# Need help to sabotage?



## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

I have come across a certain special darling's homebrew set up. He is underage, waaaay underage. Now, I must admit, part of me is impressed. For my own personal reasons, I have decided to sabotage his efforts, rather than confront him, for right now. So...what do you suggest? Since he is attempting to make hard cider I thought a 1/4c of apple cider vinegar might do the trick? He has it in quart jars, so I was thinking a 1/4c for each quart. Will it stop the fermentation process? Any other sabotagey ideas that can go undetected?


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Add a little mother of vinegar to each jar. That would turn it all into vinegar that you could use it for other pruposes should he ever come clean. If you have a local brew shop they will have mother that you could buy.

If you used unfiltered/unpasturized apple cider vinegar that should still have some mother left. But then your leaving it up to how they cold processed it as the amount of maother may be too low and may not take soon enough to prevent him from drinking it.

WWW


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/vinegar-making.html

WWW


----------



## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Ah man, leave it be, and use it as a shared learning experience. Here is a perfect opening for dialog. He's curious as to how it works. It is kind of magical.


----------



## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

Govt man used an axe and chopped great granddaddys still up is all I know.


----------



## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

The government was chopping hard liquor moonshine still, not hard cider.

I have made hard cider before and it's not as easy as one might think. #1, it's not cold enough to make cider into hard cider.


----------



## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

Confront him, buy it from him AS VINEGAR (maybe a little as distilled alcohol to make tinctures by BATFE rules), use the money to buy chemistry or biology kits such as http://www.homechemlab.com/sources.html

Sounds like it's a rare talent, and if you can keep ahead of him (or her), diverting from time to time like a sweeper on an ice-rink stones match, getting him to realise that you can help because you've seen more and maybe can foresee more traps AND POSSIBILITIES (like legal distillation for tinctures and fuel) than he can, then that talent should be nurtured.

If you get him re-directed and started right, he might have most of a college degree credits at the school district's expense before he graduates high-school, plus a restored auto-mobile, and that might have him finish a degree with no student-loan debt.

It's not a problem, it's an opportunity - if you look at it right. I'd hate to see a mind like that squashed.


----------



## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

hay good money if its good. collage fund!


----------



## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

Funny, in european countries where wine is part of most meals, children seldom get into the drinking habit like our children do when they reach 21, For those children having alcohol at meals made it nothing special, Sometime I wonder if we are wrong about not letting kids have a little wine or beer once in a while.


----------



## Trainwrek (Aug 23, 2014)

handymama said:


> Govt man used an axe and chopped great granddaddys still up is all I know.


Govt also distributed poisoned liquor which caused death and blindness in order to discourage people from brewing their own;

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/11/sovereignson/the-us-governments-poisoning-program/

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2010/02/the_chemists_war.html


----------



## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

That's a thought......


----------



## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

Couple drops of ipecac in each jar should be funny as heck


----------



## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

I juuuuuust might! Lol!!!!!


----------



## Space Cowboy (Apr 26, 2008)

I would ENCOURAGE anyone who shows the initiative to learn or be creative. Perhaps buy it from him or her, or find a way to direct the energy to other areas.

SC


----------



## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Glad you care. Engage him and tell him your interest. Learn about his interest. Teach him the rules. Buy him a book on the subject. Make an airlock together to watch it work. Culture his gift. Your gift.

I liked science when I was young. Put the egg up in the cupboard in the vinegar to see first hand what happens. Put the coke bottle full of apple cider up in the cupboard with a balloon on the bottle top. I turned out...

OK, you need to call experts.


----------



## Crisste (Nov 17, 2014)

If this kid is NOT your kid, mind you own business. 

If this kid is your child, sabotage and subterfuge is bad parenting period. 

I would suggest a talk.


----------



## Skandi (Oct 21, 2014)

Let the air in, if it's not got a airlock on it chances are it will turn to vinegar all on it's own. I've had enough cider do that to me when I didn't want it to. But personaly I wouldn't I was allowed to drink from age about 3. (a finger in my mothers G&T) and been bought halfs of cider in pubs from 14 by my stepdad (18 is legal in the UK) I have been drunk drunk twice in my life. growing up with it as normal seems to work well for some people as a check on drinking too much later. not all but some.


