Search found 465 matches

by KatoFong
Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:52 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: What'd ya'll make today?
Replies: 6949
Views: 739855

Re: What'd ya'll make today?

I stripped the first half of that corn/rye mash today. So far, so good. I think I need to push the second half a little harder, though. A half hour after the last gallon ran dry of alcohol, plenty of good flavor was still coming out. I'm going to try cutting the second half much deeper to get more f...
by KatoFong
Tue Jan 14, 2014 5:51 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: cart before the horse
Replies: 16
Views: 2825

Re: cart before the horse

Any update on how this turned out?
by KatoFong
Tue Jan 14, 2014 3:53 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: the American toasted oak chip experiment.
Replies: 28
Views: 3051

Wine Barrel Oak

I'm curious whether any of the folks who use oak cubes have ever experimented with soaking them on wine. Nothing expensive, mind, just to impart some of the flavors. Some of the finer scotches and bourbons I've had use old wine barrels for aging, and it gives some lovely results. I'm about to embark...
by KatoFong
Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:13 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: What'd ya'll make today?
Replies: 6949
Views: 739855

Re: What'd ya'll make today?

I made my first corn mash Friday and yesterday from 10 lbs of cracked corn, 10 lbs of rye, and 4 lbs of barley. The extra rye and barley is because I screwed up the mashing first time around and added the malt when the corn meal was still way too hot and killed my enzymes in a flash. The next day, I...
by KatoFong
Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:59 pm
Forum: Grains
Topic: The odor of an all grain mash
Replies: 17
Views: 10682

Re: The odor of an all grain mash

I'm just now mashing my first corn whiskey and I have to say that the description of it being like sourdough bread rising is a pretty good one. It doesn't smell like beer fermenting, which is what I was expecting. It smells like sourdough, with a much rawer, more grainy quality to the smell and the ...
by KatoFong
Tue Jan 07, 2014 3:16 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: The No Boil Corn Mashing Method
Replies: 128
Views: 137932

Re: The No Boil Corn Mashing Method

Just want to say a quick thank you for this thread. I am about to embark on my first bourbon after years of all-grain home brewing, and I think this thread has saved me from cooking a potful of Evil Corn Mess™. I'm still searching around on the site to nail down the specific method of mashing corn, ...
by KatoFong
Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:37 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: fresh corn recipie
Replies: 10
Views: 2954

Re: fresh corn recipie

Hey friends. Long time since I've posted here, and long time since this thread ended. But hey, what with The Walking Dead being so popular, perhaps now is the time for a zombie or two. I wanted to weigh in on the whole koji for fermentation thing. I'd bet it could be used nicely for corn, but unless...
by KatoFong
Tue May 29, 2007 9:06 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: Absinthe recipe
Replies: 285
Views: 200450

As to the ratios, there would be no question because I would be carefully measuring the herbs and adding them into the flask at the same time. Then the resulting oil could simply be collected as a whole and added to the appropriate amount of spirits, diluted and then given final maceration. I see. ...
by KatoFong
Wed May 23, 2007 1:21 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: Absinthe recipe
Replies: 285
Views: 200450

I don't think Zman is dismising it out of hand. He's simply stating what is generally a known fact, which is that absinthes made from oil mixes tend to be lower quality than those made by distilling the whole charge in a pot still. While it's theoretically possible to make a really good oil mix, my ...
by KatoFong
Wed May 23, 2007 7:00 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: Absinthe recipe
Replies: 285
Views: 200450

Just remember, you want flowers and leaves, not stems. And harvest them when the flowers have just opened.
by KatoFong
Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:50 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: Personal age
Replies: 39
Views: 11218

What? Huh? I'm sorry...CoopsOz's avatar keeps distracting me.

