Anyone know how to make prison type alcohol?

[vernon]

Unlikely to be sherry, as that's fortified - ie alcohol is added after fermentation.

Ok Sherry flavoured.

Whereas the oversweet blackberry wine that I put through a school's still - that was something else.

 

[silverleaf]

I worked in a state prison 5 years and recall the inmates using raw bread dough for the yeast, sugar, water and raisins in a plastic jug to produce Raisin Jack. Naturally, people who worked in the food service workers were popular for supplies and laundry workers were helpful in providing a warm location behind the dryers for the required fermentation period. Often discovered and confiscated, some of it smelled quite nice and drinkable but of course was poured down the drains after it served its purpose as evidence in a disciplinary hearing.

 

[classic33]

I've homebrew in a demijohn thats "eaten" five rubber bungs.

Last time one of them got moved, it exploded.

 

[Cuchilo]

I have some blackcurrent wine getting stronger as I type in the kitchen . Next door made it and handed me the bottle over the fence . I has two sips from a glass and its already like rocket fuel . I doubt I will drink it myself as I like to get slowly shitfaced over time rather than shitfaced within an hour . I have standards !

 

[Accy cyclist]

The video was very helpful,even if he did waffle on a bit. He said it would produce alcohol of about 8 to 10 percent,but i want it stronger does anyone here know how to do that?

 

[slowmotion]

The video was very helpful,even if he did waffle on a bit. He said it would produce alcohol of about 8 to 10 percent,but i want it stronger does anyone here know how to do that?

I think that you can only get to about 17% ABV with just fermentation. If you want to go higher, you need to start distilling. There are loads of clips on Youtube about it. Be warned that it is illegal and , if you get it wrong, you risk blindness and death from chemical poisoning.




Edit: I forgot. I think you can concentrate your brew by freezing off excess water.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I think that you can only get to about 17% ABV with just fermentation. If you want to go higher, you need to start distilling. There are loads of clips on Youtube about it. Be warned that it is illegal and , if you get it wrong, you risk blindness and death from chemical poisoning.




Edit: I forgot. I think you can concentrate your brew by freezing off excess water.

Maybe adding more fruit(raisins like in the video)to feed the yeast might work? Then again it might explode? Maybe i'll stick to the vids recipe.

 

[vernon]

The video was very helpful,even if he did waffle on a bit. He said it would produce alcohol of about 8 to 10 percent,but i want it stronger does anyone here know how to do that?

Go to Aldi and buy some of their cheap vodka.

Distilling, like Slomotion said, can be a risky business. Alcohol vapour is explosive at quite small concentrations and if you condense vapour from the wrong temperature range, you could end up with methyl alcohol and other nasties in your hooch. I had access to quick fit glassware, water baths and National Physics Laboratory calibrated thermometers and reflux distilled my blackberry wine. It wasn't a fast process and the yield was quite small - a bottle of hooch from a demijohn and it took ages to do. The product was tasty but not really worth the hassle obtaining it - it required constant monitoring.

I had a manual for constructing a range of stills and all of them looked a bit dodgy. The accompanying text didn't fill me with confidence and it languished on a shelf in my man cupboard until I sold it through Ebay with suitable warnings in the text.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Go to Aldi and buy some of their cheap vodka.

Distilling, like Slomotion said, can be a risky business. Alcohol vapour is explosive at quite small concentrations and if you condense vapour from the wrong temperature range, you could end up with methyl alcohol and other nasties in your hooch. I had access to quick fit glassware, water baths and National Physics Laboratory calibrated thermometers and reflux distilled my blackberry wine. It wasn't a fast process and the yield was quite small - a bottle of hooch from a demijohn and it took ages to do. The product was tasty but not really worth the hassle obtaining it - it required constant monitoring.

I had a manual for constructing a range of stills and all of them looked a bit dodgy. The accompanying text didn't fill me with confidence and it languished on a shelf in my man cupboard until I sold it through Ebay with suitable warnings in the text.

I could buy some cheap supermarket booze but that'd take the fun out of it.
The idea was that i'd make some "prison alcohol"which would ferment in time for a halloween party i'm planning. Maybe i could make up the brew like in the video,then add a bottle of cheapo vodka.

 

[Fnaar]

I just cheat, and have filled our heating system with gin. I just tap the radiators as necessary.

