Search found 321 matches

by Watershed
Tue Oct 17, 2006 12:22 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Pears
Replies: 22
Views: 6127

There's a big difference between acidic due to fruit acids and acidic due to vinegar - my pear wash was undrinkably sour but didn't have a trace of acetic acid. I used wild pears and let it ferment out completely. The distillate after a two runs is superb - its got that high ester content that you f...
by Watershed
Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:04 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Reduction of vinegar
Replies: 19
Views: 6789

I've got access to sodium borohydride and diborane - both of which would do the job but it would be cheaper to just go out and buy some vodka.
by Watershed
Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:02 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Amount of liquid needed for an alcometer?
Replies: 11
Views: 3838

I used to get away with a 25ml ultra narrow cylinder until I dropped it.
I'm thinking of making one in copper - it would still be readable if I filled it to the brim.
by Watershed
Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:01 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: sialage juice ?
Replies: 9
Views: 4222

I've heard of using the juice at the bottom of corn stalk silos - which has a lot of sugar in it. Silage over here though is fermented fodder grass and smells quite a lot like a slurry pit, there's no way I'd ever let it in the house let alone try drinking it.
by Watershed
Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:18 am
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: Yeast farming (HowTo information wanted)
Replies: 33
Views: 15894

In the lab we'd spin it down, add glycerol and drop into dry ice or liquid nitrogen. At home I'd just collect sediment from a ferment, add glycerol to 10% and shove it in the freezer in small phials - 5mls in each phial. It never occured to me to try getting the poor buggers used to the cold first. ...
by Watershed
Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:14 am
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: Yeast farming (HowTo information wanted)
Replies: 33
Views: 15894

Some yeast will survive if you freeze it, to improve your chances adding 10% glycerol to the yeast will help things along. If you can snap freeze so much the better.
by Watershed
Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:01 am
Forum: History and Folklore
Topic: News article - Latvian vodka smuggling
Replies: 0
Views: 2972

News article - Latvian vodka smuggling

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2022498.html?menu=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow I bet they saw that Simpsons episode.... " Ananova: Customs discover vodka pipeline Russian customs officers say they have discovered a mile long pipeline th...
by Watershed
Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:25 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Pot still and sugar wash?
Replies: 18
Views: 10388

I make vodka in a pot still quite happily - and neutral spirit from sugar, it's not difficult to do but you wil get large losses doing in so a pot still. From a specific vodka yeast I expect to loose around 30%-40%, turbo yeast adds a bitter component that I could only shift by discarding 50%. When ...
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:28 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Tips to make my still more efficient.
Replies: 15
Views: 4435

Providing your bucket condenser volume is the larger than the volume of wash it should be fine. Six foot of coil is plenty unless you've got a blast furnace heating it. Try running the still a lot more slowly and see if it makes a difference.
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:48 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Difference between foreshots and heads?
Replies: 15
Views: 8702

With my pot still there's a brief pause between the first few drops ( about 5ml from a 5l wash ) that come through and the main body of liquid. I count that as my foreshots, it usualy smells like glue. I'll then discard the next 10- 40ml that comes off based entirely on smell & taste. I keep the...
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:13 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Tips to make my still more efficient.
Replies: 15
Views: 4435

If you are genuinely loosing that much vapour somewhere then you're at serious risk of fire. On any given run I'd expect to leave about 1/8 to 1/4 behind in the still - running them to dryness isn't a good plan, you'll never get 100% recovery and a drinkable product. Leaks should be obvious as the v...
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:19 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Fermenting whole grapes...
Replies: 2
Views: 1440

Just posted what I do on the other 'crust' thread. Typicaly I'll leave the crust for just over a week before collecting it for a separate run. I don't use an airlock which is why don't want it dropping back in. I wouldn't have boiled the grapes though - I'm sure that'll affect the flavour as you'll ...
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:13 am
Forum: Grains
Topic: using malt extract instead of malting grains?
Replies: 14
Views: 10230

I have read that 2 row has very close to the same enzymes due cross germnation and better cultavation is this true or just somthing to sell the two row? Over here you'd never find six row barley in brewing - it's considered totaly unsuitable due to the high haze forming potential of six row. All ma...
by Watershed
Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:12 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: crust
Replies: 1
Views: 1070

I'd leave it and skim off later but my reasoning for that is that I never use airlocks so the crust is exposed and I don't want the oxidised stuff falling back in. For fruit washes like plum and ( dried ) grapes, where crust can be a couple of inches thick I collect it, add enough water to stop it s...
by Watershed
Sun Oct 01, 2006 11:59 pm
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: This rum recipie: question
Replies: 9
Views: 7102

