Survival and Alcohol

[hunter63]

With grapes you can buy any juice at the store and put any yeast in it and it will make good wine.
The two big secrets are when it quits bubbling just slowly add more sugar and don't screw the lid on tight and cause it to explode. There's a lot more to it , but you can learn that as you drink your first 20 gallons or so. If your winters get down to -20 and you set it outside, you can get it to about 50-60 proof by removing the frozen ice or bring it inside and drain off the colored liquid.

Old Polish guy I worked with at the factory.... made plum wine/hooch(?) with the frozen method.....50 gal wood barrel gave up about 9 gal of 'really good stuff".....Mixed 50/50 with Welshes Grape juice wouldn't melt the plastic glasses....

Didn't bring it up because it used a lot of sugar and commercial yeast.

[edr730]

It sounds as if he had some cold temperatures to distill that far with freezing. I wonder how far you could distill it with dry ice?

Most people seem to like strong semi-sweet wine, so that's why I tend to add sugar as fermentation progresses. I make more wine for others than myself. This "feeding" of the wine will produce as strong an alcohol content as the yeast will tolerate and you can sweeten it to taste at the end. Only alcohol, sugar or temperature can stop the fermentation. Too much yeast at any time during fermentation is nothing to be concerned about.

[randyt]

just so everyone knows freeze distillation is considered distilling by the ATF.

[hunter63]

..........Hey, said I just....ah.... "heard about it?" years ago.......LOL

[cacteye]

Yeah I know hayshaker, It really blows that I cant keep grapes alive here :-\