What'd ya'll make today?

Beerbrewer · Post by **Beerbrewer** » Wed Jul 16, 2014 1:29 pm

Ran though yet another Birdwatcher spirit run, It seems to be my main stay at the moment but the possibilites for tinkering with flavourings is a plus.

segaskin · Post by **segaskin** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:20 pm

Starting a simple sugar/potato wash for a sac run. I'm awaiting a SG and out of pH strips (love rural living). My bubbling went in neutral on day 3 but the wash is still rather sweet/tart. Proofed a batch of yeast and toss it in to see what the other batch's problem was and tell it to shape up. Or is the occasional "pause" normal in fermentation? (no foul odor, either, light foam on top). Plan on trying Odin's cornflake recipe next, looks like fun.

woodshed · Post by **woodshed** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:20 pm

Sounds tasty Rad. Would love to try your Kahlua.

Starting at 5:30 this morning I ran a 24 gallon Smoke Shine, a 24 gallon Cricket John, and a 53 gallon Bentfinger Bourbon. Just finished cleaning up. Damn good day.

Post by **jedneck** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:24 pm

Just started a 15 gallon ferment of uncle Jesse using scratch grain and back set from a single malt wheat. Sounds like Bacon frying.

woodshed · Post by **woodshed** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:27 pm

I love that sound.

Post by **jedneck** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 3:30 pm

Music to ones ears. The single malt had the airlock sounding like a machine gun for two days.

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 8:09 pm

Two still charges worth of UJSSM using Gen #6 backset that has been in the freezer for ten months. Will do two ferments this size then freeze some backset for next time and morph the UJSSM into other grains, dependent on what takes my fancy when I'm in the feed store.

Beerbrewer · Post by **Beerbrewer** » Tue Jul 22, 2014 1:16 pm

Two stripping rums of a rum that I'm intending to put on top of a previously used vannila pod and oak chips.

Post by **Jimbo** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:04 pm

Damn high gravity IPA's. 5 gallons in a 6 gal bucket and both blew the lid, at 70F, with US-05. Al least it didnt explode the lid and spray shite everywhere this time...

planethax · Post by **planethax** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:06 pm

Bottled tonight

planethax · Post by **planethax** » Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:07 pm

i now have six liters of bookends lol

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:48 pm

Put a wash down today, basically a sugarhead with crushed maize. Used two 60 litre fermenters, in each one I put :-

45 litres of water
7kg of crushed maize
8 kg of sugar
1 tablespoon of marmite as nutrient
6 packets bakers yeast

Heated water in stainless pot and dissolved sugar, poured this over the maize in the fermenter, added marmite, stirred several times thoroughly, topped up to 60 litres with cool water,waited until the temp dropped to 30deg c and pitched the yeast. SG was 1060. covered with old sheets, heatpad underneath, now the wait begins....

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 10:53 pm

My first attempt at Cachaça. I doubt many Kiwis have had a go at this one.

Nice warm day today, so I harvested my sugar cane. I can't press any half decent amount of juice without some heavy duty machinery that I don't have, so I put it through the garden mulcher and added enough water to just cover the pulp.

Very cold here this time of year and the fermenter it's in is too big for any of my incubators, so I have it well wrapped and a light bulb underneath to combat tonight's frost.

The smell from the mulcher reminded me of my days in the Babinda sugar mill several decades ago. Nice

Beerbrewer · Post by **Beerbrewer** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:43 am

Cornflake Whiskey wash, I need to make sure I have a couple of bottles of white dog for Xmas.

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:42 am

Put the Cachaça through the still yesterday. A friend tells me tonight that he composted about the same amount of sugar cane last week. He knows I'm a brewer. He gave me my cane cuttings. No brains where they count

Still ran all day today on UJSSM. Generation #8 fermenting now.

kalinka · Post by **kalinka** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:08 am

50L of cherry wine and 20L of mead

... though mead takes forever to ferment -.-

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:24 am

My Sugarhead/corn wash has been bubbling away for 5 days and has slowed to an occasional burp now...sg now 960...gonna leave it to settle on the lees for another day I"m thinkin....want to run it but want the most out of it I guess...will crank the still up day after tomorrow.

