Foolproof recipes?

[MakeLemonade]

I have 10 one gallon jugs, and want to have a brewfest at my work. Planning to offer my coworkers a chance to try brewing something at their desks. I personally find it soothing to have a carboy airlock bubbling within my line of sight.

Going to offer them to try:

• Joe's Ancient Orange Mead (and variations)
• Ginger beer with enough water withheld so there's a lot of headspace. Will add water to top up after fermentation calms down.
• Apple wine, (not cider) I've found it doesn't foam, but again will withhold enough liquid to give headspace, instead of having it overflow.
• Zombie Killer Clone

Any suggested recipes/thoughts? I particularly want to avoid recipes that foam.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Wish my boss did something like this!

I haven't made it but you're probably looking for something like this:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques65.asp
You could use more juice concentrate instead of the sugar, but it'll be more tart. You could even use enough concentrate or sugar to have it finish sweet (faux ice wine).

JAOM certainly will blow out the top in my experience. I'd leave extra head space for that too. Fermentation surges again after topping up (before it finishes). OR you could consider switching the yeast to one with low foam, but the recipe might need some adjustment.
Blueberry & vanilla seems like a popular JAOM variant.

Why apple wine instead of "cider"? Cider has lower ABV and more apple flavor.

If your crowd gets tired of the bubbling you can get breathable silicone airlocks.

Welcome to the forum!

P.S. I hope you can your co-workers are not taxi drivers or truck drivers!

 

[MakeLemonade]

Wish my boss did something like this!

I haven't made it but you're probably looking for something like this:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques65.asp
You could use more juice concentrate instead of the sugar, but it'll be more tart. You could even use enough concentrate or sugar to have it finish sweet (faux ice wine).

Nice, thanks!

JAOM certainly will blow out the top in my experience. I'd leave extra head space for that too. Fermentation surges again after topping up (before it finishes). OR you could consider switching the yeast to one with low foam, but the recipe might need some adjustment.
Blueberry & vanilla seems like a popular JAOM variant.

So JAOM is dangerous and will foam out the top even with headspace and no air lock?

Definitely will try the blueberry/vanilla variant. We're going to try the bread yeast and D47.

Why apple wine instead of "cider"? Cider has lower ABV and more apple flavor.

Because the apple juice wine I made didn't foam.

Also we're web developers, and have beer on tap after 4pm. So we're fine with this as long as the odor isn't bad. Planning to start fermentation Thursday night or Friday morning depending on yeast, then hopefully most of the "worst" fermentation will have happened over the weekend.

 

[RPh_Guy]

So JAOM is dangerous and will foam out the top even with headspace and no air lock?

I've made 2 batches of JAOM in standard 1-gal glass jugs. Both times I added water to the 1 gal mark as instructed. Fermented in the 70s. Both times the krausen pushed into the airlock. YMMV but that's my experience. Wine yeast probably wouldn't foam as much.

Because the apple juice wine I made didn't foam.

I use wine yeast (premier cuvee) for cider and it doesn't foam. I've used it in a variety of juices.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[MakeLemonade]

I've made 2 batches of JAOM in standard 1-gal glass jugs. Both times I added water to the 1 gal mark as instructed. Fermented in the 70s. Both times the krausen pushed into the airlock. YMMV but that's my experience. Wine yeast probably wouldn't foam as much.

I use wine yeast (premier cuvee) for cider and it doesn't foam. I've used it in a variety of juices.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

But that's without headspace right? I'm planning to keep the liquid level just below the widest part, not touching the neck at all. Thanks for the advice about premier cuvee.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I just measured one of my carboys. Filled to 1 gal like I did there's only 2/3rd cup headspace.

Your plan sounds ok, the JAOM doesn't foam anywhere near what beer does. Make sure the bread yeast is fleischmann's brand.

Cheers