if possible.

 

[Viking_Brewing]

I was wondering if maybe milk alternatives would work for something similar? Like vegan milk substitutes such as soy or almond milk?

 

[afr0byte]

I was wondering if maybe milk alternatives would work for something similar? Like vegan milk substitutes such as soy or almond milk?

They're sweetened with cane sugar...so yes...no need for lactase obviously

 

[Viking_Brewing]

Right. You think it'd taste any good?