Stuff that Costco has that I can ferment?

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mikescooling

mikescooling

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Hey guys, any of you know things that Costco sells that I can ferment? Or that ferment well? I know some apple juices have an additive that we shouldn't use in fermentation? What do you buy at Costco?
 
I was considering getting some honey for the next mead. The local store is getting too expensive when it is not on sale.
 
Honey 5 lb for $15, already made a cyser, mead, and a honey lager with it. Haven't tried the mead and lager yet, but the cyser was good. No problems fermenting either
 
The Treetop Apple juice at Costco is pasteurized and does not use preservatives so it is good for ciders or apfelweins I believe.
 
Kirkland 100% Apple Juice NOT FROM CONCENTRATE! Makes some really GREAT Cider. I actually like it over way more expensive brands. I've made probably 30 gallons of that's stuff. Tasty and Cheap too! ~$25 for 5gallons.

Also, they usually have great deals on Fruit. I buy them when its really cheap for adding it to the cider, or making a fruit/wheat beer that is really good too.
 
Honey, apple juice, concord grape juice and E.D. Smith Jellies. I have also been eyeballing the big bags of frozen fruit.
 
About honey. This is not a criticism about Costco, just a definition of honey.

Honey must contain some pollen to be considered actual honey. Currently (as of the date of this post) there is no other way to test that it is not a collection of sugars and flavorings.

Ultra-filtered honey has the pollen filtered out of it. Big stores like Costco and WallyWorld overwhelmingly use ultra-filtered honey.

If whatever-it-is works the same as certified honey, you may not care. I find that reasonable.
 
Well "Recipes" would be a loose term.

I've used it with the 5lb Kirkland Honey, 2lbs Blueberries and 2.5lb Strawberries - Blawberry Cyser

I've done the same as above with 5lbs Sweet Cherries instead. - Cherry Cyser

Honestly the best and easiest though is just: 5gal Kirkland Apple Juice, 3.5lbs Snowberry Honey from Washington, Clean Ale yeast and a little yeast nutrient. The honey bumps the ABV and adds a subtle flavor. I am not a fan of Clover Honey, so I purchase gallon jugs from EBAY, Snowberry is just so good. This will make a ~8%abv drink and will need a good 2-3 months to really shine. and bring back the apple flavor. Drop the honey and you could probably have a good taster @ 1.5months.

I made this exact batch @ 8%abv and let it age for ~5months. This was absolutely amazing. Finished @ 1.00 but after the aging, it tasted sweet and very Apple-y. Almost tasted back sweetened with juice the apple flavor was so intense.

So with the Honey, I paid ~$35 for 5gallons. And it cannot be easier, dump the half of each gallon jug into a carboy. Add some honey to the remaining half of juice in each jug. Shake, Shake, Shake. Add a little nutrient, Shake. Dump all into carboy and add yeast. Takes a whole 10 minutes to make.

Early on; they taste like a decent white wine without the piss aftertaste. Let it age and it just gets spectacular.
 
I use their big bags of C&H in tripels and things. Ours has 10, 25, and 50lb bags of sugar.

I also use their Kirkland brand honey in JAOM from time to time, it's the best priced honey you can buy.
 
I've got 5 gallons of Costco apple juice fermenting right now and another 5 in bottles carbonating. It is additive free and makes great cider.

5 gal. apple juice
1 can Frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 lb brown sugar
5 sticks cinnamon
1/4 cup vodka
1 pkt. Nottingham ale yeast

Soak the cinnamon sticks and brown sugar in about 1/4 cup vodka to sterilize
Pour apple juice and juice concentrate into 6 1/2 gal. fermenter bucket (don't use a carboy)
Add cinnamon sticks/brown sugar/vodka slurry
Agitate or whip up to get good aeration
Pitch yeast
Install airlock
Ferment 1-2 wks at 62-66F
Transfer to secondary fermenter when fermentation is done (check with hydrometer)
Leave in secondary until clear(about a week)

At bottling back sweeten with two cans frozen apple juice concentrate (1/2 cup maple syrup tastes good too)
Bottle and allow to carb up for a few days
After 3- 4 days open a bottle every day or so until you find carbonation is where you want it
Bottle pasteurize (see sticky) and store at 55-65F until ready to serve
Gets better with time

Cheers!
 
Weirdly I have found that at costco the Motts apple juice is cheaper than their brand. It is from concentrate, but it is just apple juice water and Vitamin C so it is great for Apfelwein. They do look at me a little funny when I buy 4-6 gallons at a time though.
 
Now that I see the apple juice is OK to use for Apfelwein, I'm going to buy a lot. I'm loving this thread (and you guys).
 
zippybasher said:
Kirkland 100% Apple Juice NOT FROM CONCENTRATE! Makes some really GREAT Cider. I actually like it over way more expensive brands. I've made probably 30 gallons of that's stuff. Tasty and Cheap too! ~$25 for 5gallons.

