Fermented goods....mmmm...

Little or nothing to do with distillation.

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meadman
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Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

I just bottled half a 23l batch of medium show mead this evening. The other half went into a 3 gallon carboy with some fresh blackberries i picked from the garden today and some local blueberries i picked up yesterday. I've got a 23l batch of gewurtztraminer that has cleared and is ready to be racked again before bottling. My "to be distilled" is a 23l sugar wash that has been trucking along very nicely. OG 1.090, down to 1.050 now. i also have about 12l of blue agave syrup based wash. it's fermenting very slowly. even slower than a stubborn mead. but i have faith. going for a tequila type liquor but don't think it'll taste anything like tequila. i couldn't help but try when i saw this stuff at costco. a bit of an experiment i guess. i'd love to try to distill some mead sometime but it's hard to pour all that great flavour down the drain once you get the alcohol. anyone tried this? mead brandy? krupnik?
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12 one litre bottles of crystal clear mead. well... 11 now.
12 one litre bottles of crystal clear mead. well... 11 now.
Sugar wash on the left, agave syrup wash on the right. these will be my first brews i have ever distilled, other than my cleaning runs.
Sugar wash on the left, agave syrup wash on the right. these will be my first brews i have ever distilled, other than my cleaning runs.
Blackberry/blueberry mead. I like to make a big batch of show mead and then rack it onto whatever fruit is in season. winter = spices/metheglin
Blackberry/blueberry mead. I like to make a big batch of show mead and then rack it onto whatever fruit is in season. winter = spices/metheglin
Gawurztraminer. the marbles take up room so you don't have to add water after racking.
Gawurztraminer. the marbles take up room so you don't have to add water after racking.
rubber duck
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by rubber duck »

You lost me with the marbles. :? Is there a reason why you need to fill it all the way to the top?

RD
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

you don't want your wine to oxidize (limp/flacid taste). so putting the marbles in takes up the airspace in the carboy without watering the wine down with water. if you have extra wine around you can just add that, but the marbles allow you to take up airspace regardless of what you're fermenting.
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

you lose a little wine every time you rack it do to sediment. and you need to rack it a few times depending on the recipe/kit/method
rubber duck
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by rubber duck »

I learn something every day. So in mead this is important because you might rack 3 or 4 times and buy that time there wouldn't be a co2 blanket. Is that a correct assumption?
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

exactly. it's amazing how fast it happens aswell. even just a bit too much splashing when you're siphoning will oxidize your mead/wine. still tastes fine but with more gym-sock. it's the same principal as airing out your fresh liqour i guess. just in mead and wine you want to keep those flavour filled volitile compounds
rubber duck
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by rubber duck »

So if a guy doesn't have 50lb of marbles do you think injecting co2 into the bottom of the fermenter would do the same thing?
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

yup. it would work. i found the marbles we're cheaper than tanks of co2. however it would be nice to fill the carboy with co2 before starting to rack
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

maybe a little overkill though.
rubber duck
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by rubber duck »

Oh and to answer your question yes I have distilled honey 3 times so far and it's scary good. The first time I did it i tried a slow single run and it was overpowering, I added blueberries to it and cut it to 40%. That stuff turned out nice. The second a time was a double run and the third was a thumper run. They both turned out nice.

I would suggest you try it.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
rubber duck
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by rubber duck »

I have a shit load of co2 that's a good idea. I'm going to try that on the next beer I do.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
meadman
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Re: Fermented goods....mmmm...

Post by meadman »

well i'll have to try it. sounds like it's worth it. it's getting harder and harder to find cheap honey though. need some beehives i guess.
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