Brewing - easy homeade brew question about safety

[botas]

So swim proceeded with the instructions as shown here http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19320... but now has about 4 liters of some sort of brew (smells alcholic no doubt) which he has never smelled the likes of before. the very smell burns his nose, but he suspects that just may be gas rising from it... he only smelled it when he first opened it.. but basically it smells strongly of cheap vomit flavored wine. swim has no problems with this, considering its his first brew, but he wonders why it smells acidy and burns his nose. normally, vodka, beer, whiskey, (alcohol altogether) do not do this. he wonders why this could be and questions the safety of this. could it be the yeast in it that he has not filtered out? how can swim make this fit for consumption if it is a matter of preparing it? or did swim do something wrong... (he used baking yeast instead of wine yeast btw...). could it be perfectly fine but just shitty alcohol (still need to figure out how to get the yeast out).

[Senor Gribson]

the smell is probably vinegar. did swim use a water seal?

Reputation Comments on this post:

timely/accurate diagnosis you offered

[botas]

SWIM used the method as described by the link posted above. He used a plastic container made of that PET plastic, and unscrewed the lid slightly to let only air out, not in. Could he have let to much air in and created some nasty vinegar in the fermentation process?

[botas]

also, would it be ill advised to consume this creation? or will it just taste nasty and nothing bad other than that?

[Cakes]

Vinegar is actually recommended for the prevention of food poisoning but of course there are probably limits to how much we can injest at one sitting. I tried calling a poison control center but they didn't know how much for an overdose. I have a batch going bad right now and I'm figuring to use the vinegar for pickles.

or maybe we could use it like Hannibal did when he was on his way to conquer Rome. He and his army were climbing the Alps and they used fire and vinegar to dissolve the rocks that blocked the path for the elephants.

I've seen my friend drink down maybe 12 ounces of pickle juice because she says it helps to sober her up. That's 12 ounces of OTC vinegar. and it didn't hurt her. and I think sometimes she drinks more than that. soooo..and. uh vinegar is made from alcohol and yet it sobers you up?
hell, life is interesting sometimes
and the microbes that make vinegar could have gotten in at the beginning, even if everything was done right. It is just bad luck. At least it only costs five days or so to make some fresh stuff.

[botas]

swim likes the idea of rushing the alps and crackin italy in the back better. swim will start making more vinegar now.

[Cakes]

ha ha

gonna use elephants?

[botas]

oh of course. elephants... and rpgs. now thats a combo. say goodbye to archers riding elephants, SWIMs gonna set fire to rome.

Reputation Comments on this post:

yeA for conquering rome. i'm in.

[Cakes]

marshmallows make great torches. and they are delightful morsels to toast on the ruins of your enemies as well.

i found out today that is easy to make your own. and you can make them regular or you can flavor them with any extract and you can color them with food coloring like you can make blazing hot cinnamon marshmallows for your next bonfire and/or burning of a country.

[ironmics]

Originally Posted by Cakes

Vinegar is actually recommended for the prevention of food poisoning but of course there are probably limits to how much we can injest at one sitting. I tried calling a poison control center but they didn't know how much for an overdose. I have a batch going bad right now and I'm figuring to use the vinegar for pickles.

or maybe we could use it like Hannibal did when he was on his way to conquer Rome. He and his army were climbing the Alps and they used fire and vinegar to dissolve the rocks that blocked the path for the elephants.

I've seen my friend drink down maybe 12 ounces of pickle juice because she says it helps to sober her up. That's 12 ounces of OTC vinegar. and it didn't hurt her. and I think sometimes she drinks more than that. soooo..and. uh vinegar is made from alcohol and yet it sobers you up?
hell, life is interesting sometimes
and the microbes that make vinegar could have gotten in at the beginning, even if everything was done right. It is just bad luck. At least it only costs five days or so to make some fresh stuff.

If you're saying vinegar will prevent pathogens from entering someones alcohol and therfore its a good thing is completely wrong. Even beer has enough alcohol and acid to kill anything harmful to a human. If you're saying douse some raw pork with viegar and then you could eat it....well thats just nasty.

[Cakes]

You can drink two tablespoons of strong vinegar and it can cure food poisoning. Food poisoning is caused by bacteria and those bacteria cannot live in an environment which is that acidic. You can drink the vinegar after the poisoning sets in or you can drink it as a preventative measure, like if you were going to a barbeque where you think the food may sit out too long or if you were to eat dinner in a country or environment where you suspect the water or preparation methods may not be up to your par. Pasteurized apple vinegar is most recommended so far but what counts is probably the acid level.

If drinking vinegar, it may be good to rinse your mouth with baking soda since it is alkaline and will neutralize the vinegar's effects on your dental enamel.

Baking soda is another good cure for certain kinds of upset stomachs because it can also kill unwanted growths; especially sulphur burps and such. Do not use it in conjunction with vinegar since they can cancel each other out. Use about one tablespoon dissolved in some water and you may need to repeat the dose later.

[Senor Gribson]

Originally Posted by ironmics

IEven beer has enough alcohol and acid to kill anything harmful to a human.

this is not true at all. while most molds and yeasts are not able to grow in a fully fermented beer, it takes a much higher concentration of alcohol to kill many kinds of harmful bacteria.