29...but part of me is twelve.
by KatoFong
Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:41 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: absinthe recipe
Replies: 6
Views: 3569

Yes. With a recipe like that, step nine would be the most difficult step to follow. Whoever wrote it has no idea what they're doing.
by KatoFong
Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:20 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

It's probably 68% across the board. I don't have a bottle in front of me, so I was most likely remembering wrong. Point is, 70%--really a little higher than that, even--will preserve color much longer than a lower abv. And Farom is right--where and how you store it plays a role in keeping color. Sto...
by KatoFong
Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:52 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

Whether it stays green depends more on the final abv than anything else. If you're talking about the Eichelberger, Kevangogh, it's bottled at 62%. If you bottle it at lower than 70 percent, the chlorphyll from which absinthe gets its green color degrades quickly and the absinthe gets that dead leaf ...
by KatoFong
Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:44 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

It really depends on where you get your fennel from. I can attest that sweet fennel can definitely cause really bad camphorous flavors in absinthe, though. It's nasty when it happens. I wouldn't recommend using sweet fennel from the grocery store, though. Find yourself a good source and go from ther...
by KatoFong
Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:24 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

That would work, but I powder all my herbs before adding them to the macerate, so it's not foolproof.
by KatoFong
Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:26 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

Depends whether we're talking distilling herbs or steeping herbs. I assumed the former, as that is where the wormwood usually comes in. As there's no such thing as an absinthe made by steeping herbs, and as A. abs is never used in the coloration step of making absinthe, I had assumed so, as well. I...
by KatoFong
Thu Feb 08, 2007 1:44 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

If by "experience," you mean "flavor," you're wrong. Good dried herbs don't have any significant loss in the oils, and in fact, pack a greater punch than fresh. If they're dried right, it's the water content that leaves them, not the oils. Flower, however, are preferred to leaves...
by KatoFong
Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:37 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

I stand corrected.
by KatoFong
Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:46 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

I don't know exactly. But yes. I believe if you're growing from seed, it can be a couple of years before the plant flowers.
by KatoFong
Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:36 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: My best Absinthe so far...
Replies: 282
Views: 149374

Keep in mind that wormwood is notoriously difficult to grow from seed. If you want to grow it, I recommend buying them as plants, rather than as seeds and growing it that way. Also, bear in mind it will be a while before the plants come to maturity and produce flowers you need to make a decent absin...
by KatoFong
Tue Dec 12, 2006 12:16 pm
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: tails and absinthe
Replies: 7
Views: 2682

Yeah. Basically, it sounds like you're getting too much reflux in your still to allow the heavier oils to come over in the distillate. As for the collection of tails being arbitrary, it's anything but. Basically, you should be able to collect out of your distillation exactly as much alcohol as you p...
by KatoFong
Mon Nov 13, 2006 12:03 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: What can I make with honey?
Replies: 5
Views: 1885

It was a metheglin made from a combination of buckwheat honey and mesquite honey with cocoa powder in the primary. I added maple syrup in the secondary.
by KatoFong
Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:01 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: What can I make with honey?
Replies: 5
Views: 1885

Just experimenting last summer, I made a honey liquor from a chocolate mead I was making. It's not a great sipping drink, but it isn't bad in a little cola. Brings out the chocolate...

Any thoughts on aging from people more experienced than me would be appreciated.
by KatoFong
Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:20 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

Atta boy.

To answer your second question, yes that's a perfectly acceptable way to color. I've always colored cold, myself, letting the herbs sit in the distillate for 24 hours until I get a nice green color out of them, but I know others who color hot in more or less the same fashion you described.
by KatoFong
Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:45 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

I'll agree you can't get as strong a taste from the coloration step using less herbs, but you absolutely can get a flavor that is every bit as complex using less herbs in coloration. Moreso, even, since over coloring your absinthe can make the flavor of the coloration herbs swamp out the more subtle...
by KatoFong
Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:38 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

I know what the coloration step is for, Miraculix. You're still using far more than you need.
by KatoFong
Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:25 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

You actually don't need star anise to make it louche. The oil that causes the louche is specifically anethone, which is found in both anise and star anise. In fact, less star anise in a recipe is considered a mark of a better absinthe. Really, the best way to make an absinthe that louches well is th...
by KatoFong
Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:56 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: Aging absinthe
Replies: 5
Views: 2572

Oak barrels? Where did you read this?
by KatoFong
Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:55 am
Forum: Absinthe
Topic: First try at absinthe
Replies: 45
Views: 24235

Add them to the macerate when you add the water, just before distilling. You should buy whole anise in the future and grind it just before adding to the macerate to ensure that it retains as much essential oil as possible. Store-bought, prepowdered anise is always going to be significantly lower in ...