You can learn how to make your own alcoholic beverages at home with basic ingredients and simple equipment. To reduce the risk of contamination, sterilize your containers. Each type of alcohol requires a different approach. Start by following a trusted recipe until you become familiar with all the factors and processes involved. Without saying much, here is a list of beverages you can make at the comfort of your backyard.
1. Homemade Wine
Wine is fermented fruit juice, with grapes being the most frequently used fruit. Other types of fruits and flowers are used in wine production, including elderflower and dandelion. The fruits are first pressed before the fermentation process. Crushing the fruits manually can be hectic. You can purchase fruit presses that are available online for crushing apples into apple pulp. Fermentation is a simple and easy chemistry experiment. A solution containing water, sugar, fruit pulp, and fruit juice is created before the addition of wine yeast.
The yeast used in the production of wine is different from that used in baking. Wine yeast leaves no taste and can withstand a high concentration of alcohol. You can purchase the yeast from home brewing stores or online. Wine can be ready within weeks or months. The quality of the wine is determined by the amount of work you commit and the recipe. Here are some of the things you need to make wine at home:
- Acid titration kit
- Thermometer
- Screw-top wine bottles and plastic caps
- Hydrometer
- Fruit press
2. Homemade Liqueur
Unlike wine, a homemade liqueur is much easier to make. All you need is sugar, flavoring ingredients, and a combination of liquor such as brandy, vodka, or rum. Give the mixture time to steep, and then strain out the solids. The alcohol percentage for liqueur is about 20 to 30 percent and 40 to 60 percent for berry and fruit liqueur.
Typically, liqueur should contain one cup of sugar and three cups of liqueur. Since sugar has low solubility in cold liquid, most people use the syrup as the sweetener.
3. Home-Brewed beer
Beer is not so different from wine. Both drinks are a product of the fermentation process. Instead of fruit pulp and juice, beer is produced using sugars obtained from malted grains, also referred to as malt extract. The brewer’s yeast consumes sugars in malted grains to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Homebrewing can be a simple or hard process, depending on how you take it. All you need is a brewing container, a siphon hose, and a bubbler. In most cases, beer ferments in a week or two. The brewing process includes placing the unfermented beer in the container, inserting the bubbler in the little opening on top of the container, and letting it sit. The bubbler will allow carbon dioxide gas to escape without contaminating the beer.
Get a notebook and a pen to note down some notes when brewing at home. This will allow you to repeat a successful brew and make adjustments along the way. Once you capture the basics of making your liqueur, feel free to experiment. Whether you are making a liqueur, wine, or beer, the process should be enjoyable, and the result should be tasty drinks that you can take pride in.