Customer Reviews

The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book to be extremely valuable, both in it's content and well - it's value! The author presents the art of making Wine and Beer in a simple yet entertaining package. This is the book to begin your quest for fine spirits. This book is a teriffic "How To" on a budget. Following the Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible I was able to create my first batch of Wine for under $20.00! I have since read numerous other "acclaimed" books on the subject and find myself returning to this book. Bottom it's money well spent for a lifetime of hobbies

This is the first reference I purchased about a year ago when I began thinking about making my own booze and it's been invaluable. I can see down the road wanting something more technical and detailed, but this really captures the heart of making booze out of whatever you can. The processes are explained in a very folksy way that should make sense to anyone, but offers enough instruction to use as a how-to guide when making batches of whatever. This book is for people that just want to make booze, not for people looking for a glorified manual to their high-end brewing or winemaking kit.

If you have ever thought about homebrewing, or do it now, this is the book for you! Mr. Kania shows his true mastery of the subject. He gives simple, precise instructions on setting up your own home-brewery or winery with lots of simple and rudimentry homemade equipment for the beginner on a budget. This guy is the dang McGuyver of homebrewing and winemaking and he shows you how to be one too!! The book also doesn't just bore you with good information, instructions and drawings. It's full of intresting and comical facts about alcohol through the ages like, 'Horse Tird Whiskey' and a jury that was indicted for drinking the evedence in a moonshine trial. The book even has an intresting section on home distillation (illegal in the U.S. but not all countries).

The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible contains lots of helpful information about how to make your own wines, beers, flavored liquers - just about anything involving brewing your own alcoholic beverages. It is loaded with recipes and step-by-step processes that take you from the planning stages through the bottling stage. It also addresses all of your equipment needs for producing various types of beverages, including a section that details how to make a lot of your equipment. It also addresses some practical and safety considerations, which I have not seen in other publications.
I do have one serious complaint about the book. The binding on mine was terrible. The book fell apart the first time I opened it. I'm keeping it, though. I figure I will put it in a binder of some type.

I believe this book is the best there is for anyone making their own home made wine and most especially for beginners as I was a few years ago. This is a common sense book, practical, easy to read and understand and will make the average Joe look like a Pro in wine making........
Since I bought this book for help in basics and recipes I have made the following kinds of wine since July of last year:
Yellow plum, beet, grape, peach, sandhill plum, elderberry, carrot, red tomato, apple, persimmon, jalapeno, pear and cranberry.
All of my produce comes from right here on the farm with the exception of the persimmon ( I get those from a neighbor's tree a mile away) and the cranberry that my wife purchased on closeout at Sam's for 48 cents per pound! I made a 5 gallon batch of the cranberry, turned out excellent. My wife is amazed I have not had a bad batch of wine and for a novice quite frankly I'm proud of that. I have right at 80 gallon produced this year. By the way I did buy an hydrometer........have yet to use it! :>)
I tell everyone I talk to about this book, it is the best I have seen anywhere bar none. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Needless to say I have made a lot of friends much happier!

Thanks to this book!

This was the Compleat Works on home brewing. I was looking for research material that would give me a fair idea on the mechanics of non-commercial distilling for a writing project, and after looking at several books, I chose this one, thinking I would be reading the least objectionable one. When I got it I sat down and read it right through and finished up with a good read and a reasonable knowlege (as in from 0 to 60 in 45 minutes) of the subject. The good read part is amazing, but even better is the information, which is given clearly and succinctly, without any techno-blather. By the time I got to the end of the book, I felt that I not only knew enough to brew my own, but suddenly I had the urge to do it. Thanks, Leon!

When I read The Alaskan Bootlegger's bible, I could not put it down until I was finished reading it. This book is written for those that want to brew their own spirits. The book reads easily with a lot of good humor throughout it. You won't go wrong putting this book in your library.

