In article >, a > wrote:
>Try freeze distilling for a start to save outlay. Alcohol doesn't freeze,
>water does ;-) Just scoop the ice out and (eventually) enjoy the rest.

I would agree.

Part of the issue with ginger beer is that the stuff that makes ginger
aromatic is somewhat more volatile than alcohol, and it's going to come
out in the heads. If you run ginger beer (or a higher proof ginger wine)
through a pot still, most of the actual ginger flavour is going to disappear
completely.

Freeze distillation removes water, leaving behind the lighter fractions,
and consequently leaves behind a lot more of the flavour of the original
mash. Unfortunately it can leave behind undesirable flavours as well, and
the stuff that causes headaches. But it is much more apt to result in an
interesting product given ginger beer to begin with.

If you really want to start distilling, there are a number of homemade pot
still options including the classic Kenmore water distiller. They all have
various advantages and disadvantages depending on what you are trying to
distill and whether you need more diffuse heating to prevent pectins from
burning or whether you can live just with an immersion heating element.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Jan 1, 8:08*am, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> In article >, a > wrote:
> >Try freeze distilling for a start to save outlay. Alcohol doesn't freeze,
> >water does ;-) Just scoop the ice out and (eventually) enjoy the rest.
>
> I would agree.
>
> Part of the issue with ginger beer is that the stuff that makes ginger
> aromatic is somewhat more volatile than alcohol, and it's going to come
> out in the heads. *If you run ginger beer (or a higher proof ginger wine)
> through a pot still, most of the actual ginger flavour is going to disappear
> completely.
>
> Freeze distillation removes water, leaving behind the lighter fractions,
> and consequently leaves behind a lot more of the flavour of the original
> mash. *Unfortunately it can leave behind undesirable flavours as well, and
> the stuff that causes headaches. *But it is much more apt to result in an
> interesting product given ginger beer to begin with.
>
> If you really want to start distilling, there are a number of homemade pot
> still options including the classic Kenmore water distiller. *They all have
> various advantages and disadvantages depending on what you are trying to
> distill and whether you need more diffuse heating to prevent pectins from
> burning or whether you can live just with an immersion heating element.

All true, but I expect that there are plenty of folks out there who
don't even want to see the word beer today,

> --scott
>

--Bryan

Bryan > wrote:
>
>All true, but I expect that there are plenty of folks out there who
>don't even want to see the word beer today,

Hey, man, I would have told you to leave that stuff alone and stick with
the veuve cliquot.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Dick Adams" > wrote in message
...

> Since Ginger is a spice rather than a sugar,
> the following is probably correct:
>
> For 35 liters of water:
>
> Sugar SG ABV
> ----- ----- _____
> 5 kg 1.075 10.12
> 6 kg 1.090 11.97
> 7 kg 1.105 12.78
> 8 kg 1.120 15.54
> 9 kg 1.136 17.36
>

I think you will struggle to find a yeast that will ferment to 17.36, most
die at around 15 or less.
This is why wine tends to be 14-15% AFAIK

On 1-12-2011 09:20, dennis@home wrote:

>>
>
> I think you will struggle to find a yeast that will ferment to 17.36,
> most die at around 15 or less.
> This is why wine tends to be 14-15% AFAIK

Looking at the Wyeast website, most ale yeasts can handle about 10% max.
Wine yeasts tend to handle 14-17%.

dennis@home > wrote:
>"Dick Adams" > wrote in message
>
>> Since Ginger is a spice rather than a sugar,
>> the following is probably correct:
>>
>> For 35 liters of water:
>>
>> Sugar SG ABV
>> ----- ----- _____
>> 5 kg 1.075 10.12
>> 6 kg 1.090 11.97
>> 7 kg 1.105 12.78
>> 8 kg 1.120 15.54
>> 9 kg 1.136 17.36
>>
>
>I think you will struggle to find a yeast that will ferment to 17.36, most
>die at around 15 or less.
>This is why wine tends to be 14-15% AFAIK

The turboyeasts used for some spirits production will ferment considerably
higher, BUT at the expense of having a lot of off-tastes. Since these are
mostly heavier molecules that come out in the distillation tails, that's not
a problem, although it would be a serious problem if you use them for something
that wasn't distilled.

