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gharrity t1_j1opaho wrote

Our boat ran out of booze in the Aleutians one season so my bunkmates stewed some up in a hefty bag. Waiting for it to be ready was such an exercise in patience for us twentysomethings. Tasted the same going down as it did coming back up.

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Chuggles1 t1_j1ppwt2 wrote

Read a about Jenkum

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Rodneyfour t1_j1r0b1z wrote

Somehow I learned what this was when I was like 15 years old. Haven’t heard of this for years until now lol

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Murse_1 t1_j1oksnt wrote

And, they frequently make it in their toilets.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rnsbf wrote

The reason it's made in the toilet is to hide it. The officers rarely look there...

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Murse_1 t1_j1ro4qk wrote

Yep, I was a paramedic and worked at San Quentin for a short time. Pruno has a distinctive odor.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rohps wrote

I've seen all sorts of colors depending on what is used. Yesterday for Christmas someone brought out a few liters that looked similar to coca cola. I'm currently in prison in mexico awaiting trial for having too much marijuana..

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Murse_1 t1_j1rolyw wrote

Aw dude... Stay safe.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1roqno wrote

Thanks dude. We had a full scale riot last month. That was pretty crazy, but for the most part everything is fairly safe here.

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Murse_1 t1_j1rouao wrote

I'm glad to hear that. I hope you get home soon.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1roxn8 wrote

Thanks, next court date looks like early February.

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Murse_1 t1_j1rp3d3 wrote

Do you think they're gonna send you home or keep you awhile?

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rpdox wrote

Most likely have to wait for trial, which will be a few months after the next court date. From there I hope to win my case and go home. I was a passenger in a car that the driver hid marijuana in. We were stopped and searched at the boarder. If I do not win, I'm looking at 2.5-3 years. I've already been here 16.5 months

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Murse_1 t1_j1rqlk2 wrote

Arg.! That sucks! So reading between the lines it seems like you feel safe there ?

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rrecp wrote

For the most part. I stay out of people's business and don't have debts so that helps. I've been in a couple fights over little things, but there are rules to how long a fight can last and such. The only time I felt there was no safety was during the riot. The place I'm at is considered one of the most dangerous prisons in the world according to the internet. But as long as you don't mess with the wrong people or do the wrong things, you'll be fine.

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QAnonCultBuster t1_j1olwxz wrote

They can also make it with ketchup from ketchup packets.

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youngeng t1_j1pehe1 wrote

For some reason I read your comment as "They can also make ketchup from ketchup packets" and I was really confused.

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Insufferablelol t1_j1pjf3v wrote

Ketchup packets are fruit you juice. You've never seen a ketchup tree?

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mahmud_ t1_j1pntbj wrote

He has a lot of ketching up to do.

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Jeramus t1_j1q14ra wrote

Anyone have a taste test video of fermented ketchup booze? That sounds awful.

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wobushizhongguo t1_j1qmsws wrote

I’ve never had ketchup booze, but I’ve had some made out of oranges and jam packets and shit. Honestly? Not terrible. Taster like spicy orange juice

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rno9d wrote

We used a whole bottle of ketchup in our last batch, along with hard candies from the nuns and soda for extra sugar.

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Jeramus t1_j1rsg6d wrote

So how does it taste? Ketchup, candy, and soda does not sound like a winning combination.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1rsrxp wrote

Its not very important how it tastes... But to be honest I'm not sure, I tried the pruno once and now I just help make it since other people don't understand the basic science of what's going on. I usually tell people to add soda after I pour them a cup if they have issues with the taste or strength.

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Jeramus t1_j1s2pgj wrote

I understand that if it is the only alcohol you can get that taste wouldn't matter. I was just curious.

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Accomplished_Dot4409 t1_j1s3lhf wrote

Like spoiled wine? Or rotten fruit? Kinda like barf? Very acidic. Very bitter. The goal is to make all the sugar into alcohol so it usually isn't sweet unless you backsweeten it.

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PeacefullyFighting t1_j1qh7qp wrote

It's not even booze, you need a still to get to that purity. It's more like ketchup wine

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Jeramus t1_j1qj459 wrote

I was booze to just mean anything with alcohol in it. I didn't mean hard liquor.

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throwaway23271031 t1_j1oqp0t wrote

my roommate was doing this for months and she wasn't even in prison.

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sketchyhotgirl t1_j1pico7 wrote

just in the trenches huh LMAO

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throwaway23271031 t1_j1pijp4 wrote

we lived in a primarily white suburban neighborhood. we were low-to-middle class in a primarily hick town full of weird old people.

so yes 😁

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SwansonHOPS t1_j1re2cr wrote

Did you not realize you can get 5L of boxed wine for like 10 bucks?

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crazyjkass t1_j1rel1g wrote

I suppose she was doing it more for fun than to simply get drunk lol.

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SwansonHOPS t1_j1rfaz0 wrote

Me and some friends did this in college for the fun of it too, but we used baker's yeast instead of bread.

