Dit Da Jow

[Grufty]

I’m thinking of brewing my own Dit Da Jow, and I wanted to ask a couple of questions before I started and made mistakes.

I plan on buying a 1 gallon bottle to brew the Dit Da Jow; would this be a good size?

The bottle that I am thinking of buying comes with two types of corks for the lid. The description mentions one of them having an air hole through the cork. While brewing the mixture; should the bottle be airtight, or would I want to use the cork with a hole down the middle?

Would there be a problem using a cork to fill the lid or would that have implications on the Dit Da Jow?

I’ve read somewhere that Dit Da Jow should not be stored in plastic bottles; therefore I will be purchasing a glass bottle. I just wanted to make sure that this is indeed correct?

I’m sure I’ve also read somewhere that Dit Da Jow needs to be kept in dark coloured bottles and not clear; is this true?

When should you remove the herbs? Do you leave them in the bottle until it is empty and then throw them away?

What is the best type of alcohol to mix with the herbs? I have heard Chinese Rice Wine or Vodka are ideal choices; what type of alcohol do you think is the best to use and is there a difference in the quality of the Dit Da Jow depending on which alcohol is used?

Sorry if some of these are stupid questions; I just didn’t want to wait 6 months or so while brewing the Dit Da Jow and then find out I’d made a mistake and therefore wasted my time.

Thanks in advance for your answers…

[Dale Dugas]

You want to get a larger bottle. Something like 3-5 gallons. Here in the USA we use beer and wine making carboys that we can buy from beer and wine making supply stores.

You want to get a solid stopper for your bottle(s), and not a stopper that has a hole in it.

Most people use Rubber Stoppers instead of cork but there is nothing wrong with using cork.

Some formulas of Dit Da Jow are very strong and can cause problems. Plastic is not good as the solvent(alcohol) can leach the chemicals from the plastic to the medicine. Something No One wants.

dark brown bottles are the ones most used to store the medicine outside of the dark storage unit where you keep your parent bottle of medicine.

Most people use vodka as the medium as its cheap, and its does the job. Some of the herbs need water and some need the alcohol to release their active components from the herbs to solution.

And you do not need to wait 6 months. Total BS. The longest you would have to wait for medicine is 8 weeks. After that the medicine is not going to get any stronger. It will last as the alcohol acts as a preservative.

Let me know how I can be of service to you.

[Grufty]

Thanks Dale, that was very helpful.

8 weeks does seem a little better than 6 months