How to Make Alcohol
The next time you look down at that beer and wonder where it came from, you will know the answer. We're about to tell you how alcohol is made.
Most kinds of alcohol are made in a similar manner. Something is fermented (i.e. barley, hops, grapes) and the result of that fermentation is an alcohol that can be consumed.
Yeast is used in this process to eat up the natural sugars in the items being fermented, and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. There is a delicate balance in this process.
If there is too much sugar, the yeast may not be able to eat it, and it can harm it. As the alcohol is being processed, too much alcohol will also kill the yeast.
If you are making spirits, there is another process past fermentation, distillation. The only way to get the high alcohol content of spirits is to cook the alcohol out of the mixture, then capture and cool it, as the high alcohol content is too much for the yeast.
If you want to start making alcohol at home, it's as easy as purchasing all the ingredients from a home brewing supply store. If there is not one located near you, you will be able to find on online. They should be able to sell you all the tools and ingredients you need to start brewing.
As a note, you are likely going to have to stick to wine and beer. Distilling spirits is only legal in New Zealand, and outlawed elsewhere, due to safety concerns.
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