Any winemakers out there.

[xelasnave]

I love youtube how to make stuff.
I now know how to make gun cotton and a gas generator using cow manure...well lots of things that will come in handy when civilization collapses☺.

Lately although not a drinker at all these days I have been fascinated by the ways to make moonshine and a still out of a presure cooker and how to throw away what I would have thought was the best bit, the heads, rather than risk blindness...I would love to make some just out of interest.

But what caught my attention was the wine makers out there...the best being a guy , living cheaply or something with the name PawPaw I guess a hint at poor poor☺ anyways he gets fruit juice from Aldi takes out a glass of juice adds some bakers yeast and a cup and a half of sugar and puts the top on loose avoiding the need for one of those fancy units to keep bugs out, puts it away for 10 days abouts and ends up with some exotic sounding wine...so I ask are any members making their own wine, spirits or gun cotton☺ using a still built from a pressure cooker running on gas from their own gas generator.

In fact is there anything you make that may be interesting...like potasium nitrate. ..a great thing for stump removal...yes I know how to make it..you need it for the gun cotton☺...but for stump removal you cant beat it..let a solution permeate the stump let it dry lite it up and it smolders out of existence.
Alex

[RB (Andrew)]

I make a barrel or two (between 300 to 600 litres) every year or two.
The good old fashion way, just the grape (South Australian varieties).
No added sugar.
De-stem the grapes first, crush them, then into the press to extract the juice.
From there the grape juice goes straight into the sanitised barrel/s where it naturally ferments by it's own sugars for a time.
Once the fermentation is complete the barrel/s are sealed and left to aged.

When ready, you just enjoy.

I'll be making another batch next month.

RB

[Imme (Jon)]

I knew a bloke, he was a friend of a friend of a friend of my sisters half brothers uncle......

He made himself up a little 'toy' cannon that shot 3mm ball bearings. Didn't have access to gunpowder so made it up himself. I tell ya' that 'toy' cannon packed one hell of a punch. I once saw him shoot it, ricochet off a piece of metal and then go through a window about 30m away and come to rest halfway through a plaster wall.

This guy....he also made up his pwn moonshine from his dads plum trees at 16 years of age when he wasn't old enough to buy grog. It was so strong the stuff caught alight if a match was put to it!

[RB (Andrew)]

Yep, I've spoken to a few like that.
They make 'rocket fuel'.
I've never gotten into making moonshine though.
Not really my thing.

[LewisM]

I tend to make a lot of whine...

[Stonius (Markus)]

I got into it a while back. Never made anything I'd rate more than cooking wine.

One of the keys is to limit oxygen exposure when handling the wine. As a little bit of exposure is inevitable, it's hard to make good wine in small quantities.

The other thing is to control the fermentation temperature. If it runs away from you and gets too warm, you lose all the lovely flavours. Professional outfits have temperature controlled fermentation tanks for this reason.

Cheers

Markus

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

I tend to make a lot of whine...

Hence, as a moderator, I need to make so much wine.

[leon]

I know two blokes that make their own, and once one of them forgot to take it down to 40%, one glass mixed with his favorite flavor nearly killed Alice, I think it was nearly 100% pure Ethanol she was not well the next day or during the night for that matter.
She is not a drinker at all but did enjoy a glass of his brew occasionally.

Leon

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by RB

Hence, as a moderator, I need to make so much wine.

Alco

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Alco

Whinger.

[xelasnave]

Is it true that astronomers dont like moonshine?

I think I will make some...just to clean lenses☺
Alex