I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 only because it is slightly disorganized could use another proofreading. These are not large detractors though, as the unpolished aspects of this books works well with how the author humorous, carefree approach to the art of making alcohol. Even if you never intend to make alcohol at home, the entertaining stories and ingenious alcohol-making contraptions described are worth the read.

Chapter 1 is a very basic introduction of basic fermentation process required to make all alcohols. Very light on science, but not glossing over anything important.

Chapter 2 details winemaking. This was my favorite chapter, as the author doesn't just stick with the basics, like grape wine, cider, and mead (honey wine). He details how just about anything that contains sugar/starches can be easily turned into wine, from straight sugar to tomatoes, to carrots, to milk. There is an extensive recipe list, all requiring very little money and equipment to make some very exotic "wines." Intermixed with the instruction is some great stories about milk wine bootlegging priests and what to do when you meet a bear in a blueberry patch. Great stuff!

Chapter 3 is dedicated to home brewing beer. Recipes for cheap, historical prohibition style beers are discussed as well as more conventional, high quality beers. Most of the brewing process is kept very simple and generic. While I liked this section for the prohibition recipes and exotics beers recipes like chicha, I would probably buy a more conventional home brewing book if you plan to get serious with home brewing. The methodology here seems more directed toward college students who want to brew at the lowest cost possible, or isolated people unable to get a conventional home brew kit in the mail. Not to take anything away from the authors methods- its just that most people don't do home brews out of necessity, but as a hobby.

Chapter 4 describes making your own home brewing equipment, as well as making your own malt. Like the previous chapter, this section is very interesting and is great for someone unable to get home brewing ingredients and equipment, or unable to afford them. However, very few of potential homebrewer's would go to the hassle of building a bottlecapper out of scraps of wood, when they are readily available for under $20. The section on making malt is very interesting, especially since this is a topic that most basic home brew books avoid.

Chapter 5 details basic whiskeys and many different distillation stills. The whiskey recipes themselves are traditional cheap bootleggers recipes. Real, aged whiskey is not describes, only prohibition liquor or high proof ethyl alcohol are mentioned. A variety of stills are described, from traditional pot stills, to simple stills made from modern kitchen gear like pressure cookers, crock pots, and tea kettles, to small portable stills made from a soldering iron. Enough information is given to create your own still, if that is legal where you live.

Chapter 6 is a simple chapter on making liqueurs from a base alcohol (vodka or your 'shine)and a variety of fruits, herbs, etc. This chapter is here for completeness, but does not contain anything unique like the previous chapters.

Overall, this book is perfect for diehard DIYers, cheapcollege students,people in remote parts of the world, or anybody who wants to make their own alcohol but doesn't want to get bogged down in the fun-killing science aspects. If you are thinking about making wine/beer/liquor but just aren't sure if you can handle it, this book is the perfect starting point.

If you're looking for a book that's easy to follow and not loaded with technical gobbledygook, I highly recommend this book to you. This book has simple, easy to understand instructions on brewing just about anything you can imagine. There's even a chapter on distilling, which I found very interesting and informative. Since Mr. Kania cautions distilling is illegal to put into practice, I intend to take his advice and refrain, but it was, nonetheless, quite interesting, especially the different types of stills.

I must say I really enjoyed the humor interspersed throughout the book as well. Not only is it a great instructional book, it's just plain enjoyable reading.

On a lark, my wife purchased for me a home brewing kit. Wanting to learn more about the subject, I decided to do some reading. The book's title is what brought me to it, but the content is what kept me reading it. It is funny and practical. It is by no means the decisive authority on home-brew, but its all around nature from real-life experiences makes it a good read. Despite the name, most of the book focuses on home beer and wine making (both legal) with just a little devoted to the theory and possible practical side of home distilling (illegal in the U.S.). As I continue to try out new things in home brewing, I find myself referring back to this book time and time again. If you have a few hours free one afternoon, and are every slightly interested in the subject, I suggest this as a great place to start.