Brewing 20%ABV alcohol

[K4KEV]

Some time back I said I would make a thread about this....well since I am down to my last 4 bottles , now would be a good time, I will update this thread as I am actually doing it.
So, first thing you need to do is (assuming you have some brewing kit already)
purchase a kit or get all the bits separately, I used to get mine from a brewing shop in Hougton Le Spring but now I get it from ebay and at the same time I usually get my topshelf spirit concentrates as well, which is always
Southern haze, Vodka, Irish whiskey and Dry vermouth, Southern haze being my favorite as it is amazingly close to Southern comfort....all can be had from this ebay shop... here is a link
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2210344764... 4.m1497.l2649

This is an awsome price especially as it includes 11kg of monohydrate dextrose or brewing sugar to you or me, if you want a nice clean taste then this is the stuff to use....ordinary granulated sugar is crap...I've tried it.
What you will need to end up with 5 gallon of alcohol is .....a 5 gallon brewing bucket some sterilizing solution a piece of siphon tubing and bottles or containers to store the finished product in. I always use an aquarium heater to to keep the wash at a stable temp of 24 -25 centigrade but it not essential.
Well I ordered my kit from ebay yesterday so I should have it by Mon/Tuesday and that's when we shall start and I will do it stage by stage and day by day.

[Not Anumber]

How did you get on with the next stage ?

Would beer brewing equipment, plastic tank,hydrometer , submersible heater etc be ok to use for this ?

Is it best to use spirits bottles or screw cap wine bottles (I'm presuming a pressure barrel with added CO2 wouldnt really be the best )

[K4KEV]

Yep that is all that I used....in fact I capped mine at 20% as I wanted a thorough fermentation, I did this by using the hydrometer to achieve the correct specific gravity to sugar quantity and this worked out at around 9kg of sugar so over several brewing sessions I end up with enough sugar to get an extra one on the go.
I received my box of goodies yesterday so I will unpack them tonight to get the first stage under way very soon.
ps I just use 1.5L screw cap wine bottles and no I don't "fizz" any of them I use it all as spirit or liquor

[K4KEV]

Ok here is what the ingredients look like out of the box...the bottles of concentrate are my own choice you could use anything orange,black currant, banana....the choice is yours.

[K4KEV]

First thing to do is get your brewing stuff together and start to sterilize everything you are going to use

[K4KEV]

Once that is done, lets start brewing first stage is really simple....I like to start putting in the sugar one bag first then I use a 3L jug to start pouring hot water from the tap then keep repeating until full...if you use hot water by the time you have poured all the water and the sugar in give it a good stir the temperature will be down to where it needs to be 22-26C
Now is a good time to take a hydrometer reading to get the specific gravity, you don't really need to it is personal preference for me as I like to know what the ABV is at the end the end..... I forgot to take it at this point so I did it later when all the ingredients were mixed....now time to put the yeast in and the yeast nutrient ...give a mix up then finally the activated carbon, this gets rid of all the nasty yeast flavour at the end of fermentation, if you have a heater now is the time to put it in and put the "wash" as it is called where you want it to sit for the next 8-10 days....I just leave mine in the kitchen at the end of a worktop.....nearly forgot to say remember to put the lid on it.

[K4KEV]

Ok that was all done last night and today on checking the wash, it is well under way with vigorous fermenting taking place....now it is just a case of watching it go through the process each day

[Davidbolam]

It's looking tasty at the moment Kev lol. I am going to go and dig out my fermenting barrels! My wife says my brew always tastes like hairspray but after the first half pint it's quite nice.

David

[K4KEV]

Dave ...It used to put me off when I did beer and lager cos the orrible yeasty flavours that were left, but ever since home brewing introduced the activated carbon it has made home brew very palatable indeed and the Still Spirits top shelf concentrates are so accurate in their flavours....like Southern Haze really does taste like southern comfort and the irish whisky tastes exactly like Jamesons
Vodka....well nearly all vodka tastes the same, the dry vermouth tastes like Martini and of course that is the same strength.....give it a go, but for gods sake watch out ...I used to use a pint glass halfy half with lemonade gone back to 1/4 now and taking it easy

[K4KEV]

Just checked on brew and as you can see from the photo it is now at full throttle and looks like something simmering in a pan.....you can even hear the bubbles when you stand next to it click the first picture for a 10 sec clip