Please can somome help I am making condessa liquor for the first time I am
on day 3 how do I know if the liquor is fermenting?

The Condessa High Alcohol Liqueur kits are available in UK.
They ferment a sugar solution with the aid of special additives and nutrient
at a very fast rate. They also need very strict and tight temperature
control to achieve a 20% abv.
When fermentation is complete activated charcoal and other thing are added
to finish up with, hopefully a clear, fairly tasteless liquid a 20% abv --
you have to be very lucky to manage that!
The concentrates are added ( they are included in the kit)

I tried one many years ago and to be honest the end results are very
disappointing. I also stress that very tight temperature control is
essential. The concentrates that are used also include what must be a
derivative of chilli to simulate the "alcohol burn"

I make my own liqueurs by using commercial 40% abv vodka and buy
concentrates which are available from most home brew suppliers. I adjust
sweetness and also ( by using glycerine) adjust the syrup mouth feel to my
own satisfaction. I then let sit, bottled and labelled for most of a
ear -- usually Christmas time.

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
Anti Virus for your protection too!
"Doug" > wrote in message
m...
> "dawn" > wrote in message
>...
> > Please can somome help I am making condessa liquor for the first time I
am
> > on day 3 how do I know if the liquor is fermenting?
>
> Dawn -
> 1. This newsgroup is for winemaking. I have never heard of
> "condessa liquor" -- it sounds like a proprietary liqueur (flavored
> distilled spirits) but not one I've ever run across in the U.S.
> 2. I believe there now is a newsgroup for distilling. You might
> try there, although from the tone of your post, I'm not sure that's
> what you want, either.
> Note that home distilling is illegal in most English-speaking
> countries, except (apparently) in New Zealand.
> 3. If you are trying to ferment something, you should be starting
> with some sort of sugar solution. If the sugars come from grapes or
> other fruit, it is "wine"; if from grains (malted to convert the
> starches into fermentable sugars) it is "beer". The fermentation is
> accomplished by yeast, which you should have added. If the yeast find
> adequate nutrients and a supply of sugar, they will multiply rapidly
> (at room temperature or fairly close), and you should be able to
> detect some yeasty smell and bubbling. Under normal circumstances,
> this should be very obvious by "day 3". You can use baking yeast, but
> you are likely to get much better results by getting a packet of wine
> or beer yeast from your local homebrew supply store - it should cost
> no more than a dollar.
> 4. Regardless of what sort of stuff you are fermenting, yeast
> will not continue to function once the alcohol level reaches 14 to
> 18%. I believe baking yeast will become inactive at even lower
> concentrations. Most "liquors" are sold at somewhere around 40%
> alcohol (80 proof, in US terminology) or higher. To get anywhere near
> that level of alcohol, you must take the wine or beer and distill it
> to increase the alcohol level. As noted above, this is illegal in
> most places. Aside from legality, distilling is a more complicated
> and potentially hazardous process than simple fermentation. If you
> intend to attempt it, you really need to do some research on
> techniques and safety precautions.
> 5. If you are attempting to duplicate a proprietary liqueur, your
> best bet is to start with vodka or some other distilled spirits
> (purchased legally from your local liquor store) and add flavorings,
> and probably some sugar (depending on the specific product). There
> are companies that sell flavorings to be added to flavorless spirits.
> Again, these can often be found at your local homebrew supply store.
>
> If (despite the name) this "condessa liquor" you are making is, in
> fact, some sort of wine (loosely defined), you will need to post more
> specifics for anyone else here to provide much help. Those would
> include the starting recipe (what ingredients and how much of each),
> what yeast was used, approximate temperature, what sort of container
> the fermentation is in, etc.
>
> Doug

Thanks for your help I will let you know how I get on



"Doug" > wrote in message
om...
> Trevor -
> Thanks for the info. I don't drink a lot of liqueurs, but thought
> I would at least have heard the name before, if it was a commercial
> product. Apparently the Condessa folks don't market their kits in the
> U.S. From your post, it sounds like my best guess advice wasn't too
> far off - buy some vodka, add some flavorings and sweetener to taste,
> and be happy. Even if everything goes right with the kit approach,
> the absolute best you would end up with would be 20% ABV, around half
> the level of the commercial products you are trying to imitate.
> Sounds like a losing proposition to me, especially for a beginner.
>
> Dawn -
> I have a better idea now what your question is about, but most of
> my initial response still applies. You should see bubbles of some
> sort, and perhaps some yeast floating on top of the fermenting liquid.
> Since you are trying to produce an alcohol and water mixture with no
> real flavor of its own, I would guess the Condessa kit would include
> little more than sugar and small amounts of yeast nutrients. About
> all you should need to do to start the process off is mix those with
> water (anywhere near room temp.) and add the yeast. If you aren't
> seeing any signs of activity by day 3 (or 4 by now), you should follow
> standard winemaking instructions for a "stuck ferment". Here are a
> couple of good resources:
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.asp
>
> http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/chapt12.html
>
> If the kit approach doesn't produce good results for you, try the
> vodka approach. (Light rum would work about as well, as it has
> relatively little flavor of its own.) It will cost a little more, but
> it's a lot simpler and (I think) is bound to give you a better end
> result.
>
> Best of luck -
>
> Doug

Thanks for your help I will let you know how I get on



"Doug" > wrote in message
om...
> Trevor -
> Thanks for the info. I don't drink a lot of liqueurs, but thought
> I would at least have heard the name before, if it was a commercial
> product. Apparently the Condessa folks don't market their kits in the
> U.S. From your post, it sounds like my best guess advice wasn't too
> far off - buy some vodka, add some flavorings and sweetener to taste,
> and be happy. Even if everything goes right with the kit approach,
> the absolute best you would end up with would be 20% ABV, around half
> the level of the commercial products you are trying to imitate.
> Sounds like a losing proposition to me, especially for a beginner.
>
> Dawn -
> I have a better idea now what your question is about, but most of
> my initial response still applies. You should see bubbles of some
> sort, and perhaps some yeast floating on top of the fermenting liquid.
> Since you are trying to produce an alcohol and water mixture with no
> real flavor of its own, I would guess the Condessa kit would include
> little more than sugar and small amounts of yeast nutrients. About
> all you should need to do to start the process off is mix those with
> water (anywhere near room temp.) and add the yeast. If you aren't
> seeing any signs of activity by day 3 (or 4 by now), you should follow
> standard winemaking instructions for a "stuck ferment". Here are a
> couple of good resources:
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.asp
>
> http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/chapt12.html
>
> If the kit approach doesn't produce good results for you, try the
> vodka approach. (Light rum would work about as well, as it has
> relatively little flavor of its own.) It will cost a little more, but
> it's a lot simpler and (I think) is bound to give you a better end
> result.
>
> Best of luck -
>
> Doug