----------



## Laughter116 (Sep 19, 2011)

I'm curious, what did you wind up doing?


----------



## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

sounds like a smart kid smart kids always get in to the most trouble =P 
but i think Engageing him would be a good idea, buy him/her a chemistry set and get some books on how to do cool stuff with science


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Hard cider never even counted as alcohol when I was growing up. It had a tiny kick, but was as likely to give you the runs as not. Apples and apple juice can do that naturally. Apple JACK OTOH could be stout.


----------



## TacticalTrout (Jan 7, 2010)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Hard cider never even counted as alcohol when I was growing up. It had a tiny kick, but was as likely to give you the runs as not. Apples and apple juice can do that naturally. Apple JACK OTOH could be stout.


Cripes!...with the right yeast you can run cider up to 18 - 20% ABV if you have the skill and control.


----------



## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

Well I added vinegar to the FIRST batch...but apparently he made a very potent second batch. Not pretty.


----------



## Guest (Dec 22, 2014)

my4fireflies said:


> Well I added vinegar to the FIRST batch...but apparently he made a very potent second batch. Not pretty.



A second batch?! Grrrr, persistent guy. How'd you find it?


----------



## diamondtim (Jun 10, 2005)

my4fireflies said:


> I have come across a certain special darling's homebrew set up. He is underage, waaaay underage. Now, I must admit, part of me is impressed. For my own personal reasons, I have decided to sabotage his efforts, rather than confront him, for right now. So...what do you suggest? Since he is attempting to make hard cider I thought a 1/4c of apple cider vinegar might do the trick? He has it in quart jars, so I was thinking a 1/4c for each quart. Will it stop the fermentation process? Any other sabotagey ideas that can go undetected?


I was 12 when I first made wine and built a still out of 3lb coffee cans. My parents knew what was going on and we discussed the right and wrong of it all. It was a hobby for a while, taught me some things, including being responsible. 

No, I did not become an alcoholic. In fact, for various reasons, I hardly drink at all.

My advice. Ask your child whats going on and have those discussions about what their interest was and what responsibility is.


----------



## DEKE01 (Jul 17, 2013)

BlackFeather said:


> Funny, in european countries where wine is part of most meals, children seldom get into the drinking habit like our children do when they reach 21, For those children having alcohol at meals made it nothing special, Sometime I wonder if we are wrong about not letting kids have a little wine or beer once in a while.


My daughter has been taking a few sips of her mom's strawberry margaritas since she was 5 years old. She had sips of wine as a kid but hates any sort of fizzy drink so she would never try beer, even though I've offered to get her what ever she might want to try. At 19, after 2 years away at college, I don't think she has ever had a drink. We decided to take the mystery and forbidden fruit excitement away from alcohol and it worked for us. 

She once told us she thought getting drunk might be fun because the college partiers seemed to be having such a good time. But after having to clean up the vomit of her drunken dorm mate and watching the hang overs, she changed her mind.


----------



## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Wonder how the brewing is going ?

As a kid in third grade I lived in Germany. In our little town I could buy a bock wurst and a beer for a quarter , I usually traded the beer away for a Nickel or two so I could go to the club and play slots. 
Sounds awfull but as a adult I've never had much interest in either.


----------



## chickenguy (Mar 22, 2017)

my4fireflies said:


> I have come across a certain special darling's homebrew set up. He is underage, waaaay underage. Now, I must admit, part of me is impressed. For my own personal reasons, I have decided to sabotage his efforts, rather than confront him, for right now. So...what do you suggest? Since he is attempting to make hard cider I thought a 1/4c of apple cider vinegar might do the trick? He has it in quart jars, so I was thinking a 1/4c for each quart. Will it stop the fermentation process? Any other sabotagey ideas that can go undetected?


gotta respect his ingenuity! stick with the mother of vinigar!


----------