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Sat Aug 02, 2014 8:28 pm

siphoned wash off the lees today after a week from start, SG now 920.( 18.38 pc ?) dissolved 6.5 kg sugar and cooled water to 28 deg celcius, added 2.5 kg of corn, added sugared water to top up to 60litre mark, gave it a decent tablespoon of marmite as nutrient. Added all this on top of backset while it was still around 24 deg c. Fitted cap and airlock.SG 1050. Did this to both fermenters..Have around 80litres to put through still but will have to wait a few days until I have time. Have it in an 80litre stainless pot with the lid loosely on waiting......should be good as is a good colour, taste and smell....

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Sat Aug 02, 2014 9:25 pm

I'd hazard a wild guess that your hydrometer won't register 920, Tal

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Sat Aug 02, 2014 9:32 pm

By Golly youre right...try 992.!!...that's twice ive been wrong in one day!...must be time for a wee dram..thanx NZ Chris.

HockeyDad · Post by **HockeyDad** » Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:20 am

Just took another batch of nchooch bourbon off the grain. This batch is 60% cracked corn, 20% flaked rye, 20% six row barley. Will run it this weekend!

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Fri Aug 08, 2014 10:42 pm

Did a run today of my corn/sugar wash. Had around 70 litres in the pot still and ended up with 8.8.litres after taking 400ml of foreshots off and around the same of tails. Got some smooth hearts and tasty tails towards the end too. Have cut it back to 90 proof and it tastes just fine! Cooling the backset now after adding 8 kilos of sugar whilst still very hot. Will add this to the lees of my corn wash which is keeping warm with a heat lamp,once the temp drops to around 28 Celsius-30 Celsius.

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Fri Aug 08, 2014 11:16 pm

Last strip run of UJSSM #7 & #8, then the spirit run. Nearly finished scavenging the cardboard to put in the feints collection.

Estimating 7l of finished 62.5% aging strength, but that's just an estimate on the fly and I'll be sampling and blending in the morning.

ckswanecamp · Post by **ckswanecamp** » Sat Aug 09, 2014 9:16 am

Tal · Post by **Tal** » Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:38 pm

Doing a run of 2nd gen corn wash now, added yesterdays backset to 2nd gen fermentation lees plus sugar/water to bring SG to 1040..3rd gen should be working soon. Flow from still today is strong and a lot sweeter with heads reading 140 proof. Onto 3rd 1100ml bottle now and still showing 130 proof. Very pleased with strength and taste.

..Further update:..finished run with a total of 10.5 litres of lovely stuff, took tails after that a further 2.5 litres down to 40 proof. Very pleasing run.

Post by **Odin** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 4:10 am

Doing a vinigar run as we speak. I added the copper catalyst under my column but forgot to clean the big copper SPP that's in it. My bad.

Also, I will be doing some tests with my Pure Rye Bread Whiskey. I will dilute it to around 55% and age one part white, another part on JD wood oaking blocks, and another part on JD blocks that have been retoasted.

Keep you posted!

Odin.

NZChris · Post by **NZChris** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 10:43 pm

Bottled five gals of Joe's Ancient Orange Cinnamon Mead.

Blended the latest UJSSM.

The mead dregs are clearing in a fridge and I'll be experimenting with blending them with the UJSSM to make Glayva style liqueurs.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:00 pm

I've been malting 50 pounds of wheat. It's at the chit stage and hasn't started growing mold yet.
Malting in 90 degree weather isn't a good idea. I'll probably start drying it before it's fully modified
That is if I'm lucky enough to get it that far.

Post by **Jimbo** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:06 pm

Hmmm. THought I posted here recently but dont see it. On Tuesday I did another batch of my bourbon, corn meal (instead of cracked pebbles... uh..corn). Hit 1.080 instead of usual 1.065 and had to dilute before pitching yeast. corn is a mf. smaller the better. altho Im not looking forward to squeezing 82 lbs of that small corn meal mush through a mesh bag until my arms fall off.

Post by **shadylane** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:59 pm

Some one needs to figure out how to easily squeeze the liquid, out of fermented "corn meal mush"

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