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EaddyAcres t1_j1oizvf wrote

You didnt mention prunes in your title, that's where the name comes from yah goofy goober

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FlashyBehind OP t1_j1ol114 wrote

well, it's only 300 characters for a TIL post, and I knew if I said "also, it originates from prunes hence pruno" and then had to go on further explaining myself as prunes are not always available in prison, they also use any fruit/sugar they can get their hands on., etc. etc. etc.

ps I have never been called a 'goofy goober' and I am honoured for this, thank you!

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BlackMarketCheese t1_j1ougk4 wrote

Going to have to start throwing bread crumbs at you from a park bench if you don't stop being a silly goose

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No_Resolve_2054 t1_j1oxlwm wrote

Lol also don't refer to anyone incarcerated as 'goofy' it's the worst insult reserved for inmates charged with sexual offenses against children

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[deleted] t1_j1omdj4 wrote

[deleted]

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RobinsShaman t1_j1oppdq wrote

Tell everyone why it's called toilet wine. 😉

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D4M14NU5 t1_j1p2sm1 wrote

Truthfully it is rarely made in toilets any longer since toilets in most correctional facilities have no tanks for hiding the garbage bag full of fruit liquor. Toilets on the other hand are often used as a cooking basin with a device called a stinger. Often inmates will exclusively defecate in an alternate toilet from their cell in order to keep their toilet clean for cooking.

I was a correctional officer once upon a time.

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Fat_IRL t1_j1paje2 wrote

A stinger btw is just live more or less live wires that you use to heat up a thing. Either straight from the outlet or you run them through other metals like nail clippers or pencils or... Like an electric tea kettle I've seen in the UK shows basically but dangerous as fuck. Drop it in water, soon you got boiling water.

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[deleted] t1_j1palva wrote

[deleted]

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Fat_IRL t1_j1pazbh wrote

Man all that is beyond me. I was in jail not prison sooo.... Also I tried not to look when scumbag shit was going on anyway.

Even in jail, dudes who been familiar a few times and waiting to get transferred..... I'm a giant white dude who doesn't need to be noticed so I'm just gonna mind my business. Do your thing guys. Imma pray that I can get some ramen a few times a week.

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[deleted] t1_j1pbmjy wrote

[deleted]

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Fat_IRL t1_j1pc7vx wrote

You can't really call it ramen if contains slim Jim's and chips sir.

And it's good in the sense how... You ever meet old army infantry dudes who buy military MREs and are like "this Chili Mac made in 1997 is amazing brother". My brother does this. Gross. It's like that. it's gross but amazing.

It's more a slop soup type thing.

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[deleted] t1_j1pcehf wrote

[deleted]

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Fat_IRL t1_j1pdhk3 wrote

Also if you're a co or whatever... The fuck is up with pickles in the ramen casserole thing? Wtf. You got the slimjims or maybe sardines in the ramen mash thing.. why pickles? Always fuckin pickles. Find out and let me know

Only consistent shit is ramen and pickles. Sometimes it's slimjims sometimes sardines. Sometimes Doritos sometimes Cheetos. Sometimes bread sometimes not. Always pickles.

Also speaking of jail food. Get 2 honeybuns (or if you're lucky a danish pastry w cheese) and empty one of those tiny handsized boxes of your favorite cereal in the middle... Make a sandwich.it's legit great. Fruit loops, pebbles, Applejack's... Any of those colorful types. Amazing.

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Low_Cauliflower9404 t1_j1qmz7a wrote

Boyfriend buys himself MREs and he's never leaving the Navy lol.

Some of them are damn good and they're all really fun for me.

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B7UNM t1_j1p058m wrote

What drink do prisoners who are not incarcerated make?

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LavenderDay3544 t1_j1pbpif wrote

Probably the same thing just at home since parolees aren't allowed to buy alcohol AFAIK.

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Scrotchety t1_j1ozp39 wrote

Protip: You can't buy alcohol with food stamps, but you can buy the making's to make alcohol with food stamps!

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Twistedhatter13 t1_j1pvbct wrote

wic used to give massive amounts of juice so much that if you feed it all to the child it would have shit itself to death. had a friend give me many bottles and we made wine out of it, nasty af but it got ya drunk

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TheBoarsEye t1_j1orc4v wrote

Idk why some people put bread since cooked bread has no yeast and you're not making beer anyways. All you need is juice and sugar.

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Boogzcorp t1_j1p0um4 wrote

It's because most prisoners are really dumb and THINK they're using the yeast. What's happening is the bread acts as a sponge and traps all kinds of bacteria from the environment. Basically you're using ballsweat bacteria to make your booze...

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Strong-Inflation-776 t1_j1otlx3 wrote

It’s probably a nice nutrient source that aids the fermentation process. Fruit juices don’t contain a lot of food for yeast and it’s not like they’re using aggressive strains to ferment with.

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browtfareyoudoing t1_j1pzh9v wrote

This is why some of my recent batches havent been working ughhh, 10% juice. Trying to learn how to steep feed with bread yeast has been annoying so far.

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5-On-A-Toboggan t1_j1w0y3j wrote

Bread left out in the open air will collect natural yeasts. Not as good as brewer's yeast strains or even baking yeast, but it will work.

