ditdajow question for dale (and other tcm blokes)...

[ashe]

what kind of alchohol do you prefer for brewing? (i.e. hua jiu, bai jiu, 20% alchohol by volume or mo like 30%)

what's your opinion on cutting costs by brewing in rubbing alcohol watered down with wine or water to 20% alcohol?

[Jingang]

I usually use 60% Bai-jiu.

[chrislomas]

Myself I find Vodka works best and is pretty cheap. Though whisky smells nicer and 'looks' better brewed It will also be highly dependant on what recipe you are using.

[Chris Fleming]

No rubbing alcohol!

[Plante]

I use Geneva Gin. Smells good and has anti-inflammatory properties itself.

[JAB]

Whiskey seems to produce a better product for the formula I use, plus it smells better
Jake

[I am...]

I use vodka in most of the jows I brew up. Whiskey can be good, but tends to make for a stickier jow during rubbing on for lack of a better term. Rubbing alcohol is a no no as far as I am concerned.

[dragontigerpalm]

I use vodka as well but would use bai jiu if I could find it. I've also been told (though I haven't tried it) that cognac makes a good rub but that definitely raises the cost.

[Dale Dugas]

Rubbing alcohol will break down into acetone over time so you DO NOT want to use it ever.

Pretty much you can use any form of booze. Some people like to use Rice Wine whether Bai Jiu(which is Rice Vodka basically) or the 15% Sake, but the lower proof Rice Wines can come out with a stickier product but most Iron Palm formula are sticky anyway with the large amount of resins in them. Some people like it for injury formulas but again use what you like to use.

Cheap whiskey, vodka, brandy are the best forms to use.


Some people use grain alcohol watered down to a 80 proof (40% alchohol) base.

Cheap booze is the best option as it has both water and booze in the mix. Some herbs need water as a solvent and others need alcohol.

Hope this helps.

[ashe]

The guy who introduced me to using jow had told me that using rubbing alcohol was fine, but it always made me leery. This batch I have brewing now I'm using a mix of cheap boxed wine and vodka. Some of it though I have brewing in some honey-lemon mead the my dad and I brewed up a few years back.
He's a pretty good micro-brewer and we were talking about making up 10 - 20 gallons of high potency, good quality rice wine specificly for brewing jow.

[bailewen]

Pretty much you can use any form of booze. Some people like to use Rice Wine whether Bai Jiu(which is Rice Vodka basically. . .

Spoken like someone who has never truly "known" bai jiu.

Aside from the taste, Baijiu is almost never made from rice. So far, and I have sampled many, none of the baijiu that I have drank even has rice as an ingredient. It's made mainly from sorghum but often blended with wheat, barley, corn and other grains. Baijiu is more of a northerners concoction (Except for Sichuan where they make the best in the nation and a few Shanghai brands not worth mentioning) so they generally have not had rice available to make it from. Rice is usually made into huangjiu which is sort of like sherry but not as sweet. . . ok, a dry sherry. That stuff is sort of vaguely like Sake.

Most people think baijiu is made form rice because the only other Asian liquor they are acquainted with is Sake which is typically made from rice. Not baijiu. The best baijiu I have had comes from Manchuria but all my "regular" brands come from either Sichuan or from Shaanxi where they do their best to copy the Sichuan style.

For tie da jiu I use either vodka or, if it's available, everclear. Depends on the formula. I got one formula online that I really liked that went well with vodka but it also included ingredients that were illegal in the states, mainly "she xiang" aka "musk", the musk glands of a certain kind of deer. The other formula I have is Yip Man's and also has a few illicit ingredients but you can get it made in Chinatown in SF. The Richmond district stores won't make it for you. Down on Grant St., if you speak Chinese or are at least a regular in the shop, they will mix if the herbs for you.

Everclear and vodka.

[Plante]

For large batches, everclear plus water (bringing it to 50% alcohol) is a good solution.

[DeusTrismegistus]

Why does Jow forumlas use such low alcohol concentration for the macerations? I have always heard that 130 proof or higher is needed to get the most out of a maceration.

[Plante]

Some herbs need water as a solvent and others need alcohol.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

wood grain alcohol = best for jow

high proof = great!

regular boozes have lots of other stuff in em. 40% alcohol by volume is ok as well but clear liquors are preferred because thy have the least amount of other substances in them.

vodka = ok, even white rum (especially high alcohol type) whiskey is probably too expensive and rice wine tends to be really sticky.