Search found 219 matches
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:59 am
- Forum: Sugar
- Topic: B vitamins
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3742
Re: B vitamins
Your initial recipie is starving the yeast and causing them to die in a way that produces nasty flavor byproducts. Adding a nitrogen source is essential, this can be DAP, urea, dead yeast, vegemite, or a wide variety of materials. A good yeast nutrient for sugar washes is old fashioned tomato paste ...
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:50 am
- Forum: Beer, and Wine
- Topic: fortified wines
- Replies: 3
- Views: 965
fortified wines
Anybody making em?
Like em?
RRecommendations?
Like em?
RRecommendations?
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:47 am
- Forum: Beer, and Wine
- Topic: concord vinegar
- Replies: 4
- Views: 1158
Re: concord vinegar
I use a vinagrier for my bad batches. Basically a jug of living vinegar I feed my apple cider to, or recycle bad batches with. Awhile back I found a water cooler jug with a spigot and I found a ceramic lid that matched it. I dumped a living culture in there once upon a time and now have a "moth...
- Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:35 am
- Forum: Beer, and Wine
- Topic: Hard Apple Cider
- Replies: 31
- Views: 8615
Re: Hard Apple Cider
I usually add a wee bit of lemon juice to drop the pH for my initial fermentations and a pince of yeast nutrient. I've been using Premier Cuvee yeast from the packet (half pack per batch). I use what ever apple juice is on sale as long as it says 100% apple juice or juice from concentrate. I don't a...
- Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:45 am
- Forum: My First .....
- Topic: first stab at a fruit port
- Replies: 0
- Views: 565
first stab at a fruit port
I got a wine kit recently to try to make a dessert wine out of. Pinot Noir / Black Cherry one of those fruit wine blends. I fermented out the Pinot Noir with the bentonite form the kit and let it go hot and heavy for a week or so. It's hot at my place. Once it slowed down I added the fruit concentra...
- Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:53 am
- Forum: Materials Safety
- Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
- Replies: 50
- Views: 18101
Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
The rule of thumb was a good one. Some things are tried and true, and these practices should still be encouraged.
- Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:01 pm
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: Bead pics (at 50% abv)
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1621
Re: Bead pics (at 50% abv)
I think beads and bubbles are different. A bead is a liquid droplet that skitters across the surface before it is absorbed. Bigger beads have higher proof. It is based on a surface tension property of the solution. Also look at wetting of the glass, you can easily tell alcohol from water based on it...
- Sun Sep 06, 2009 5:08 pm
- Forum: Materials Safety
- Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
- Replies: 50
- Views: 18101
Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
lame idea, with a lame attempt at justification.What does anybody else think of this idea?
- Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:18 pm
- Forum: Flavoring and Aging
- Topic: cloudy after diluting
- Replies: 6
- Views: 4173
Re: cloudy after diluting
cloudiness indicates precipitation.
whatever is coming out of solution is less soluble in the water than the fairly nonpolar high proof spirit. oils are a good bet.
whatever is coming out of solution is less soluble in the water than the fairly nonpolar high proof spirit. oils are a good bet.
- Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:16 pm
- Forum: Flavoring and Aging
- Topic: Blending rum with neutral?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1217
Re: Blending rum with neutral?
i've made an old school "cuban" style rum by mixing overly oaked rum and fairly neutral white dog rum and then passing it through charcoal. most of the tannins and a bunch of the color is removed, but it comes out smooth. i recommend it. it's been one of the better recipies i've made. it c...
- Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:59 pm
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: heat well
- Replies: 14
- Views: 2186
Re: heat well
i put a thermometer well into a bok-style column head so that i could take the thermometer out and run it without one. i imagined being able to use a thermometer, thermocouple, or nothing in the well. i built it out of a copper 1/2" stub out. i suspect i "over engineered" the apparatu...
- Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:48 pm
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 16819
Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
sweet! thanks for the pics!
- Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:36 pm
- Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
- Topic: apple wash
- Replies: 47
- Views: 11066
Re: apple wash
i have this funny kitchen tool called a Mahu Liisa, which is basically a steam juicer. I got a few bushels of apples donated to me from a local farm I've been running through the past couple days. Yummy. But unfortunately it doesn't yeild much as it's stove top sized. I was thinking about adding the...
- Fri Aug 21, 2009 4:48 pm
- Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
- Topic: Trying to perfect a potato mash
- Replies: 34
- Views: 12465
Re: Trying to perfect a potato mash
i can think of a few things. your probably wasting your time trying to get a specific gravity reading. just make a mash and ferment it till it quits. i recommend NOT using turbo yeasts. my preference would be bakers yeast, but sounds like you want to experiment, so try a few different ones. turbos a...
- Fri Aug 21, 2009 3:55 pm
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: Latent Heat of Vaporization
- Replies: 8
- Views: 3648
Re: Latent Heat of Vaporization
you can do the traditional math, but you may need to empirically test your apparatus to make corrections because of heat losses to the suroundings.
- Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:08 pm
- Forum: Column Builds
- Topic: stills from poland
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2294
Re: stills from poland
i liked the looks of that last one until i realized that the product condensor and the reflux condensor are the same beast with valves to select return or takeoff. scary bomb if you don't flip both simultaneously.
- Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:03 pm
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 16819
Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
your water heater tank probably doesn't have any lead solder on it. (unless its really really old) i doubt many folks have messed with steam coils. there's some challenges with pressure and condensate return. they are usually used on much larger equipment (commercial). direct steam injection is an a...
- Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:57 pm
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: pot still column height
- Replies: 19
- Views: 18022
Re: pot still column height
What rad said. I have a couple of pot stills, both handmade and commercial, with "columns", but they are really just to lift the takeoff transfer line (lyne arm) over the edge of the boiling vessel. One is modular and takes a thumper I made out of a liter mason jar which needed at least 10...
- Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:49 pm
- Forum: Sugar
- Topic: chemistry behind the flavor of rum
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2214
Re: chemistry behind the flavor of rum
They talk briefly about resins. I took my organic chemistry from the dude who actually invented ion exchange resins when he worked for Dow. He's still alive. I consider him a living treasure.
- Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:21 am
- Forum: Beer, and Wine
- Topic: port
- Replies: 11
- Views: 6610
Re: port
Several people above commented on a critical issue, namely that ports are still somewhat sweet. The fortification is used to prevent complete fermentation which allows some of the sugars to remain. Stepwise fermentation and/or fermenting up to near 20% just wont do the right magic. There's a winery ...
- Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:15 pm
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: Distilling oils
- Replies: 19
- Views: 5294
Re: Distilling oils
sounds like you want a solid-liquid extractor rather than a still...
the most famous is the soxhlet.
the most famous is the soxhlet.
- Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:05 pm
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: Anaconda stills
- Replies: 15
- Views: 2156
Re: Anaconda stills
look at the joints and see if they are dull or shiny. also use your fingernail to press against it. silver is much harder than lead.
i'm only guessing, but i'll bet it's lead soldered.
i'm only guessing, but i'll bet it's lead soldered.
- Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:57 pm
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: This is very intresting... (oils & alcohol in distilling)
- Replies: 43
- Views: 11221
Re: This is very intresting...
the vacuum fermentation trick is also neat. i've done it in the lab in a rotovap with no harm to the yeast on a rum wash that was about half way done. after it was distilled it finished fermenting.
- Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:56 am
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: This is very intresting... (oils & alcohol in distilling)
- Replies: 43
- Views: 11221
Re: This is very intresting...
This is really interesting. It amounts to a liquid liquid seperation followed by redistillation. It's very clever. I can see the problems with finding other suitable oils. Most oils we have about the house are fatty acids (carboxyls) that can esterify. Hydrocarbons might work, but I don't wanna do a...
- Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:34 am
- Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
- Topic: Modular Combination Still
- Replies: 30
- Views: 7087
Re: Modular Combination Still
the head pressure of a thumper was probably much much greater than the water seal.
I like your work space.
I like your work space.
- Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:07 am
- Forum: Resources and Reviews
- Topic: 2nd year roman wormwood aka A. Pontica
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4407
Re: 2nd year roman wormwood aka A. Pontica
did you start from seeds or small plants?
- Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:41 am
- Forum: Research and Theory
- Topic: Vacuum distillation
- Replies: 42
- Views: 19379
Re: Vacuum distillation
I've never messed with a refrigerator compressor. I've always used laboratory style pumps. Oil, rotary vane, piston, and diaphragm pumps have all served the purpose.
Sounds like the aspirator is working though.
Sounds like the aspirator is working though.
- Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:34 am
- Forum: Materials Safety
- Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
- Replies: 50
- Views: 18101
Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
These "siloxanes" that leach outta silicone, are they possibly harmful if ingested? not really. they aren't very toxic as a chemical class. silicone is the common name of a polysiloxane polymer, (R2SiO)n, thats why the leachates are various sizes based on the n value. this is why you see ...
- Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:18 am
- Forum: Materials Safety
- Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
- Replies: 50
- Views: 18101
Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
I have silicone seals in my sight glasses and I have silicone seals in my wine topping vessels. It's food safe. That's why it's used in food handling equipment. Will it leach components? Yes. That's what this paper was all about. It even nicely described them. one shouldn't be quantitating with mass...
- Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:13 pm
- Forum: Novice Forum Graveyard
- Topic: How to categorise my Rum?
- Replies: 25
- Views: 2618
Re: How to categorise my Rum?
make it, THEN categorise it. molasses is merely used as a sugar source. traditionally because it was cheaper than refined sugar. it also has plenty of impurities that make for yeast nutrients and "flavor". don't get to caught up in the minute details. it's like your asking how many times t...