Urgent Help Needed – Preserving alcohol

Not exactly a well planned out system here. Neighbor is trying her best to brew up a batch of Apple Pie Shine. She’s a little bit excessive since she has 4 gallons going on her first attempt. So anyways, scrambling to get some jars together to seal it up and she’ll have it for a while.
Anyways, I’ve never made more than a gallon at a time and it never lasted more than a few days. So the question is – How do we seal it in Mason Jars? For obvious reasons, booze goes in when its cooled to under 170 degrees (preferably 165 or less). Since alcohol boils at about 173, how do you get the lids to seal for long term storage?

I’ve kept unsealed jars in the fridge for nearly a year, and they’re fine. Ethyl alcohol is a pretty good microbe inhibitor–you’d probably be fine for a month or two even at room temp.

I fully agree with RW above. The Everclear with prohibit any bacterial growth so you should be good to go. I found one jar in the back of the pantry a few years back that was there for about a year and it was fine and nobody got sick.

I’ve seen many recipes on line and they all advise not to boil “pressure seal” them. Make sure you wipe off the threads on the jar and crank the lid down as hard as possible though.

If she still feels uncomfortable she could put half the batch in the fridge.

The lids used for canning generally do not have to be put on hot to seal for alcohol. I have ameretto and vanilla as well as the venerable apple pie in quart jars for as many as four years and its just fine. If you are concerned just put the lids in a saucepan of boiling water, fill the jars cold and flip on the lid from the boiling water and band that baby up.

Glad to know if it has anything to do with alcohol, Fisherman, Trappers, and hunters are all there for support. Thanks guys

Tell your neighbor the last thing that needs to be added to any alcohol concoction is heat. Make any thing requiring cooking and then cool it down to cold, then add the alcohol.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Tell your neighbor the last thing that needs to be added to any alcohol concoction is heat. Make any thing requiring cooking and then cool it down to cold, then add the alcohol.

I schooled her on that. Pretty thoughtful. After sampling mine last spring, she is making quart jars up for each of the neighbors. Shes on the second batch. I get a gallon for helping

I keep normal alcohol in the pantry. What’s the difference? Is there something in shine that would require preservatives?

Freezer bags. Toss in freezer. Or jar it and toss in freezer.

mplspug wrote:

I keep normal alcohol in the pantry. What’s the difference? Is there something in shine that would require preservatives?

Anytime you introduce fruit juice there’s a slight chance of contamination.

I always use pasteurized apple juice when making apple pie just to be safe.

And I typically make mine pretty mellow, 30-40 proof so it’s not the same a 80-100+ proof liquors.

I’ve had a batch of my apple pie sitting in my garage for 3+ years and it’s still good. No one has got sick and it tastes great still. Just put it in Mason jars with out the canning process. Everclear kills everything… (Probably my liver too)

I’m not the best person to ask about preserving alcohol. Normally it disappears fairly quickly at my house.

There are a lot more “urgent” situations going on involving alcohol at the moment. Just a public reminder. Best of luck with your answers but just saying.

Randy Wieland wrote:

Glad to know if it has anything to do with alcohol, Fisherman, Trappers, and hunters are all there for support.

Well, I am a chemist by trade, so I guess that gives me some sort of credibility.

As a point of order, Scotch whisky, Bourbon, and most other cask or barrel aged spirits are perfectly safe even after being aged in barrels that aren’t even completely air tight. The combination of the alcohol content and the fact that the liquor is essentially more than pasteurized going in means nothing’s going to go bad.

Not to take us off track, but I don’t really “get” the whole moonshine thing. I’m talking about real moonshine-moonshine here as in illegal distilled liquor made in God-knows-where, by God-knows-who.

Because I have a few business contacts down in the southeast in KY, TN, and NC where this stuff is most common, it has come up in conversation. Apparently this stuff is pretty much everywhere and drunk by people who you’d think would know better. I can’t believe anyone with any sanity would drink this stuff even once.

For heaven’s sake, it comes in a re-used milk jug, or my personal favorite, one guy got a gallon that was in a re-purposed car windshield wash jug. When asked if he thought that to be safe, he just said, “Seeeeate, it ain’t like they don’t warsh ’em aht first. Plus, that stuff is just alcohol anyway so it don’t make no difference.”

With only a few exceptions, I generally have made it a life rule NOT to drink anything that could be used unaltered to power a car.

Grouse

Grouse, it wasn’t actually the alcohol, it’s the fruit juice that it is mixed with. My neighbors’ batch is only about 30 proof.

As for real shine, I agree you have to be careful. A great batch is so smooth to sip. Then some is worse than mineral spirits

When we travel I am always on the lookout for 190 proof Everclear. I use it in my vanilla and some other recipes including the apple pie or moonshine as it has been dubbed. The grandkids old enough to drink enjoy stopping by every now and again to get a sample of this or that. Currently it my Ameretto. I’ve done Amaretto two ways: 100 proof vodka and 190 proof Everclear. They suck up either one.

Jeff mattingly wrote:

Everclear kills everything… (Probably my liver too)

Probably not a laughing matter…but I had to laugh..

biggill wrote:

I’m not the best person to ask about preserving alcohol. Normally it disappears fairly quickly at my house.

Same in my house, sometimes I wonder when I’m in the same liquor store for the 3rd time in a week.
I’m just a beer guy though (Summit), and I enjoy at home when I have nowhere else to go!

I’m reading that most of the concerns and responses are trying to deal with the preservation of the cherished product,

How about just consume all of it and let it preserve you?

As for real shine, I agree you have to be careful. A great batch is so smooth to sip. Then some is worse than mineral spirits
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Randy I’ve only tried shine about 4 times and apparently never had any good stuff. Most of what I have tasted I think you good use to strip paint off antique furniture. It was about as smooth as a chainsaw going down the hatch.

I will count myself lucky on the shine part,granddad and his four brothers were from kentucky,they sold locally,and to capone,no fooling!! in fact,a half mile south of where I live now is where their cave was dug into the creek bank where the still was set up and run.

his shine was made with sweet corn and a bunch of sugar,ssssmmmmooooooooootttthhhh!!!!!!!!!
good shine shouldnt burn going down,but,they dont call it skull crack for nothing,and that wasnt felt till the next day,but not all day long.

On the topic of moonshine, Minnesota 13: Stearns County’s Wet Wild Prohibition Days is a good read on the topic. My grandpa used to tell stories from those days, and some of the family names in the book were very familiar.

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