Spirit flavoured wine

[Cowlers]

Here's one for all you hardened home brewers

If I make a "alcohol wash" with just water and sugar upto about 12% ABV, could I then add a spirit flavouring that I see in the homebrew shop? The ones that you use with a still.

Would it just taste like a weaker strength spirit?

 

[RobWalker]

you gotta use turbo yeast and a spirit fining kit too, activated carbon etc, or it will taste awful. but yep, many do it. you can also add soda stream sugar free concentrates for flavours, coke lemonade, raspberry and cranberry etc!

 

[Robbo]

Try buying a cheap bottle of Vodka, Whiskey or Rum and pour a third of it into a jug and add 500ml of water, taste it and I think you will find that it is not worth the money or effort.

 

[Moley]

If you attempt to ferment just sugar and water with a wine yeast or a baker's yeast it simply won't work, no matter what you add in the way of nutrients. Trust me, I've tried it, it takes a long time and the yeasties give up in disgust before they've finished the job.

If you use one of the Turbo yeasts then you can ferment a fairly neutral wash somewhere in the 14 - 20% abv range according to yeast. If you use the activated carbon which goes in at the start of the fermentation then you can get a very clean wash, which must then be cleared with finings and may be 'spirit' flavoured as you desire.

If you would normally drink your spirits with a mixer then these can work very well, you just add a lot less of your mixer.