It is also worth mentioning that these guys have an extremely low tolerance to alcohol after being locked up for so long, so they don't need much or a high percentage to feel it. Also, the percentage of mental illness and/or mental health meds being taken and also abused impacts the outcome and severity of getting hooch drunk.

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DinkadooMurphy t1_j1plkf7 wrote

Want some Merlot? I make it in the toilet.

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bolanrox t1_j1oqknm wrote

Better than bathtub gin?

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BrokenEye3 t1_j1p2usj wrote

I can't say I've ever been drunk enough to understand what it was about alcohol that made it worth all that trouble.

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Free-Scar5060 t1_j1p9p60 wrote

Honestly anything is worth the trouble in prison. I knew someone who started and ended a heroin habit during their time. My brother got brainwashed reading weird nazi pamphlets that we had to like, talk him down from once he got out.

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ItsACaragor t1_j1qwnsa wrote

It’s no trouble at all when you have unlimited time to kill and nothing else to do.

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ajm105 t1_j1pifik wrote

We called it hooch in my days locked up. It’s an…acquired taste.

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djb25 t1_j1on96h wrote

Someone could make a lot of money selling beer in prison.

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JimC29 t1_j1oyhw4 wrote

Beers to low alcohol percentage and to strong of smell. Everclear or moonshine is the way to go. Vodka is a decent choice as well.

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doubleflush t1_j1or4ot wrote

this shit will get you drunk

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BlackMarketCheese t1_j1oumyx wrote

And blind. Can't filter out the methanol

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myusernamehere1 t1_j1p3ujg wrote

Methanol is primarily produced from fermenting grain, not sugar or fruit. Although a small amount of methanol will still be produced, the antidote happens to be ethanol, which will be present in much higher concentrations than methanol. So not much danger of blindness if any.

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Gemmabeta t1_j1p4dks wrote

Many prisons ban or heavily restrict fruits and juices because of people making pruno on the sly, so inmates would make it using bread and potatoes.

End result was a massive botulism outbreak.

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5-On-A-Toboggan t1_j1w1gji wrote

The juice typically has sulphites added to kill yeast. This is why if you are going to make hard cider, you have to look around to find cider without sulphites at actual orchards. You won't find it at a grocer.

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UncleRicoiscool t1_j1pdhld wrote

Disgusting. Sounds like a good constipation cure.

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AKStafford t1_j1penmn wrote

I work in a prison. That stuff stinks to high heaven. Just disgusting... I have no idea how anyone drinks it.

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Realistic_Truck t1_j1q7e7r wrote

It tastes pretty nice, it doesn't require sugar though but you can add orange juice to it.

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Adventurous_Car_3153 t1_j1ru1sv wrote

We are only learning this today because we don’t talk about pruno no no no

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imright_anduknowit t1_j1rvs8f wrote

If it wasn’t contraband they could open establishments that sell the drinks collectively known as Pruno Bars.

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SpicyTamarin t1_j1oxjm4 wrote

My dad works at a correctional facility and he teaches me all kinds of crazy stuff they make. Got to get creative with the limited supplies lol.

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Jaffa33 t1_j1p7g36 wrote

Eli5, for future prisoners.

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jimicus t1_j1qnf06 wrote

The headline tells you most of what you need to know.

The only thing left over is it needs to ferment in an environment without oxygen. Outside of prison, this would be a demijohn with a bubbler (a tube with some water in so gas under pressure can escape). Inside of prison, you either improvise with what you can get or simply seal in a ziploc bag and remember to let the carbon dioxide escape occasionally.

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Baked_Charmander t1_j1q7nf5 wrote

Congratulations you're the last person who didn't know about pruno.

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Mr_Mouthbreather t1_j1ort9k wrote

Isn’t there one where they ferment their poop and huff it?

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WhenTardigradesFly t1_j1osaz5 wrote

no. that's a silly urban myth.

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ilikewc3 t1_j1oudh5 wrote

It's real. It's called jenkem and it definitely exists.

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WhenTardigradesFly t1_j1ovd35 wrote

lol, just because it's a silly urban myth doesn't mean there aren't people stupid enough to believe it and give it a try. hell, i fell for the one about smoking banana peels when i was a kid. but i also spent 4 years in prison and never ran into or heard about anyone dumb enough to actually try the jenkem one.

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ilikewc3 t1_j1ovkc9 wrote

It actually works and is a real thing is why it's not an urban myth. It has a Wikipedia page.

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WhenTardigradesFly t1_j1ovxnx wrote

i hate to be the one to break this to you, but having a wikipedia page doesn't mean that something is true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth

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ilikewc3 t1_j1ow85j wrote

Yeah further investigation has lead me to conclude that this is, in fact, a myth. Thanks for the correction.

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BlackMarketCheese t1_j1oukwo wrote

It absolutely is not a myth. Sent a guy to the infirmary because he passed out and hit his head on the corner of the bed frame.

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DefiantStomp t1_j1osy19 wrote

They also make Jankem where they poo in a jar and cover it and them inhale the fumes to get high

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