If you are making non-distilled beverages, in most cases you make sure the
original sugar content is sufficiently high that, after the yeast dies off,
you have as much sugar as you want in it. You use the yeast attenuation to
set the proof. If you are looking to make a super-dry beverage, though, you
will want the sugar to run out before the yeast does, and so you use the sugar
content to set the proof.

Champagne is a special case of the latter; the sugar runs out, then you
add a little more sugar (dosage) to ferment in-bottle. For brut champagnes
you add only enough dosage to make it fizzy while still not killing off the
yeast.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Dec 22 2010, 12:07*pm, Adam Funk > wrote:
> On 2010-12-21, Phil L wrote:
>
> > john robinson wrote:
> >> Does anyone have any information about making a simple *distilling*
> >> apparatus that they can share? *My friend is thinking of trying to
> >> distil some ginger beer.
>
> I've heard that _The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible_ is good.
>
> > Go to your local home brewing store - I went past mine today and had a look
> > in, they had a sign in the window which read 'distill your own spirits' and
> > underneath this sign was a stainless steel contraption, but I was in the car
> > and didn't really have time to investigate further, but i doubt it is
> > illegal as they had lots of these things in boxes in the window, and part of
> > the name was 'still' - it's obviously intended for distilling and must be
> > legal - this shop's on the main road through the town centre.
>
> I think they're sold for purifying water. *Similarly, I've seen signs
> in shop windows that say "These products are sold for tobacco use
> only." * ;-)

And the home-brewing kit exported to Saudi Arabia. It came with lots
of recipes for what you can do with a tin of malt extract. One of the
recipes was "Hop flavoured vinegar". One bullet point in the recipe
was "at this point you have beer, but it would be illegal to drink
it. You must allow it to go sour ..."

Martin wrote on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:06:20 -0800 (PST):

> On Dec 22 2010, 12:07 pm, Adam Funk > wrote:
>> On 2010-12-21, Phil L wrote:
>>
> >> john robinson wrote:
> >>> Does anyone have any information about making a simple
> >>> *distilling* apparatus that they can share? My friend is
> >>> thinking of trying to distil some ginger beer.
>>
>> I've heard that _The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible_ is good.
>>
> >> Go to your local home brewing store - I went past mine
> >> today and had a look in, they had a sign in the window
> >> which read 'distill your own spirits' and underneath this
> >> sign was a stainless steel contraption, but I was in the
> >> car and didn't really have time to investigate further, but
> >> i doubt it is illegal as they had lots of these things in
> >> boxes in the window, and part of the name was 'still' -
> >> it's obviously intended for distilling and must be legal -
> >> this shop's on the main road through the town centre.
>>
>> I think they're sold for purifying water. Similarly, I've
>> seen signs in shop windows that say "These products are sold
>> for tobacco use only." ;-)

A bit like the bottles of unpasteurized apple juice (cider) sold in
Prohibition times with the warning, "Keep closed to prevent
fermentation". Incidentally, even now, a little fermentation improves
the taste of apple juice a lot.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Jan 12, 7:14*am, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> *Martin *wrote *on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:06:20 -0800 (PST):
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Dec 22 2010, 12:07 pm, Adam Funk > wrote:
> >> On 2010-12-21, Phil L wrote:
>
> > >> john robinson wrote:
> > >>> Does anyone have any information about making a simple
> > >>> *distilling* apparatus that they can share? *My friend is
> > >>> thinking of trying to distil some ginger beer.
>
> >> I've heard that _The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible_ is good.
>
> > >> Go to your local home brewing store - I went past mine
> > >> today and had a look in, they had a sign in the window
> > >> which read 'distill your own spirits' and underneath this
> > >> sign was a stainless steel contraption, but I was in the
> > >> car and didn't really have time to investigate further, but
> > >> i doubt it is illegal as they had lots of these things in
> > >> boxes in the window, and part of the name was 'still' -
> > >> it's obviously intended for distilling and must be legal -
> > >> this shop's on the main road through the town centre.
>
> >> I think they're sold for purifying water. *Similarly, I've
> >> seen signs in shop windows that say "These products are sold
> >> for tobacco use only." * ;-)
>
> A bit like the bottles of unpasteurized apple juice (cider) sold in
> Prohibition times with the warning, "Keep closed to prevent
> fermentation". Incidentally, even now, a little fermentation improves
> the taste of apple juice a lot.
>

Fresh apple cider I buy at the farmers markets inflates their plastic
jugs after a week or so -- a very pleasing beverage.