On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:16:50 +0000, osterage72
> wrote:

>class! thanks for the advice guys! iv now realised this is a 'septic
>tank' website! for u thick people in america, thats rhyming slang (and
>a pretty close comparison) to 'yanks'! so get yourself to some other
>poor 3rd world country, kill thousands of women and kids, and thieve
>all of there natural resources u scum bags!

You ask for help and that's what you say in return.

Dick was being funny, yes, but you obviously don't realize that his
advice really would work, and quite well. It wouldn't make a good
alcoholic beverage, but it would be quite alcoholic. It's very similar
to what we did in a college chemistry class before distilling it--for
educational purposes only, of course.

You COULD take this a step further and buy the book, the lure of still
building, and make a makeshift still out of things common to almost
every kitchen, to distill your alcohol, but if you live in the USA,
you would be breaking the law. Distillation of alcohol without a
permit, even for automotive fuel, is a federal crime.

I am quite serious about saying that Dick's approach will work. If you
wanted a GOOD tasting beverage, you have to get a little more
complicated and spend some money.

You can save some money on the yeast by making a 5 gallon batch and
using the one packet for the entire 5 gallons, let it ferment in the 5
gallon bucket, covered with polyethylene (Saran) wrap, and then bottle
it AFTER you are sure it is done fermenting. You could check to see if
pressure builds up in the 2 liter bottles over time and bleed that
off. If it's not too much pressure, it would make a carbonated
beverage. Not a good tasting one, but carbonated nonetheless.

If you want good flavor, beer is probably the easiest to fool with if
you want quick results and cheap ingredients. But you'll have to ask
nicely. The yahoo group Zymurgy might be of some help, but expect to
spend a little on equipment. You can use a 5 gallon food grade pail
and make 4 gallons of beer (you need some headspace for fermentation
activity), but you should have a cover, a hole in it, a rubber
stopper, and an airlock. You would need a second pail and some clear
food grade plastic tubing. Ingredients can be had somewhat
inexpensively if you buy malt extract in cans at a homebrew supply
store that are past their shelf date. Some come ready to make certain
styles, already hopped, so you would only need some corn sugar for
bottling, and possibly to boost the alcohol content if that's your
primary goal.

You can use 2 liter bottles but only if they are filled. Otherwise,
use smaller bottles for the last few.

More details can be had from the Zymurgy group if you really want to
pursue this.

Don