Developed by a group of Europeans in California who missed their traditional Federweißer drink, Spike Your Juice is a product comprised of yeast, organic evaporated cane juice, and emulsifier that turns fruit juices into an alcoholic beverage. For $10, consumers get six Spike packets and labels, one airlock, and one stopper. It's a very simple procedure that even novice home brewers can handle.
To begin, a 64 oz. bottle of juice, though nothing refrigerated, artificially sweetened or unfiltered, is needed. The website offers recommendations. A packet is emptied into the bottle and there's no need for stirring. Water goes into the airlock up to the Fill Line. The bottle is then sealed with airlock and stopper and left at room temperature. The packaging says, "wait 48 hours" but one page on the website says it okay to start sampling after 24. For a drier and more tart taste and an increase in alcohol content, the juice bottle should be resealed with airlock and rubber stopper.
For my own taste test, I used Ocean Spray Cran-Grape. Shortly after pouring in the Spike powder, the juice begins the process and foam forms at the top. After 47 hours (the anticipation was too much for me to go another hour), the spiked juice tasted not much different than the original juice other than the addition of carbonation. I tried about three lowball glasses of spiked juice on ice and could feel a little buzz from the alcohol.
In the interest of science, I gave the juice another approximately 24 hours to work its magic. The carbonation wasn't as strong, though it still noticeable, and the juice was tarter and drier as claimed. I felt a warmer glow after drinking but I had more beverage than the day before so I can't comment on an increase in alcohol. It did taste good and went down smooth.
Article comments
1 - David Pratt
What you have there is "Prison WIne" in a kit.
Between the sugar you add and the sugar in the juice, I'm betting it will cause The Mother Of All Hangovers.
2 - El Bicho
"I'm betting it will cause The Mother Of All Hangovers."
Pay up because it hasn't even caused the slightest hangover.
3 - Nick
Thanks for the review, I am extremely excited to get my kit in the mail!!!!
4 - El Bicho
party at Nick's place
5 - Patrick
I've tried several jugs of Welch's 100% grape juice and a no-name cran-raspberry juice. In each case the results varied. Sometimes there was little apparent yeast action and a fairly weak final product. Other times I would have a very bubbly and quite tart drink. Everytime the juice took on a murky appearance with a significant amount of material left at the bottom of the jug. In any case I was the victim of rather unpleasant gastrointestinal bloating followed by irregular bowel movement for a couple of days. I would not recommend this product to anyone. If you're looking to make inexpensive wine at home invest in the proper equipment and enjoy a vastly superior end product. If you're looking for a cheap drink without the hassle, just buy the cheapest booze you can find, it will no doubt still be more palatable than this product.
6 - Loren
Possibly there was no hangover because it is unfiltered - the yeast was consumed along with the juice/booze. The yeast is what makes the sediment and cloudy look to the juice, maybe Patrick doesn't tolerate yeast well, some people don't.
7 - Kyle
Tried this twice now, on my third attempt. Maybe I'm an alchy, but I don't get the slightest buzz from the end product. I'm going to leave the third attempt up there for 4-5 days, and hope for the best.
8 - Chris
When do the bubbles start? I see no activity the day after starting. The juice is Newman's own grape juice which has 39grams of sugar in each serving. The required amount of sugar is 20grams per serving.
9 - Raymond
I just saw this "Spike Your Juice" a couple weeks ago through ThinkGeek.com and had to order one because I'm an incurable fan of hard cider that really should start making his own.
It came in the mail Saturday. I started Sunday with Indian Summer apple cider (pasteurized, but hopefully no yeast-unfriendly preservatives). I followed the initial directions and checked it after 24h to see if anything looked different. The cider was already bubbly and slightly cloudy. I'm eager to sample it today!
Chris, from my 1st experience I'd say if yours isn't bubbly and cloudy 24h after starting, it's possible that the juice you got has preservatives in it that kill yeast... either that or your packet's a dud. Try again with an organic cold-pasteurized preservative-free juice and if it doesn't work after 48h then probably the S.Y.J. was defective.
10 - Chris M
After 24 hours I wasn't happy with the low amount of bubbling, so I added another packet to my apple juice, gave it a good shake, and now after a couple hours its bubbling nicely. I am giving it a total of 72 hours to ferment. I hope it works out.
11 - Chris M
After 72 hours my apple juice tasted more like cider. I think using 2 packets made the yeast flavor more apparent. There was not a lot of alcohol content and I felt a buzz only after drinking 1/2 the bottle. I am now trying grape juice with 1 packet of yeast and am letting it brew for 5 days. Hopefully that will be better.
12 - The Visitor
party at Chris' place
13 - Thomas
So I was shopping for a couple of items at my local Walgreens the other day, and this woman cut in front of me in line!