Homebrewing

[Shiranu]

I would like to try brewing someday... not a big fan of alcohol, but the creative process seems like it is almost an art and that interests me.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

I would like to try brewing someday... not a big fan of alcohol, but the creative process seems like it is almost an art and that interests me.

Both a science and art, really. Distilling is where you get more sciencey with it, but there's still plenty of room to try things.

[Plu]

Food preperation in general is a cross between chemistry and art. If you do it properly, anyway.

[Alloy Crow]

I have a couple of question on whisky making, Distilling my own liquour has been in my mind for some time, I would like to make some whisky, do they add flavours besides the one the cask gives to the liquid? when I distill some 'beer', be it made with sugar, corn, rice, whatever, the end result should always be ethyl alcohol and water right? or are there other liquids that get condensed with the alcohol and water that add flavour? I have seen some whiskys that clam to have, for instance, fruty flavours, is this added after distillment?

thanks for your input.

Most of the flavor in professional made whiskey comes from years of barrel aging. Some of the flavor comes from other grains besides corn. These grains usually add a non fermentable sugar(like rye) to the wort(non fermented liquid), others add a more fermentable sugar to the wort(and increase the "bite" of the finished product). Plain sugar makes a FOUL tasting final product(the fermentation of it is ungodly).

Unless you have access to pro quality still(NO solder, HIGH quality copper, etc) AND its legal in the country that you reside in, I wouldn't bother trying to distill booze. Homebrewing is simpler, legal damn near everywhere, and ALOT less can go wrong(no worry of still explosions, coper leaching into the final product, going to federal pound me in the ass prison).

thanks for responding, another question, do you know what other components beside the ethyl alcohol and water come forth after the vaporization process?
thanks for the concern, I'm not planning a massive distilling operation :P, still, where I live i wont have a law related problem.
Now, about the copper leaching into the product... is it hazardous to the health or it just changes the taste?.

cheers

[Moralnihilist]

I have a couple of question on whisky making, Distilling my own liquour has been in my mind for some time, I would like to make some whisky, do they add flavours besides the one the cask gives to the liquid? when I distill some 'beer', be it made with sugar, corn, rice, whatever, the end result should always be ethyl alcohol and water right? or are there other liquids that get condensed with the alcohol and water that add flavour? I have seen some whiskys that clam to have, for instance, fruty flavours, is this added after distillment?

thanks for your input.

Most of the flavor in professional made whiskey comes from years of barrel aging. Some of the flavor comes from other grains besides corn. These grains usually add a non fermentable sugar(like rye) to the wort(non fermented liquid), others add a more fermentable sugar to the wort(and increase the "bite" of the finished product). Plain sugar makes a FOUL tasting final product(the fermentation of it is ungodly).

Unless you have access to pro quality still(NO solder, HIGH quality copper, etc) AND its legal in the country that you reside in, I wouldn't bother trying to distill booze. Homebrewing is simpler, legal damn near everywhere, and ALOT less can go wrong(no worry of still explosions, coper leaching into the final product, going to federal pound me in the ass prison).

thanks for responding, another question, do you know what other components beside the ethyl alcohol and water come forth after the vaporization process?
thanks for the concern, I'm not planning a massive distilling operation :P, still, where I live i wont have a law related problem.
Now, about the copper leaching into the product... is it hazardous to the health or it just changes the taste?.

cheers

You would want as little water in the post distillate as possible. The only other things in the post distillate are called congeners(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congener_(alcohol)

Copper leaching can cause some major issues depending on the quality of the copper doing the leaching. If there is bronze or brass in the copper then you have to worry about led infesting the final product.

ALOT of brewing and distillation is sanitization. Infections of bacteria and unwanted natural yeasts are responsible for more bad issues with booze than any other issue. Another thing that will take up quite a bit of time is documentation. Without detailed documentation you won't be able to duplicate your successes and tracking down issues will be monumentally difficult.