Another experiment

I had a bunch of of old un-popped popcorn laying around an I got to thinking....I should try to make some alcohol with it.

Im not completely sure I can get the right starches out of the popcorn without popping it first.  But I gave it a shot.

Since it was a test, I only made about a gallon of the brew, here is recipe I used:

4 qts water heated to 140F
2 1/2 C popcorn kernals
    Hold at 150-160F for 20 min
1 C red malted wheat, lightly crushed
    Hold at 150-160F for 10 min
Boil and hold for 20 min
1 C brown sugar, 2 C white sugar, 1/2lb rasins
    Boil 10 min
Remove from heat, add  ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and some almond extract.
Then pitch some yeast in there and let it sit.

I tasted the mash before adding the yeast and it tasted like liquid pumpkin pie.  I hope it holds some of that flavor after it ferments, but I am sorta doubtful.

It has been a little over 1 week and the fermentation is slowing down so I am going to rack it and give it a taste. We shall see!

Skittles Infused Alcohol?

I decided to try out the infamous Skittles Infused Vodka recipe.

This recipe is from an info-graphic by Iheartmonster that floats around the web quite often.  I made a few alterations for a test run.

I followed the info-graphic for the most part, but I had no vodka.  I used everclear instead...which caused a bit of an issue.  I also used a small bag of skittles and had just enough to make to make a small batch.
 

You need 60 skittles of one color ( i used red and there were only 60 in the small bag) per 6 .oz of vodka ( I used everclear).

The steps:
-separate the skittles by color
-add 60 skittles to a clean and empty plastic water bottle (or another bottle)
-add 6 .oz of vodka
-shake and let the skittles completely dissolve.  (lots of shaking or let it sit over night)
-filter the brew threw a coffee filter
-refrigerate 

This only makes about 8 oz per color.  I only did red for the experiment. 

In the end,  the skittles took a very long time to dissolve because I used everclear instead of vodka.  There is a solubility issue because vodka has much more water than everclear.  It still worked and tasted great though.  I added some seltzer water to it and it made a tasty drink.  I would recommend getting a larger bag of skittles and using vodka instead of everclear like the info-graphic suggests.

Im going to start up a batch of Chianti here soon and make some more smash

Limecello recipe

I was at the store the other day and limes are on sale, so I got 10 limes to make a test batch of Limecello.  There are not a ton of recipes for Limecello specifically, but there are plenty for limoncello.  So, I am drafting up my own by borrowing from different limecello and limoncello recipes. So here is what I plan to do:

SammyK's Limecello
Ingriedents:
10 limes
1 2/3 cups of Everclear
Simple syrup = 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, heated on stove until sugar is dissolved.

Directions:
Zest (or peel) the limes ensuring not to get any pith (white fibers) at all, only green flesh.
Place the zest into a clean and sanitized glass jar or jug.
Add the Everclear
Set in a cool, dark place for 7-8 days or until peels lose the green color.

Prepare Simple Syrup and remove from heat to cool.
Strain the mixture of zest and Everclear to remove the lime zest.
When the Simple Syrup is cool, add it to the mixture and bottle
Let the bottle stand for a few weeks and serve, preferably chilled


I just realized I'm going to have a crap ton of limes to juice...
Maybe I will freeze the juice or use it for limeaid or something... Open to any suggestions!

I will probably start this up tomorrow because I have plans tonight.  Happy Friday everyone!