Also, they usually have great deals on Fruit. I buy them when its really cheap for adding it to the cider, or making a fruit/wheat beer that is really good too.
Click to expand...

This. I made 2 gallons worth from 1 pack of windsor. It is kind of sour though.
 
I made 4 batches of Apfelwein with the treetop, tastes quite good.

Best part about Costco is they didn't even look at me funny with 20 gallons of apple juice on a cart.
 
Recently bottled a melomel that used 15 lbs Kirkland honey, 6 lbs frozen Kirkland strawberries, and 8 lbs of their 3 berry mix (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry). Also have made plenty of Graf with their apple juice. Good stuff
 
On occasion my wife will talk me out of buy several double packs of Agave and apple juice.
 
Many larger markets have a Business Costco that is oriented to restaurants and food service. They stock different food, commercial kitchen equipment, different janitorial supplies, takeout containers, etc. If you have one nearby it might be worth checking it out for other ingredients. There might be other fruit options, different sugars, large brew pots, etc.
 
Epimetheus said:
About honey. This is not a criticism about Costco, just a definition of honey. Honey must contain some pollen to be considered actual honey. Currently (as of the date of this post) there is no other way to test that it is not a collection of sugars and flavorings. Ultra-filtered honey has the pollen filtered out of it. Big stores like Costco and WallyWorld overwhelmingly use ultra-filtered honey. If whatever-it-is works the same as certified honey, you may not care. I find that reasonable.
Click to expand...

Honey conspiracy theory. :p
 
Rice, rice, and more rice - you can figure out if parboiled, basmati, brown, or Japanese medium grain sticky rice makes the best BMC clone.

Or make the red yeast rice wine - there have been some great threads about that!
 
Renoun said:
Many larger markets have a Business Costco that is oriented to restaurants and food service. They stock different food, commercial kitchen equipment, different janitorial supplies, takeout containers, etc. If you have one nearby it might be worth checking it out for other ingredients. There might be other fruit options, different sugars, large brew pots, etc.
Click to expand...

The business section is more of what you would find walking into the local warehouse in person. Yes they added kitchen equipment and other specialty stuff however it is cheaper to go to a restaurant supply store if you have one near by.

I use the business delivery for work when I know the list will not fit into my Durango.
 
zippybasher said:
Well "Recipes" would be a loose term.

I've used it with the 5lb Kirkland Honey, 2lbs Blueberries and 2.5lb Strawberries - Blawberry Cyser

I've done the same as above with 5lbs Sweet Cherries instead. - Cherry Cyser

Honestly the best and easiest though is just: 5gal Kirkland Apple Juice, 3.5lbs Snowberry Honey from Washington, Clean Ale yeast and a little yeast nutrient. The honey bumps the ABV and adds a subtle flavor. I am not a fan of Clover Honey, so I purchase gallon jugs from EBAY, Snowberry is just so good. This will make a ~8%abv drink and will need a good 2-3 months to really shine. and bring back the apple flavor. Drop the honey and you could probably have a good taster @ 1.5months.

I made this exact batch @ 8%abv and let it age for ~5months. This was absolutely amazing. Finished @ 1.00 but after the aging, it tasted sweet and very Apple-y. Almost tasted back sweetened with juice the apple flavor was so intense.

So with the Honey, I paid ~$35 for 5gallons. And it cannot be easier, dump the half of each gallon jug into a carboy. Add some honey to the remaining half of juice in each jug. Shake, Shake, Shake. Add a little nutrient, Shake. Dump all into carboy and add yeast. Takes a whole 10 minutes to make.

Early on; they taste like a decent white wine without the piss aftertaste. Let it age and it just gets spectacular.
Click to expand...

You peaked my interest.... That wasn't hard to do :D
 
They sell maple syrup by the quart for a pretty good price. I've never used it in brewing, but it's really good on pancakes!
 
Some classmates of mine just did a safeway apple juice that had ascorbic acid(vit C) on the ingredients as a preservative. It fermented for three days with WLP-007 and was finished with Brett C. Finished at 1.001. Tastes delicious. Suprisingly well balanced. Not sweet, but not too dry or sour. Seeing as its pastuerized apple juice its a pretty quick and simple cider. Open container, dump in yeast. Wait. Drink.
 
gmh1975 said:
Some classmates of mine just did a safeway apple juice that had ascorbic acid(vit C) on the ingredients as a preservative. It fermented for three days with WLP-007 and was finished with Brett C. Finished at 1.001. Tastes delicious. Suprisingly well balanced. Not sweet, but not too dry or sour. Seeing as its pastuerized apple juice its a pretty quick and simple cider. Open container, dump in yeast. Wait. Drink.
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine used to do this with a few #10 cans of peaches. Not sure how he fermented it, but the results were awesome. Knowing him though, he did some boiling and added a bunch of sugar.
 

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