Clearer Liquid

I was experimenting on brewing low-cost but good tasting and potent beer. I bought a
packet of yellow corn meal. I boiled a big pot of water and added the corn meal(for yeast nutrient) and 2 cups sugar. I removed the corn meal after a while and put the mix into my brewing tub. I added active dry bakers yeast. The total volume in the tub was 1.5 gallons. The tube on top of the tub full of water rarely bubbled, but always I saw that the holes on that little piece of plastic inside the tube remained above water level, so gas was escaping. After 2 days I decided to test it. I got some from the spicket, and it looked almost solid yellow and smelled nasty and sour. When I opened the tub to dump it out, I saw that on top of the disgusting yellow stuff was a clearer liquid that didn't smell or taste putrid. I decided to dump it out anyway. The clearer liquid on top had a taste almost resembling bad wine, but no noticeable kick.

What was that liquid on top?

That liquid you noticed is what is known in brewing parlance as "noob sauce."

First question: how old are you?

How is this beer?

Good tasting beer doesn't come from corn unless you ask BMC and some malt liquor manufacturers who loving stuffing corn in their beer.

I'm pretty sure most of the people here wouldn't call it beer unless it has some malt and some hops in it.

There are plenty of ingredient kits available for ~20 bucks with real malt, hops and no corn meal.

Also worth noting, you don't have to be 21 to buy beer ingredients or to make beer. Only to drink it (technically).

This guy best be trollin'

you need to mash corn grits with some barley to get sugars from it; otherwise it's just a bunch of starch.

sigh,

1) I don't know what the clear liquid is.

2) After 2 days of fermenting, anything you make will taste bad. It need time.


3) That's not beer; it's hooch. Beer is made from malted barley and hops.

4) If your trying to make alcohol in your bedroom closet without your parents finding out, there are much, much easier ways of of doing it. Some of which may actually taste good.

5) Don't be surprised if members of this forum are less then enthused about teaching you to do #4.

You're doing it wrong. Don't waste your money on Cornmeal and Yeast. If you want a low cost, but potent substance, look into Jenkem. Way better I hear.

llazy_llama said:

That liquid you noticed is what is known in brewing parlance as "noob sauce."

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Best response (anywhere) on the board today...



Edit: Yay, I'm finally a "member" (please leave your "member" jokes at the door)

I brewed real beer once. This was right after my first attempt to brew wine in an open salad bowl in my room, which I later found out was the wrong way. I got every ingredient, every piece of equipment, and all the directions I needed from the brew store. I sterilized the tub with bleach, like I did this time trying to make corn beer. I ended up with a beer that I thought tasted like store bought beer. I frequently drank it miked with Sprite, called a rodller. So I can brew real beer if I want. But since I'm not in love with the taste of straight non-German beer, I decided it to be too much trouble.

I tried to make a wine out of decaf sweet tea, figuring that the tea leaf extract would act as yeast nutrient. I added twice the normal amount of sugar, for yeast food. That failed as well. Maybe it's just that I'm out of brewers yeast and baker's yeast doesn't work. I think I'll try that one again, but this time I'll get real yeast nutrient from the brew store, as well as some better yeast.

And the brewing tub is in plain sight on my desk, not in my closet.

My personal preference is pot over alcohol. I must say that pot seems to me to have a nicer feeling to it, and is safer and not addictive. But brewing is still a hobby of mine that I think is fun, though sometimes hard work and most often disappointing. I'm building a valuable skill that'll stay with me forever. I hope that I can soon get a licence to open up a microbrewery, and by that time I'll hopefully have my brewing skill down pat.

Peace

this is just hilarious. Feels like April 1st all over again. Am I on Candid Camera? Howey Do It? cmon.

I think that the only thing you're missing here in making a good corn beer is a little bit of salt. I know it sounds hard to believe, but if you'll put about a cup and a half of salt with about two tablespoons of crushed cilantro in the tub when you brew your next batch you'll notice a great improvement. Let us know how it works out.