 

[Poacher]

The video was very helpful,even if he did waffle on a bit. He said it would produce alcohol of about 8 to 10 percent,but i want it stronger does anyone here know how to do that?

Steven Molaro achieved 14% with his white prison wine. Scroll down to Vol. 8, taking note of the other interesting consumables as you go.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Hmm,I saw the title and presumed (wrongly it turned out) Soup had asked another question. Then knew that whoever had asked it, Vernon would know the answer. I guess I should consider myself almost a regular now :-)

I'd have thought, out of consideration for your victims, a concoction from Lidl/Aldi with a suitable handmade label on the bottle would be better for Halloween than actually trying to brew the stuff. Its purpose at a Halloween party being distinctly different to that in a prison.

Agreed from the OP, I'd imagine it'd been distilled in one way or another, I think using a freezer will still give you strong enough alcohol to do serious damage. Although equally it could be that it wasn't the strength, but poisoning from what was in it, especially if they weren't overly careful with the components they were using and hygiene in general. Also, it's all made up, it doesn't mean it could really happen media types are terrible like that.

 

[slowmotion]

Go to Aldi and buy some of their cheap vodka.

Distilling, like Slomotion said, can be a risky business. Alcohol vapour is explosive at quite small concentrations and if you condense vapour from the wrong temperature range, you could end up with methyl alcohol and other nasties in your hooch. I had access to quick fit glassware, water baths and National Physics Laboratory calibrated thermometers and reflux distilled my blackberry wine. It wasn't a fast process and the yield was quite small - a bottle of hooch from a demijohn and it took ages to do. The product was tasty but not really worth the hassle obtaining it - it required constant monitoring.

I had a manual for constructing a range of stills and all of them looked a bit dodgy. The accompanying text didn't fill me with confidence and it languished on a shelf in my man cupboard until I sold it through Ebay with suitable warnings in the text.

Vernon, how about this? You go and buy a load of cheap Aldi vodka and then distil it to increase the ABV from say 40% to 85%. OK, you won't actually gain any ethanol but you might get a true "Firewater" experience. My question is, would distilling an already pure product eliminate the risk of producing a poisonous final tipple?

 

[vernon]

Vernon, how about this? You go and buy a load of cheap Aldi vodka and then distil it to increase the ABV from say 40% to 85%. OK, you won't actually gain any ethanol but you might get a true "Firewater" experience. My question is, would distilling an already pure product eliminate the risk of producing a poisonous final tipple?

I reckon so. Commercial spirits start off at high alcohol content, cask strength, and are watered down to 'bottle strength'. All you are doing is reversing the process. There should be no chemical changes if the mix is not in direct contact with the heat source e.g. an immersion heater. A water bath is perfect as the alcohol evaporates at around 80 degrees. The alcohol evaporates first taking a tiny amount of water with it - you can never obtain 100% ethanol by distillation - the last of the water has to be removed usually by using concentrated sulphuric acid as the dessicant.

The main problem with distilling is making sure that you don't allow alcohol vapour to built up and no open source of ignition or static electricity build up is allowed; 3% v/v with air is the lower explosive limit and more than one garage roof has been lifted from the walls by folk using gas rings as the heat source with their stills.. Doing things out in the open air is safer but more easily spotted.....

 

[vernon]

Agreed from the OP, I'd imagine it'd been distilled in one way or another, I think using a freezer will still give you strong enough alcohol to do serious damage. Although equally it could be that it wasn't the strength, but poisoning from what was in it, especially if they weren't overly careful with the components they were using and hygiene in general. Also, it's all made up, it doesn't mean it could really happen media types are terrible like that.

Quality control with prison hooch is hit and miss. Each batch is unique and non reproducible and with the random moulds that grow in the mix, who's to know what pathogens albeit in low concentrations are present. There doesn't appear to be any hygiene involved in prison brew ups everything seems to be done at body heat and below, no sterilisation takes place and as much as I take chances and short cuts I'd not gamble on having anything drinkable by Halloween using random brewing/wine making activities. I've seen the effects of a 'bad batch' on my house mates when I was an undergraduate. They took three of four days to recover control of their alimentary canals. Thankfully I was away for the weekend when they drank it and it was the beer of the least hygienic brewer that did the damage.

My recommendation would be to purchase budget 30 bottle wine kit that's drinkable within seven days which gives leeway for re brewing if a batch doesn't work, fortify it with vodka and lie about the provenance.