thought experiment...

[knockout350]

ok this is just an idea ive been rolling around in my head for about a week and i really want to know the answer but am kind of scared to try it but here it is.

what would happen if, instead of using malt/extract for your fementables, you just took a couple pounds of white table sugar and boiled them for 20 minutes with a dash of some random left over hop pellets? you would still go through the standard fermentation with a decent pack of yeast but the way the sugars would ferment would be different due to the different style of sucrose used. i must admit i am slightly afraid to try (mainly because it would be god awful) but also because it would be a massive waste of time energy and equipment (not to mention i think it might be slightly toxic or at the least unpleasant on the gastro intestinal system).

tell me your opinions or how you think it might turn out....

 

[Nightshade]

This has been discussed multiple times and the general concensus from thosse that have done it is, "Yeah it's alcohol but it isn't any good for consumption"

 

[cjgenever]

Watered down poorly flavored shine with all the nasties not distilled out

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[plankbr]

Headache central... And It will probably taste horrific.

 

[Braufessor]

This is not a "thought" experiment - people do this. Had an old bartender start talking to me one night because he heard I homebrewed. He told me he "brewed" too. I asked him about what he brewed, extract, all grain, etc. He told me he only brews one recipe - that he had been passed down from his dad/grandfather..... I thought this sounded cool and asked him about it. He said he had some that he had in his car for friends - game me a bottle. And the "recipe" -
10 Gallons water
10 pounds sugar
2 ounces of hops
Packet of Fleischman's yeast
Boil, put in crock, cool
Add yeast
ferment for 3-5 days
Bottle

It was BAD....really bad. Thin, cidery, hot - Could have just taken something out of the medicine cabinet and it would have been much better. Mouth Wash would have been a fine alternative.

Probably the best way of looking at it is this -

You are describing a process that is cheap, fast and easy - if it produced something good - someone would be producing it and selling it already.

 

[ericbw]

ok this is just an idea ive been rolling around in my head for about a week and i really want to know the answer but am kind of scared to try it but here it is.

what would happen if, instead of using malt/extract for your fementables, you just took a couple pounds of white table sugar and boiled them for 20 minutes with a dash of some random left over hop pellets? you would still go through the standard fermentation with a decent pack of yeast but the way the sugars would ferment would be different due to the different style of sucrose used. i must admit i am slightly afraid to try (mainly because it would be god awful) but also because it would be a massive waste of time energy and equipment (not to mention i think it might be slightly toxic or at the least unpleasant on the gastro intestinal system).

tell me your opinions or how you think it might turn out....

If you added a few pounds of fruit instead of the hops, you've got the start for some "rustic" schnapps. While the beer brewers will give you the answers you've already gotten (nasty, headaches, gross), the liqueur/schnapps/"other" fermentation enthusiasts will applaud your efforts.

I would consider a different yeast, but others would even suggest a totally natural/wild ferment, like a ginger bug.

Hooch is in the eye of the beholder!

 

[ericbw]

Oh sorry, you originally said a decent packet of yeast. Champagne yeast works fine, or the turbo/distiller's yeast might give a better flavor. And you need all the help you can get on the flavor.

 

[Foosier]

the problem is the table sugar has none of the flavor elements that come from the malt like bready, biscuit, nutty, etc...

I agree with others, sure you could, but why? If you really want to do this, you might want to do it as a small batch though to minimize what you dump if you hate it.

 

[knockout350]

ya the only way i think it would even turn out decent is if you killed it with sugar and fruit and then distilled it into more of a liquor. it would help remove any heavy alcohols that would cause head aches and would help concentrate what flavors you did get from the fruit and hops but of course distilling is not legal.

 

[ericbw]

ya the only way i think it would even turn out decent is if you killed it with sugar and fruit and then distilled it into more of a liquor. it would help remove any heavy alcohols that would cause head aches and would help concentrate what flavors you did get from the fruit and hops but of course distilling is not legal.

You don't have to distill it. You can get close to 20% ABV with sugar and fruit. Add more sugar to make it sweet.

This isn't a bad idea, it's just not beer.