Simple recipe??

[Mortblanc]

I am sick of looking all over creation and finding every recipe requires a degree in chemistry or engineering to attain a pint of brew. Out ancestors did not have what we seem to require in equipment and contents and they managed to stay pretty well buzzed down through the ages.

Does anyone have a simple recipe for a quick beer that can be brewed on the stove at home with zero scientific controls.

It needs to use common ingredients and no exotic spices or aids, sort of like the barley/water/hops/yeast of the old German standard.

Only I do not have hops and barley!

I have corn (maize)!

It also needs to be quick! None of this "age 6 months before drinking" crap.

I want something I can start making using limited ingredients the day after SHTF and start drinking/selling it a week latter.

[MaryN]

I've never made corn beer - is that called "chicha"? - but there are loads of recipes on the internet. Corn isn't a common ingredient for brewing in the UK.

[Scythe13]

The original beer was apparently a chunk of bread left in a mug of water after some viking party. Not sure whether it's true or not, but there would be yeast, sugar, and water involved, so seems plausible.

[ErikEst]

(1 July 2013, 18:54)Mortblanc Wrote: I am sick of looking all over creation and finding every recipe requires a degree in chemistry or engineering to attain a pint of brew. Out ancestors did not have what we seem to require in equipment and contents and they managed to stay pretty well buzzed down through the ages.
Does anyone have a simple recipe for a quick beer that can be brewed on the stove at home with zero scientific controls.
It needs to use common ingredients and no exotic spices or aids, sort of like the barley/water/hops/yeast of the old German standard.
Only I do not have hops and barley!
I have corn (maize)!
It also needs to be quick! None of this "age 6 months before drinking" crap.
I want something I can start making using limited ingredients the day after SHTF and start drinking/selling it a week latter.

well you will never have a decent beer that quick.

only way you get sell-worthy liquid is distilling. and for that corn is ok. but you also need a yeast.

[Sunna]

they brew hooch in prison without lots of posh stuff

[Kenneth Eames]

Yeast is all around us, so it's easy to ferment booze. Often, if you look at an apple on a tree you will see a bloom upon it, this is wild yeast. It is the wild yeast that produces Sourdough. Produce your brew and cover with a cloth. After a while it will start to ferment or, perhaps not. If it ferments then there is wild yeast in the air within your home. Probably the easiest booze to produce in this way is mead. Fill a demijohn to a third with Honey, top up with warm water, plug the top with cotton wool and leave for a month, you have weak mead. Leave six months and you have a wonderful brew. The longer you keep it the better it tastes. Start Now! Kenneth Eames.

[BeardyMan]

(6 August 2013, 04:55)Kenneth Eames Wrote: Yeast is all around us, so it's easy to ferment booze. Often, if you look at an apple on a tree you will see a bloom upon it, this is wild yeast. It is the wild yeast that produces Sourdough. Produce your brew and cover with a cloth. After a while it will start to ferment or, perhaps not. If it ferments then there is wild yeast in the air within your home. Probably the easiest booze to produce in this way is mead. Fill a demijohn to a third with Honey, top up with warm water, plug the top with cotton wool and leave for a month, you have weak mead. Leave six months and you have a wonderful brew. The longer you keep it the better it tastes. Start Now! Kenneth Eames.

Any specific type of honey Kenneth? Or will run of the mill, shop bought stuff do the trick? Also, if I add yeast to ensure it ferments what type should I go for?

I do like a bit of mead

[Kenneth Eames]

beardyman, You can use any yeast that you wish. It is good to try any yeast but Turbo yeast will produce a higher alcohol content, in many cases up to 20%. This will be about half of the normal 40% spirits. Brew and enjoy. If you find a yeast that produces a brew that you enjoy, you can then preserve it on agar. Details of the process on the main site soon. Kenneth Eames.

[Mortblanc]

Raisin Jack and hard cider can be made the same way. Both of them take only a week to ferment if you add packaged yeast, longer with the wild variety.

It seems that apples on the tree are a very good producer of wild yeast. Several of the old "hard cider" recipes I found (1600-1800) had placing unwashed apple peels in the cider to insure fermentation.

Also had instructions for cultivating and preserving the yeast once you had a good batch, very much like a sourdough starter.

---

Guess I need to plant some apple trees and get the vineyard established.

[Kenneth Eames]

BeardyMan, Forgot to answer your question properly. Any honey should do but in the past I found that I liked Wild Flower honey, others use other types. Try several types over a period of time, don't blame me if you become an alchy. Nice to drink a small glassful on a winter's night before going to bed if you have a small glass. I only keep pint glasses in my house!!! Kenneth Eames.