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[SirQuiamus]

So, today I just got back from a stout competition. Our beer, a foreign extra stout, didn't win any awards... but the three judges gave us scores of 38, 38 and 33 out of 50. So, overall, pretty stoked considering it was the first beer we ever designed and made from the ground up.

I'm currently baking celebratory baguettes, because fuck yeah, yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Everyone's favourite microorganism, mankind's saviour and best friend.

Homebrewing: Noble and exacting art requiring utmost skill and diligence.

Homebrew: Hallowed drink of gods and heroes, bringer of wisdom and cheer, wellspring of good health.

_{(The last one's a bit of an exaggeration. After several years of experimentation, my glorious special homebrew still tastes like fermented horsepiss. Damn good value for money, though.)}   

[Osmosis Jones]

To Saccharomyces, it's friendly cousin Brettanomyces, and the mischievious (but helpful for sourdough) Candida! Seriously, virtually all of my favourite foods are fermented or cultured in some way, whether it's dairy, meat, bread or booze!

Glad to find another brewer. If you're getting off flavours, I have to ask; do you control the temp? A *lot* of funky flavours come from temperature issues. Failing that, are you doing extract or all grain? Extract can have a certain, distinctive taste that is what most people think of when they think of home brew.

[SirQuiamus]

I have a history of extract-based kits and all-grain, with very little success in the latter. Extract brew can be... halfway decent, I guess? It does have something in it that reminds me of alcohol-free (brrrr), but it's otherwise clean-tasting, if a bit bland. My all-grain experiments, on the other hand, are usually rife with every possible farmyard odour, and as you suspect, it's probably due to temperature issues rather than contamination. (As a matter of fact, the occasional cider-like off-flavour can be quite welcome in a batch of nondescript homebrew.)
Thing is, I'm too poor and stingy to buy proper equipment, and controlling the temperature on an ordinary electric stove is... haha, you know.
I'll keep on experimenting, but it might be wise to stick to extract until I've got the dosh to invest in a proper brewery (which won't happen any time soon).

...and potato wine is always a good alternative to beer since it's supposed to taste god-awful. :>

[scrdest]

...and potato wine is always a good alternative to beer since it's supposed to taste god-awful. :>

Out of curiosity, is there any difference between potato wine and undistilled vodka?

[Caz]

Thing is, I'm too poor and stingy to buy proper equipment, and controlling the temperature on an ordinary electric stove is... haha, you know.
I'll keep on experimenting, but it might be wise to stick to extract until I've got the dosh to invest in a proper brewery (which won't happen any time soon).

...and potato wine is always a good alternative to beer since it's supposed to taste god-awful. :>

The temp while it's brewing. You can get those little glass 'heaters' that go inside the barrel and keep things at the right temp if it's too cold. Not sure what you could do if it's too warm - find the coldest spot in your house, maybe? The ideal temperature is also based on the type of yeast you use, so read the packet for that info.

Also, sanitation. You've got to be really anal about cleaning -anything- that is going to touch the wort. Otherwise, strange things get into it and produce the beer of sadness.

[scrdest]

Also, sanitation. You've got to be really anal about cleaning -anything- that is going to touch the wort. Otherwise, strange things get into it and produce the beer of sadness.

-5 Beer of Sadness, Legendary Potion, confers a Poison status effect in addition to regular Drunk status effect.

[Reudh]

So, today I just got back from a stout competition. Our beer, a foreign extra stout, didn't win any awards... but the three judges gave us scores of 38, 38 and 33 out of 50. So, overall, pretty stoked considering it was the first beer we ever designed and made from the ground up.

I'm currently baking celebratory baguettes, because fuck yeah, yeast.

You go, man!

[SirQuiamus]

...and potato wine is always a good alternative to beer since it's supposed to taste god-awful. :>

Out of curiosity, is there any difference between potato wine and undistilled vodka?

No difference at all, although vodka can be made from grain mash just as well. Oh, and I should point out that brewing non-grain/non-fruit beverages is against the law in certain jurisdictions, and I would never, ever dream of doing such a thing.

The temp while it's brewing...

My kitchen closet has a pretty stable temperature of ~20C in the winter months, which is good enough for top-fermenting yeast, AFAIK. What comes to mashing temperatures, some people on the net have suggested putting the pot in a warm oven, which is something I haven't tried yet. I should probably invest a few euros in a digital thermometer to find out whether the oven's thermostat is even in the right ballpark.

I'm sometimes a bit sloppy with sanitation, but the good news is that contamination does not necessarily result in -5 Beer of Sadness. A little accident involving lactobacilli or pediococci may actually improve your boring extract-based brew: I once had a batch of generic pale ale that matured into a mutant love child of Berliner Weisse and French cidre – very weird and refreshing. :p But then again, I've encountered a few genuine cases of XXSewer BrewXX as well, and the smell alone is enough to prevent anyone from drinking that shit. :0~~         

[Eldin00]

...and potato wine is always a good alternative to beer since it's supposed to taste god-awful. :>

Out of curiosity, is there any difference between potato wine and undistilled vodka?

No difference at all, although vodka can be made from grain mash just as well. Oh, and I should point out that brewing non-grain/non-fruit beverages is against the law in certain jurisdictions, and I would never, ever dream of doing such a thing.

Except for a period in the late 1700's/early 1800's when potatoes were substantially cheaper than wheat in eastern europe, the vast majority of vodka has always been made from grain mash. And even during that time, potato vodka was looked at as a cheaper, lower quality version in that region. But given that vodka is essentially alcohol distilled to be nearly pure, and then watered down to the desired strength, very nearly any fermentable plant matter can be used, and quite a few different ones have been. So potato wine is no different from undistilled vodka, in the same since that any other fermented beverage is no different from undistilled vodka, but not in the sense that it actually resembles what any significant percentage of vodka in the world is really made from.

[GiglameshDespair]

I have a book of old brewing recipes. BAsically, if it's a plant, you can make booze out of it. Beets, radishes, tomatoes, whatever.

[RedKing]

Yep. If there's any kind of sugars in it at all (which, since sugars are a key part of the respiration cycle for most organisms, is just about everything), you can eventually get some kind of fermentation.

There's a distillery here in NC that apparently makes an extremely palatable sweet potato vodka.
Slogan: "The Best Yam Vodka on Earth" 

[Bauglir]

Today I learned you can even make vodka from the byproducts of oil refining, according to wikipedia.

[Osmosis Jones]

I am scared and impressed by the creativity and ingenuity of drunk oil rig workers. Or possibly scientists. Although I shouldn’t be in the latter case, as I am one. Hmmm.

Also, with regards to mashing; we don’t actually heat our grain at all *during* the mash; if you heat your strike water about 3-4 C above the mash temp, you can pretty much just drop the grain in there and wrap everything in a couple of layers of towels etc, and she’ll hold fine for an hour (you only really need the right temp for 20-30 min with modern malts, btw, but the hour thing seems to be tradition). Getting the right water temp is doable then with just known quantities of ice and boiling water!

Also, nicely done with the wild sours. If you still have a bottle or two of that stuff left, you should pitch the dregs onto a fresh batch, you can basically keep your own sour culture going that way, like the best brouwerijen of Belgium! 

[acetech09]

In a pinch, swedish whiskey + draft root beer does work.

*the more you knooow*

[Sappho]

In a pinch, swedish whiskey + draft root beer does work.

*the more you knooow*

Swedish whiskey? I would like to know more, please.