Hello;
Just had to respond to your frugal home brewing. GREAT way to get fruit juices to alcohol CHEAP. I've been brewing beer for a while now and I'll NEVER go back to 'pour it into a bucket...mix and ferment'. Yes, the beer wort takes about 2 hours to get to the fermentor, and then more time for racking and bottling so there is an investment in time and equip. but we don't have bottles of $1 beer anywhere at anytime around here. HOWEVER --- here is another way to cut down on brewing times for those that like shortcuts but truly enjoy the flavor of beer ~~~~ not fruit juices. Get a can of malt beer (such as Coopers, Brewers Best, Munctons, etc) usually costs about $15-26 per can depending on variety. Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil, slowly add entire can and leave at a soft boil for 15-20 min. Allow to cool to 80-90 F, pour it into a 5-gal bucket (clean of course), add sugar, amount will vary upon taste, and additional water to get to you desired quantity (don't cheap out and try adding more water) you won't like the results. Stir sugar vigorously for 3-5 minutes, then add yeast that came with the beer malt. Stir again vigorously for 3-5 min. and bottle using E-Z Caps (DO NOT USE REGULAR BOTTLE CAPS) into 2 liter PLASTIC pop bottles or equivalent. The entire project should take about 60-90 min. Here is a website that explains this entire process and you can purchase the proper caps from them. This works out to around $.35 - $.45 per 12 oz bottle. This is the only method I've tried that does NOT have the "home brew" taste, some of mine would rival any micro-brewery. Here's a favorite that most MISTER Mustaches will love --- Double Indian Pale Ale !!!
Cheers,
PT
MOD EDIT: Spam link removed.