Home made hooch. How long will it take to ferment ?

Question

I am trying a small batch of home made hooch with apples, sultanas and mixed spice. I am using 15ltr of water, sugar and bread making yeast.
I left the apples and sultanas to soak in the water for 2 days then added the mixed spice, sugar and yeast.
These I put it all in a 15ltr plastic paint tub (well washed).
I made a small hole in the lid and inserted a tube to let the gasses escape.
It's now 5 days since I started the procces and wondered how longer I will have to wait till it ferments.
I keep it at room temperture and it smells strongly of alchohol.

Answer 1

Wine can be made with or without yeast. The yeast act as a kicker to get your mix fermenting. Normally in a week it can be good. BUT, it will be a sweet wine and not as much Alcohol. The longer it work, the stronger it get, and, it be less sweet, and more toward what called a "dry wine". You should see it bubbling, when the bubbles stop then that about as good as it gets. Then you siphon and strain to remove sediment. With a week old sweet wine, by, siphon and straining, you remove the Fruits (OR Whatever) and stop the fermentation process. You can make wine from many things; Bananas to Marijuana (Just remove the seeds and Stems).

Answer 2

It could take several weeks. I once made a batch of mead that took 4 months.

THe scientific way to tell is to go to a brewing shop and get a hydrometer. This is a weighted glass tube with markings on it that tell you the specific gravity or density of the hooch. When you first start, it's a mixture of water and sugar so the "gravity" will be high (sugar is dense). As the yeast eats the sugar and converts it to alcohol, the gravity will slowly drop until all the sugar is gone and the yeastie-beasties all die. Professional brewers (and serious amateurs) monitor the gravity every few days and decide that the fermentation is done when it stops changing.

If you plan to do this often, this instrument would be a good investment, and isn't very expensive. Mine was about $15 but I bought the fancy one.

Answer 3

No, not that one, but I have a toy that belonged to my grandmother. It is a puzzle box like thing except when you open it there is doll house furniture. There is a table that has two benches, a bed, a high back couch, a small table looks like it's an end table or night stand, and two other chairs. You have to really pay attention as it will go together with out one piece or another but they all fit together and the whole thing is 6 1/2" long and 4"deep and 4"wide. It is all carved out of same piece of wood, you can match the grain of the wood. Thats how I figured out how to put it back together. The other thing I have is my fathers rubberband shooter, looks like a stick with a trigger on it. The trigger part is just a bent wire and is held on by another rubber band. Shoots pretty far too for a homemade one.

Answer 4

Is it ok to still your homemade hooch if you been letting it ferment over 6-7 months

Answer 5

years

Answer 6

the time to ferment depends on the temp and the amount of fermentable sugars in your wash. watch the bubbles. when dog heads are formed the wash should be ready to distill. dog heads are what the old timers called it when large bubbles would form about every 10 to 30 sec. and rise to the top.

Answer 7

6 weeks

Answer 8

It only takes me about 3 days I

Answer 9

Is this cider/? keep it going til it stops fermenting. It should be frothy when you look at it, wait for it to die down to get full strength.

Answer 10

I'd giv it a week or two...2 to be safe...then strain it w/ a cheese cloth...