Just set up a rum fermentation myself, 3kg Molasses sugar into 14l water ( used 5l of hot but not boiling to dissolve then topped up with cold ) plus a good dose of bakers yeast. Left in the warmest place in the house - right next to where the heating pipes come in upstairs. As far as I can make out...
by Watershed
Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:27 am
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Mouldy old dough
Replies: 3
Views: 3563

I confess to two things - firstly, I have the album ( though I didn't buy it ).
Secondly, I deliberately made too much bread last night, and the night before.
by Watershed
Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:24 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Does Bentonite stop foaming?
Replies: 6
Views: 2550

whatever's to hand - usualy sunflower oil, or lard on occasion. I've tried olive but it leaves ever such a slight taste in the product. I picked up the tip from the 'Household Cyclopedia' along with adding a good handful of salt to the wash 'to fix the viscid matter' though I've never tried and don'...
by Watershed
Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:43 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Does Bentonite stop foaming?
Replies: 6
Views: 2550

I usualy use oil to prevent foaming.
by Watershed
Wed Sep 27, 2006 7:12 am
Forum: Off-Topic Discussion
Topic: fishing
Replies: 35
Views: 13125

I've been taking 6-7lb chub all summer but nothing edible since the brown trout in July. I'm switching rivers this weekend in hope of perch and if that doesn't work I know where I can catch a load of crayfish, should be mushroom season there too. Most fishing in the Uk these days is dragging an obes...
by Watershed
Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:41 am
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Mouldy old dough
Replies: 3
Views: 3563

Mouldy old dough

If anyone understands the musical reference in the title I'll be stunned. Just started up my bread bucket - about a kilo of stale but still soft bread - a mix of plain white wheat and 50:50 wheat + dark rye breads. Covered it with boiling water, swore. Added enough cold water to make it runny. Threw...
by Watershed
Wed Sep 27, 2006 12:10 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Potato Vodka
Replies: 13
Views: 6124

There's no EU definition as yet - they're arguing about it at the moment. The Old Eastern block countries favour defining it as only produced from grain or potatoes, others favour 'any agricultural source'. The bit they have agreed on is that it's: "distilled and/or rectified so that the organo...
by Watershed
Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:56 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Freeze distilling
Replies: 4
Views: 1587

It's a problem of diminishing returns - yes the stuff that doesn't freeze will be higher in ethanol but freeze 'distilling' does not result in the water freezing leaving the alcohol behind. It causes a mixture of ethanol and water to freeze, the lower the temperature, the more ethanol will freeze ou...
by Watershed
Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:55 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Potato Vodka
Replies: 13
Views: 6124

You can get both good vodka and neutral spirit out of a pot still, to make neutral spirit entails huge losses in the cuts though, but it's not stopped me from doing it.
by Watershed
Mon Sep 25, 2006 2:22 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Water for mashes, etc.
Replies: 19
Views: 4184

Tap water for mashes and either boiled ( to shift the hardness ) or bottled for dilution.
by Watershed
Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:56 pm
Forum: Grains
Topic: using malt extract instead of malting grains?
Replies: 14
Views: 10230

You can buy a special malt extract which will convert starch - it's called Diastatic malt extract and comes in both tinned syrup and spray dry forms.
by Watershed
Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:54 pm
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: cointreau recipe
Replies: 12
Views: 9525

Seville oranges give a slightly better depth of flavour but I often use sweet oranges, I've also used diced limes limoncello style, any citrus ought to give good results. I tend to make up a concentrate - the peel of three oranges into a litre of 80% neutral spirit. I let it sit over night and then ...
by Watershed
Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:04 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Testing Electrical Resistance of Distillate
Replies: 14
Views: 4792

Conductivity meters aren't that expensive - fifty quid will get you a sensitive one. Whether or not it would work I don't know - it depends on the chemistry of the distillate. Pure water does not appreciably conduct electricity, the stuff we use in the lab has a resistance of 18 megaohms, a pure 50:...
by Watershed
Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:56 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Here is a different question about tastes....
Replies: 4
Views: 1766

I don't view having a faint flavour as a defect in vodkas - it's part of the point of having a diverse selection of these 'neutral' white spirits from a variety of sources - you can clearly taste the differences between the likes of Stoli and Grey goose, they're meant to be drunk neat so that the fl...
by Watershed
Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:53 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: converting starches
Replies: 10
Views: 2669

It definitely adds a flavour to the wash but I haven't ( in all of two runs... ) noticed much of it coming across into the distillate, basmati has been my main grain to use with it though and that has a fairly distinctive flavour of its own.
by Watershed
Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:42 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Fusel Oils????
Replies: 7
Views: 2550

I've only had that with fruit washes when I've diluted with hard water - something, presumably a fruit acid that's come over reacts with the calcium in the water a drops out of solution - if you filter out the bits you should find they're quite hard and gritty.