turning blood into alcohol (this is a serious thread)

[fredthecat]

wow i come back from work and this is what happened to the thread... better pop this dubbel and start reading...

 

[fredthecat]

Can't boil blood without cooking it so if it were 100% blood it would just one big grey lump. But if you added some blood to water and cooked it the same would happen but you would still have a liquid with cooked (non-liquid) grey blood flaoting around in the pot. I assume at that point it would take on the flavor of the cooked meat. Chicken or Beef flavored wort? Kind of like broth or stew at that point. That might be tasty but I would rather eat my steak with a beer than drink it.

thanks, to be honest i didnt totally think this through but i wasnt drunk when i came up with it. just kind of wondering about a scientific/common sense reason if it would not work, and this makes sense. i dont eat alot of meat

You might get a better response if you ask this question over at TedNugent.com.

the nuge rules but he doesnt drink

Ok, I will state from the beginning this is all theoretical, it shouldn't be tried, and I am doing this on a lark.

ok from a science stand point...What you would really want out of the blood when making beer is the serum, that being all of the liquid except the red blood cells (as a scientist...i can not help but play the logic through to the end). The red blood cells you wouldn't want in the beer anyways as they contain large amounts of iron, which would make the beer a horribly metallic bitter. Adding sugars and extract theoretically would work.

There are a ridiculous number of proteins in serum as that is what contains the many immune factors and cytokines. It would be near impossible to get a good clear beer from blood without quite a bit of whirfloc and a long cold crash (someone else recommended it, but I would suggest making it a lager). Not to mention, it wouldn't be red, which kinda takes the fun out of it. Red blood cells could be taken out by multiple methods including a vacuum sealed cold crash, or if you are really rich...a massive centrifuge.

Blood fresh out of the body (baring any health related infections, meaning there is no "normal flora") is sterile and therefore theoretically perfectly fine to use (human blood, not chicken).

The fats would be predominately found in the red blood cells which have already been removed which can somewhat answer the question about blood ruining head retention.

i forgot about the fact that blood is not simply blood but is a solution of fats, proteins etc.. and its generally unpleasant flavour when its fresh. thanks for the serious response, as requested. just always trying to think of what might be cool to ferment

 

[mezak1gd]

i forgot about the fact that blood is not simply blood but is a solution of fats, proteins etc.. and its generally unpleasant flavour when its fresh. thanks for the serious response, as requested. just always trying to think of what might be cool to ferment

Why did you think it would be cool to ferment blood? I still need an explanation. I mean no normal person just one day thinks I'm going to buy some animal blood and add alcohol and drink it. I didnt even know you could buy animal blood.

 

[McKBrew]

If you are into fermenting bodily fluids and solids there is always Jenkem.


I haven't tried it myself but I've heard it smells crappy.

 

[Edcculus]

Why did you think it would be cool to ferment blood? I still need an explanation. I mean no normal person just one day thinks I'm going to buy some animal blood and add alcohol and drink it. I didnt even know you could buy animal blood.

Haha, I thought the same thing! There is stuff that is cool to ferment, like honey, different fruits, and that fermented corn beverage where you spit on the mashed up corn to convert the starches into sugars. Blood is just an entire different level of disgusting. Not to sound harsh, but it really doesn't make any sense at all. There is barely any sugar or starch that can be converted to sugar. You would have to add a bunch of sugar. If you did that, then why ferment it in the first place. If you have some vampire fettish, just mix it with vodka and have a Twilight of a freaking time.

 

[SenorD]

Hmm- you could centrifuge to separate the cells from the plasma, and then discarded the plasma, that would remove all the clotting factors. Then resuspend the cells in distilled water to lyse them, centrifuge again for a lot longer to separate all the cellular debris, and save the liquid. You'll wind up with a fairly stable liquid with a lovely red color, and significantly smaller amount of potentially problematic proteins and lipids. Ascorbate would probably be all you need to keep the color, too.

Though an easier option [albeit expensive] might just be ordering a big bottle of purified hemoglobin, and stirring it into your wort.

Mind you, these are probably unworkable solutions unless you're good friends with a biologist...

 

[gratus fermentatio]

im wondering if it is possible to purchase animal blood and basically turn it into an alcohol by adding sugar and then yeast?

maybe the reasons why not are obvious, but if it were boiled to make it inert like wort, and had enough sugar added for an og of around 1.09 + then say wine yeast added would that work? or would it still go off somehow?

in all likelihood will not try this as i feel there may be some reason why blood wont work due to PH or who knows what, but interested in knowing, and perhaps trying

You're not the only one to wonder about this, here's a link to an experiment in fermenting blood meal:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/l685540451uj841j/

You know, in Iceland they ferment shark meat using lactic bacteria:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hákarl
In Sweden they ferment herring in a similar fashion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surströmming

Why couldn't you use the same bacteria to ferment blood, afterall, it ferments the flesh doesn't it? What about using a lager yeast, or some other type of yeast that ferments at low temps, low enough to keep the blood from spoiling or clotting? Blood banks store liquid blood in refridgerators.

It might be nasty tasting, it might taste like chicken soup with a shot of vodka, I don't know. I'd be interested in hearing about how such an experiment goes though. Regards, GF.

 

[EricCSU]

I have heard that adding fresh hibiscus can give your beer a great blood red color. I think that it would be cool to add it to a light colored beer for a halloween party.

Anyone tried it?

Eric

 

[FromZwolle]

I have heard that adding fresh hibiscus can give your beer a great blood red color. I think that it would be cool to add it to a light colored beer for a halloween party.

Anyone tried it?

Eric

i imagine blood beer as more of a dark crimson guiness. especially the 'waterfall' effect they used to boast about in their comercials. that would be a pretty cool beer. there's no way i'm drinking it if it's actually got blood in there, but it would still look cool.

 

[dibby33]

IBTL. lol been away for a year and come back to this. First post I saw. Jings. Anybody remember me, drop me a message

 

[Yooper]

I've had enough.