BREW CHEAP ALCOHOL AT HOME : GINGER TEA WINE

I sterilised the bottle with a bit of bleach diluted in water. Rinse with water again after.

I tried making Chinese rice wine last night. This is my progress on making Chinese rice wine. I thought I try brewing another wine today since it is a long wait. I mean it is about a week of wait before I can drink or bottle them. So I used Chinese wine yeast last night which is the legit yeast to use brewing wine. I have read blogs using baker's yeast too. Baker's yeast is active dry yeast or instant yeast. I have loads of instant yeast so it cost nothing. The difference between brewer's and baker's yeast is a difference in taste and also brewer's yeast can yield a higher alcoholic content.

The Standard Ingredients

• 1.5 litre bottle. I filled it up to about 1litre.
• Funnel
• 1 cup of sugar. I used white.
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• Plastic bag
• Rubber band

The Flavouring

• Ginger powder or any types of flavouring. I just used what I have in the kitchen.
• Brewed black tea

WHAT KIND OF SUGAR TO USE? ISN'T WHITE SUGAR BAD?

This is from PennilessParenting: I used white sugar for this because none of it gets left behind afterwards- the yeast eats it all and turns it into alcohol, so I don't bother using more expensive better quality sugars.

WHAT KIND OF YEAST TO USE? A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID TO USE BREWER'S YEAST BUT IT IS EXPENSIVE.

This is from PennilessParenting: If you've noticed, for the yeast, I use just regular baking yeast, instead of champagne yeast (typically used for wine making) or beer yeast. A friend asked what the difference is when it comes to wine making, etc... Essentially the difference is that baking yeast is less alcohol tolerant- when making your alcohol, if you use baking yeast, you'll only be able to achieve an 8% alcohol level tops- any more than that and the yeast will die, whereas wine yeast can survive and keep on fermenting until it reaches about 14% alcohol.

WHEN DO I STOP THE FERMENTATION?

This is from PennilessParenting: Cover the bottle with a bit of plastic- either from plastic wrap or a plastic bag- and secure it onto the bottle with a rubber band. You don't want it to be too tight; you just want to make sure the plastic doesn't fall off.

Place this bottle in a moderately warm place for two weeks. After 2 weeks, taste test to see if it tastes alcoholic. If it doesn't taste alcoholic enough but isn't sweet, add some more sugar and let it ferment some more. (The yeast eats the sugar and makes alcohol, so in order to make it more alcoholic you need more sugar.)

If it is alcoholic enough, pour yourself a glass and enjoy your home brew.

I funnelled the cup of sugar into the bottle and added about 3 tsp of ginger powder.

The black tea was lukewarm. It was just nice the dissolve the sugar and activate the instant yeast.

The bottle needs to breath since there will be a lot of carbon dioxide from the yeast eating the sugar. The easiest airlock is to secure a plastic bag with a rubber band over the mouth of the bottle. I poked a few holes with a needle in case it needed more space.

I took this photo with flash to show the action within the bottle. It is full of bubbling action.

Foaming on top means the fermentation is happening and the yeast is happy.

It got really foamy within the first hour but the foam disappeared. There is still a lot of bubbling though.

I noticed that there are loads of discussion about water and the quality of it. I am based in Singapore where tap water is drinkable. Even so, there is chlorine and fluoride in it. The best practice is to boil the water and cool it down before using it. There is no need to purchase bottled water.