Concerned about botulism

[JaunRambo]

I am gonna make hooch, with store bought juice and sugar..in the same container as the juice...what if there are bacterial spores in the juice or even the sugar..

 

[RPh_Guy]

Clostridium is never a concern with homebrewing. A combination of low pH and oxygen prevent Clostridium growth.

 

[JaunRambo]

Clostridium is never a concern with homebrewing. A combination of low pH and oxygen prevent Clostridium growth.

What about this?

https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/pruno-a-recipe-for-botulism.html

 

[RPh_Guy]

I stand corrected. If you're in prison trying to ferment potatoes in a Ziploc bag without pitching yeast, botulism might be a problem.

Are you an inmate? Have a buddy smuggle you in some bread yeast, and that should avoid the risk. Also leave some air in the bag.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

”We don’t know how to make this kind of alcohol safely. But we do know that batches of pruno that gave people botulism used at least one of these ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Honey
• Food from bulging cans”

Food from bulging cans definitely sounds like a good source of botulism to me.
One man’s hooch is another man’s cider. Call it cider and most people won’t think you’re an alcoholic.

 

[madscientist451]

Are you an inmate?

I've never seen an inmate that worried about getting sick or catching a disease, so I doubt the OP is one. They aren't supposed to (generally) have access to the internet anyway.
To the OP, if people were getting sick from home made wine using fruit juice and sugar you would have heard about it. Throw in lots of sugar to bump up the alcohol. The higher the ABV, the lower the chance there will be any bacteria that survives.
But your "hootch" will taste like rocket fuel....

 

[RPh_Guy]

The higher the ABV, the lower the chance there will be any bacteria that survives.

Botulism (Clostridium botulinum) is pathogenic because of the toxin, not live bacteria.

Food from bulging cans definitely sounds like a good source of botulism to me.

Yeah, they're not really clear on the circumstances, but it's possible the toxin came only from the canned goods and not the hooch-making process.

 

[madscientist451]

Here's a quote from an article:
There is not a single case of botulism attributed to making beer in the normal manner. (Prison “brewers” have concocted batches of pruno that has been tainted, but these cases usually involve the use of root vegetables stored improperly before the beverage is fermented.)

https://beerandwinejournal.com/q-a-botulism/

It looks like the botulism toxin has to be present in the ingredients before alcohol is produced, because the bacteria that it comes from can't survive low PH or alcohol.
The OP asked about the chance of botulism in store-bought juice and sugar; if its a processed, commercial juice, then there shouldn't be any chance of getting botulism from that, the sugar has no moisture and the bacteria needs a high moisture content, (according to the attached article above).

 

[Lefou]

I am gonna make hooch, with store bought juice and sugar..in the same container as the juice...what if there are bacterial spores in the juice or even the sugar..

hahaha ... stop being a worry wart.

If you're using pasteurized juice from the jug and the airseal isn't broken, don't worry. You're fine.
Bacteria doesn't reproduce well on sugar because it needs moisture. Keep the sugar dry and pest-free and it's fine.
The ONLY thing to worry about is keeping everything sanitary - like your hands, containers, mixing spoons, or yeast packets

 

[bracconiere]

Also leave some air in the bag.

But that wouldn't be LoDo pruno, lol...


i dump apple juice and sugar into a bucket and add yeast to ferment all the time.....i can still move, albeit, sometimes get a little clumsy...

 

[fatslob]

I saved some unfermented wort to make beligan candi later. should I just dump it?

 

[RPh_Guy]

I saved some unfermented wort to make beligan candi later. should I just dump it?

While it would probably fine since you'd heat it, I wouldn't leave unfermented wort sitting around for too long. It's possible that toxins may be heat-tolerant.

But that wouldn't be LoDo pruno, lol...

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

If you “saved” it in the fridg (and stored it when it was hot or just after cooling) it should be okay.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Microbes grow in the cold, just more slowly.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Microbes grow in the cold, just more slowly.

Indeed, that is why putting food stuff in the fridge while it is hot is safe practice. In the case of saving wort, most brewers are chilling it. Using a clean container is as well.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I agree the risk is small.

 

[fatslob]

I dumped a sample right after the final boil into a mason jar and tight lid all in fridge

 

[keesh]

Was the mason jar clean and was the wort boiling or near boiling when you poured it in? If so you could probably keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If not, I wouldn't wait longer than 4 days. Use your best judgement, which is what you'd do with consuming anything else.

 

[fatslob]

E

Was the mason jar clean and was the wort boiling or near boiling when you poured it in? If so you could probably keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If not, I wouldn't wait longer than 4 days. Use your best judgement, which is what you'd do with consuming anything else.

eh, if there's no mold it'll be fine