Q&A for How to Make Alcohol from Common Table Sugar

Infuse the resulting mix with any ingredients you like. Add sugar to make it a liqueur. For instance, add strawberries and extra sugar to the mix and let it ‘steep’ for a few days, similar to how you would with tea.

It's legal if you don't sell it or distill it. it is illegal to distill alcohol without having either a "distilled spirits permit" or a "federal fuel alcohol permit" in the US.

It can give off a couple of smells. Sometimes, if the yeast isn't wine yeast and it's just regular bread yeast it can give off a rotten egg smell but that goes away when it's done fermenting.

Distilling the final product of the above process would essentially make a moonshine.

Yes, but it will taste horrible and make you pass gas.

Yes, a simple sugar wash lacks the nutrients yeast needs. You will be able to find yeast nutrient easily at your home brew store. Some yeast blends for home distillation already contain yeast nutrient, and it will be listed on the package.

Yes, it is safe.

Nope, fermentation takes sugar and turns it into CO2 (carbon dioxide) and alcohol, so even a large batch wouldn't produce enough CO2 to be harmful.

Any type of yeast works, but super yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) yields the best results, as it is more effective and has contains nutrients for the yeast.

Fermented sugar for sure produces alcohol and CO2, that's much we know. Your evidence is a taste test. If it tastes like it contains alcohol, then it does.

Yes. Certain yeast strains have better tolerance levels than others and produce a higher alcohol concentration so long as there is enough sugar.

Yeast powder contains the active microorganisms that turns sugar into alcohol and co2. You can buy it at your local store.

You can make it in a one gallon jug if you want. I would recommend getting a hydrometer and start at a ten percent or lower potential alcohol and add sugar gradually as the fermentation slows or stops. Too much sugar in the beginning can overwhelm yeast causing it to die or produce off flavors. I never bother with brix or specific gravity as you just convert the numbers back to ABV anyway. I would use this as a base for mixed drinks. I've never tried it but I have made mead. Something like this always requires back sweetening and additional flavors unless you just want to guzzle swill.

The final product is ethanol, which is the same alcohol present in beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Like all other alcohol, it is harmful in large quantities/high concentrations.

A general rule of thumb is two cups of sugar per half gallon of water.

Instead of a carboy, you can use some large water bottles or soft drink bottles. Put on the lid, then crack it very slightly to allow gases to escape. That, effectively, is your air lock.

Methanol is very toxic and will make you go blind or kill you. However, using proper yeast or bread yeast along with just table sugar or fruit juice will not produce methanol. Additionally, ethanol is the most common antidote to methanol poisoning.

You don't need the heat source at all--just mix the sugar with warm water from a tap and put the yeast in.

No, yeast can only naturally produce alcohol up to about 15%. After that, the ethanol kills the yeast. To get to higher percentages, the alcohol must be distilled (which is illegal for people in the U.S and Canada). Even distillation can only raise the alcohol concentration to 95%.

You would need to distill it to around 70% or more. The alcohol that the yeast produces concentrates as fermentation goes on. Once the solution runs out of sugar or the alcohol percentage hits a certain point (between 5 and 18 percent depending on the type of yeast), the fermentation stops.

Yes. Adding it a bit later in the fermentation process would be safer and lead to a better taste, though.

It is ready for distilling as soon as it is done fermenting, but be sure to get as much of the sediment out first or it could cause buildup in your still. Remember that distilling alcohol is illegal in many countries, so this is for educational purposes only.

Yes, you can add mashed fruit to it.

Some other bacteria and fungi are necessary to make alcohol.

Yes, there is.

Yes, the alcohol doesn't prevent the milk from spoiling. Lactic acid bacteria occur naturally on plants like grasses and can easily end up in milk. They ferment lactose at room temperature and turn it into lactic acid. More acid means more hydrogen ions, a lower pH and a sour taste. Alcohol doesn't stop this process.

I used an alternative years ago when I made grape wine in the half-gallon plastic bottle it came in from the store. I carefully drilled a hole in the plastic lid of the bottle just slightly larger than the tapered tip of the air lock. I wedged the tip of the air lock (dry) until it firmly seated 3/4 inches. I didn't "water-it-off" for 24 hrs., allowing oxygen to enter the must. This method worked for me. Even with an occasional violent fermentation, there was no evidence of of leakage when must rose into the empty air lock. Drill the hole starting with an undersized bit, and increase the diameter 1/64" - 1/32" at a time, testing with an air lock stem after each bore.

That depends on how cold you get it. Using dry ice, you can get near 75 proof, but this is highly inefficient, as the higher the proof, the more alcohol you leave behind in the ice.

Yes. Isinglass is a clarifying agent. There are many clarifying agents. Without using one, your product will take a very long time to clear, if it ever does, but cloudy sugar is not dangerous.

It should be 12-18% if you use straight sugar. It will be less if you try to use something like corn or potatoes though.