This can't be real. My first thought was that it was a joke as well.

If you really are serious, nothing you have done would be considered "brewing" or make anything resembling a product called "beer."

If you really want to learn how to brew, please read at www.howtobrew.com

And good luck with the pot...

I love cilantro, I think it makes everything taste better. Add some baking soda in there too. Will releive a bit of the indigestion.

age and picture please, I'm sorry but we're gonna have to card you!

JesseRC said:

I love cilantro, I think it makes everything taste better

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You can't make a good wit without it!

spend a little time in jail for that pot and you'll learn how to make some great "beer" or "hooch" with some orange soda and a radiator. might even make some nice friends, too.

I can't wait for the post where beginner gets funding for his bowl full of wine idea. His friends LOVE it.

This thread should be retitled prison brewing ideas and techniques. Just got off work after a bad day and this just made me laugh my a$$ off! Thank you beginner, sincerely from the bottom of my heart thank you, now I'm off to get some cilantro!

Seriously. Jenkem is the way to go. You already have all the ingredients in you.....

beginner said:

I hope that I can soon get a licence to open up a microbrewery, and by that time I'll hopefully have my brewing skill down pat.

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I can hardly wait....

By the way, you're very close with the corn and what not, it sounds like you almost have it down perfectly. Just remember, "a sandwich isn't a sandwich without the tangy zip of miracle whip." Add a little.... you'll like it.

If the corn + bakers yeast thing didn't taste properly, you could always backsweeten with anti-freeze.



Disclaimer: anti-freeze will kill you. Don't actually do that.

You've got to be kidding. No more talk of Jenkem please. And no I'm not joking about anything. The open bowl wine idea came from an internet site, which said to brew it in an open bucket with a cloth over it, and actually I did put a cloth over the wine. Besides the time I brewed real beer like the beer dudes at the shop told me, that was my most successful experiment yet. I drank one glass of really good wine from that, before it all went bad from exposure to bacteria. Funny story actually, after that one glass of wine, I decided to put the rest in jars to preserve and age it. Then in the middle of the night, two of the three jars sprung a leak at the top and sprayed their contents all over the dining room. I guess it was still fermenting or something.

And I don't see how I could be too far off with the corn idea. I know that moonshiners make their wash by mixing ground corn, sugar, water, and yeast in a barrel and letting it ferment before distilling it. But I'm not allowed to distil anything in this house, so I hoped I could just stop before that process and end up with a decent tasting something-or-other.

What about the sweet tea idea? I know kochumba is brewed in sweet tea and I don't see how this could be too different. And I love sweet tea.

beginner said:

You've got to be kidding. No more talk of Jenkem please. And no I'm not joking about anything. The open bowl wine idea came from an internet site, which said to brew it in an open bucket with a cloth over it, and actually I did put a cloth over the wine. Besides the time I brewed real beer like the beer dudes at the shop told me, that was my most successful experiment yet. I drank one glass of really good wine from that, before it all went bad from exposure to bacteria. Funny story actually, after that one glass of wine, I decided to put the rest in jars to preserve and age it. Then in the middle of the night, two of the three jars sprung a leak at the top and sprayed their contents all over the dining room. I guess it was still fermenting or something.

And I don't see how I could be too far off with the corn idea. I know that moonshiners make their wash by mixing ground corn, sugar, water, and yeast in a barrel and letting it ferment before distilling it. But I'm not allowed to distil anything in this house, so I hoped I could just stop before that process and end up with a decent tasting something-or-other.

What about the sweet tea idea? I know kochumba is brewed in sweet tea and I don't see how this could be too different. And I love sweet tea.

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Fermenting corn mash and blowing up jars isn't exactly my idea of craft brewing.

If you want to talk about making fine wine, meads, ciders, and beers, this is a great place to do it. We talk about making brews that are better than you can buy in a store.

