Friday, August 30, 2013

Post apocalyptic wine

The author, Steve-don't-eat-it, calls it prison wine, but I don't see why it wouldn't work at the end of the world.  In one (pretty good) book I have read, getting drunk keeps the zombie virus from getting hold of your brains, so there may even be a survival (rather than entertainment) aspect to all this.

Prison Wine
Steve Don't Eat it Vol. 8, 13 June 2005
"Prison hooch can be made in your cell toilet (as long as you don't mind using other people's toilets or finding some other solution), or more often, in plastic trash bags. The recipe is simple: make a strong bag by double or triple-bagging some plastic trash bags and knotting the bottoms. Into this, pour warm water, some fruit or fruit juice, raisins or tomatoes, yeast, and as much sugar as you can get ahold of (or powdered drink mix). Now tie off the top of the bag, letting a tube of some kind protrude so the thing won't explode while it gives off carbon dioxide. Now hide the bag somewhere and wait at least three days. A week is enough.
One of the problems you have right away with making wine in prison is the difficulty getting yeast. It's a strictly forbidden item and you might not be able to get any. In this case you can improvise the by using slices of bread, preferably moldy (but not dry) and preferably inside a sock for easier straining.
All of which is very fine and good, but in this case the author actually tries out the product (based on moldy bread in sock based yeast) and has considerable success.  Sounds like a winner!

4 comments:

Stephen said...

Ugh...nope, not for me.

PioneerPreppy said...

Interesting. Is getting yeast really that easy?

I personally don't drink anything alcoholic but having this knowledge could indeed be useful if you were surviving in a group situation.

kymber said...

that has got to be the grossest thing i have ever heard of - blick! i'd sure have to be in a real bad down-grid, shtf situation and have lost a few limbs before i would even consider taking a drink of that. potatoe scraps, kids - potatoe scraps!

your friend,
kymber

russell1200 said...

Stephen: I don't know, it doesn't sound too bad.

Alexia: thank you.

Pioneer: I was telling a neighbor, half kidding, that in a SHTF situation, a stock of alcohol to chill people out in the near term would be a godsend.

Bread yeast works, but it is not the standard yeast used in alcoholic drinks.

Kymber: Potatoes are one of the standard ingredients often used in vodka. The alcohol has to come from somewhere, and this looks really cheap. I am surprised more people don't do it (with more palatable ingredient combinations) for the cost savings.