Hello, I figured I would write an article on what I know as to add to this amazing community.
NOTE: (Sorry if I wrote this in the wrong section, if it needs to be moved let me know)
I'm going to outline how to make homemade wine, with and without yeast on hand and without using up your food supply using only water, sugar or sugar containing substances and yeast.
This can also produce vinegar if done incorrectly but that can still be used as a disinfectant/stomach wash.
This wine could be distilled to make grain alcohol for many uses.
Prep/supplies:
(note I am trying to write this formula for the least amount of ingredients possible. in a survival setting you won't want to waste anything that could be used elsewhere.)
-A container (1 gallon for this recipe)
-A pound of sugar
-A packet of bakers yeast (I will go over not needing yeast as well)
-A balloon (optional but provides higher rate of success)
-Water about 3/4ths of the gallon jug full
-Kool aid powder for flavor (Without this it still works but tastes like sugar and yeast lol)
(optional tools)
-A clear plastic hose (used to remove dead yeast or "Dregs" for a better tasting wine)
The science behind wine making:
Yeast eats sugar and produces Alcohol and CO2 as waste.
this continues until the amount of alcohol is enough to kill the yeast and the process completes. Yeast is a strong bacteria and is good at fighting off competitors so wine making is remarkably easy to do.
Making wine with yeast on hand:
First sterilize all of your materials with boiling water including the jug you will be using.
Second, add clean room temperature water to the jug about 3/4ths of the container full (this is to leave room for the foam and CO2 given off by the yeast.)
Third, Add your packet of yeast to the container and add a half a cup of sugar as well.
Next, put the lid on the container and Shake Well! you should shake for 15 minutes and cause it to be a solution.
After this take the balloon and pop a small hole in it with a needle, this is a poor mans airlock which will prevent air to enter and therefore reduces bacteria that will fight for control of the container.
Finally, Place the container in a warm dark location, perhaps a pantry or basement or closet. In a week or two it will be ready to drink. Remember to add kool aid for taste.
IMPORTANT: You should add 1/4th of a cup of sugar to this wine a day for the first few days to ensure the yeast has enough food but don't over do it as it can cause the yeast to die from shock.
NOTES:
-After a day you should hear bubbling like soda does in a glass. This is the sound of CO2 being released meaning the yeast is doing it's job.
-Dregs are safe to drink and will not hurt you, they look like a brown paste. Not to tasty but you won't get sick.
-This wine is safe to drink as long as it doesn't smell rotten or like vinegar.
-if it sells like vinegar it was exposed to bacteria and you will have to start again.
-If you want a better wine you can let it ferment longer (the longer the better)
and use a hose to siphon the wine into another container while trying not to transfer the dregs. each time you do this it will make the wine clearer. without this step it will be cloudy and brownish (safe to drink but not to fancy looking for sure.)
-DO NOT bottle this in a glass bottle until the yeast is all dead. it will cause the wine bottle to explode from CO2 pressure. If you want you can kill off the yeast by sugar shocking it.
Without yeast follow the above steps just instead of adding yeast:
Take a half a cup of fruit and let it be exposed to air in indirect sunlight for 3 days, it will mold, scrape the mold off and put the fruit into the wine. yeast is in the air and will get onto this fruit. this is still safe because yeast will fight off other bacteria's This is how people did it before yeast was produced artificially.
Also certain (all?) grapes have natural yeast which can be used.
I wouldn't recommend the Without yeast method unless its a SHTF scenario and yeast isn't easy to obtain.
Thanks for reading hopefully it was useful to some of you. If you follow these steps you will have a good pass time drink for the Apocalypse and a great trade good for the other wasteland dwellers of that time.
PS this tastes a lot better cold but is decent warm.
Thanks again!
Bloodocean7.
NOTE: (Sorry if I wrote this in the wrong section, if it needs to be moved let me know)
I'm going to outline how to make homemade wine, with and without yeast on hand and without using up your food supply using only water, sugar or sugar containing substances and yeast.
This can also produce vinegar if done incorrectly but that can still be used as a disinfectant/stomach wash.
This wine could be distilled to make grain alcohol for many uses.
Prep/supplies:
(note I am trying to write this formula for the least amount of ingredients possible. in a survival setting you won't want to waste anything that could be used elsewhere.)
-A container (1 gallon for this recipe)
-A pound of sugar
-A packet of bakers yeast (I will go over not needing yeast as well)
-A balloon (optional but provides higher rate of success)
-Water about 3/4ths of the gallon jug full
-Kool aid powder for flavor (Without this it still works but tastes like sugar and yeast lol)
(optional tools)
-A clear plastic hose (used to remove dead yeast or "Dregs" for a better tasting wine)
The science behind wine making:
Yeast eats sugar and produces Alcohol and CO2 as waste.
this continues until the amount of alcohol is enough to kill the yeast and the process completes. Yeast is a strong bacteria and is good at fighting off competitors so wine making is remarkably easy to do.
Making wine with yeast on hand:
First sterilize all of your materials with boiling water including the jug you will be using.
Second, add clean room temperature water to the jug about 3/4ths of the container full (this is to leave room for the foam and CO2 given off by the yeast.)
Third, Add your packet of yeast to the container and add a half a cup of sugar as well.
Next, put the lid on the container and Shake Well! you should shake for 15 minutes and cause it to be a solution.
After this take the balloon and pop a small hole in it with a needle, this is a poor mans airlock which will prevent air to enter and therefore reduces bacteria that will fight for control of the container.
Finally, Place the container in a warm dark location, perhaps a pantry or basement or closet. In a week or two it will be ready to drink. Remember to add kool aid for taste.
IMPORTANT: You should add 1/4th of a cup of sugar to this wine a day for the first few days to ensure the yeast has enough food but don't over do it as it can cause the yeast to die from shock.
NOTES:
-After a day you should hear bubbling like soda does in a glass. This is the sound of CO2 being released meaning the yeast is doing it's job.
-Dregs are safe to drink and will not hurt you, they look like a brown paste. Not to tasty but you won't get sick.
-This wine is safe to drink as long as it doesn't smell rotten or like vinegar.
-if it sells like vinegar it was exposed to bacteria and you will have to start again.
-If you want a better wine you can let it ferment longer (the longer the better)
and use a hose to siphon the wine into another container while trying not to transfer the dregs. each time you do this it will make the wine clearer. without this step it will be cloudy and brownish (safe to drink but not to fancy looking for sure.)
-DO NOT bottle this in a glass bottle until the yeast is all dead. it will cause the wine bottle to explode from CO2 pressure. If you want you can kill off the yeast by sugar shocking it.
Without yeast follow the above steps just instead of adding yeast:
Take a half a cup of fruit and let it be exposed to air in indirect sunlight for 3 days, it will mold, scrape the mold off and put the fruit into the wine. yeast is in the air and will get onto this fruit. this is still safe because yeast will fight off other bacteria's This is how people did it before yeast was produced artificially.
Also certain (all?) grapes have natural yeast which can be used.
I wouldn't recommend the Without yeast method unless its a SHTF scenario and yeast isn't easy to obtain.
Thanks for reading hopefully it was useful to some of you. If you follow these steps you will have a good pass time drink for the Apocalypse and a great trade good for the other wasteland dwellers of that time.
PS this tastes a lot better cold but is decent warm.
Thanks again!
Bloodocean7.