If you want to talk about fermenting **** or other non-brewing material, there are plenty of sites out there that can help you.

Let's talk about making cider out of juice, wine out of fruit, beer out of malt, and mead out of honey. I guess if you're gluten intolerant, we could discuss sorghum beer. For anything else, please take it to a different site.

Crackin' the whip.

YooperBrew said:

Fermenting corn mash and blowing up jars isn't exactly my idea of craft brewing.

If you want to talk about making fine wine, meads, ciders, and beers, this is a great place to do it. We talk about making brews that are better than you can buy in a store.

If you want to talk about fermenting **** or other non-brewing material, there are plenty of sites out there that can help you.

Let's talk about making cider out of juice, wine out of fruit, beer out of malt, and mead out of honey. I guess if you're gluten intolerant, we could discuss sorghum beer. For anything else, please take it to a different site.

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Thank you Yooper! Once again, the gentle voice of reason. Let's stop giving this individual a hard time. And to you, "Beginner", take Yooper's advice. The folks on this forum have a wealth of knowledge and advice. Take advantage of it.

please dont close this down oh sweet one ... Besides funniest videos on Sunday, this is about the only thing that's getting me through this week. More please.

Ok. I'm gonna try making hard cider from juice now. Would homemade apple juice work fine?

beginner said:

Ok. I'm gonna try making hard cider from juice now. Would homemade apple juice work fine?

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Yes, that should work. A couple of tips, before you start! One, make sure every single thing that touches your juice is sanitized. You can use a sanitizer made just for brewing, or sulfites (campden tablets) for winemaking. You can even use a teaspoon of bleach in water (but check the amounts, to be 100% sure of the correct dilution). Sanitize the spoons, the containers, etc. Everything.

Two- sanitize your juice by adding one Campden tablet per gallon. You crush them, and dissolve them in a little water. Stir well, and then add that to your juice in the already sanitized fermenter. Cover it with a sanitized airlock and cap.

Three- use wine yeast. NOT baker's yeast.

Four- after fermentation starts, never pour your brew. Buy some siphoning tubing and use it! (Again, all sanitized before using).

So, with those tips, do this:

Sanitize a carboy. Add the juice, and the dissolved campden tablets. Cover loosely (with a sanitized cover) and wait 12 hours. Then, add 1 teaspoon of pectic enzyme per gallon of must (the name for the mix). Stir well. Wait 12 hours, and then add yeast. Wine yeast is cheap and you just sprinkle it it. Cover with the sanitized bung and airlock and fill the airlock with a little water. In about a week, it'll be about done fermenting, but wait about three more weeks. When it's clear, and done, you can siphon it to bottles. If you have a hydrometer (that's really recommended), take a reading before bottling. Wait three days, and take another reading. If they are the same, you can bottle. You can use beer bottles (you need a capper and caps), or Grolsch bottles with the flip cap, or even plastic soda bottles. Just sanitize everything.

Keep reading up on some how-to's. We'll have lots of helpful information, beyond the very basic info there.

If you want to try something good, fairly cheap, and super easy, try the Joe's Ancient Orange Mead. It even uses baker's yeast (the one time it's ok to use it!) and it comes out really good. I have lots of "easy" wine recipes, too- like for Welch's juice, or apple juice. Just be sanitary, and keep the brew out of oxygen and you should be fine.

Aright, on a serious note... Cider I'd think would be plenty easy, so long as it's clean and unpasteurized it should work. But use a proper brew yeast, not baker stuff.

More info at Apple Juice - Home Brewing Wiki

As for the corn mash, hey I do like my Old no.7 but have no idea how it's made, nor would I be real inclined to try. Stick to beer/wine/cider/mead at home and leave the corn in he chicken coop.

YooperBrew said:

....Keep reading up on some how-to's. We'll have lots of helpful information, beyond the very basic info there.

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That in itself is...

PRICELESS!


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