Search found 1239 matches

by Barney Fife
Tue Dec 24, 2013 5:51 am
Forum: Condensers/Cooling Methods
Topic: As I build my shotgun condenser...
Replies: 6
Views: 3057

Re: As I build my shotgun condenser...

Nice work! For the copper, simply add some copper mesh between the line arm's elbow and the condenser. Careful not to use the copper --plated-- scrubbies, but rather, get the good stuff. Garden centers will sell rolls of pure copper mesh as a slug repellant. Available on-line if you don't have a loc...
by Barney Fife
Wed Dec 18, 2013 3:42 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Getting hot dunder from bolier
Replies: 46
Views: 4273

Re: Getting hot dunder from bolier

I run the still in the evening, and just leave the dunder in the still until the next day....
by Barney Fife
Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:00 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

If the distillate is coming-off the still with any color at all, you're either puking or your have some bad metals in the condenser!
by Barney Fife
Sun Nov 10, 2013 10:11 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

I followed your recipe to the letter!
by Barney Fife
Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:32 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

I'm on my 6th generation right now; two 2 first ones used 100% of the backset, and the rest have used roughly 75%. Still ferments completely within a week or less. I shoot for an ABV of 5 to 6%; no more than that. I haven't removed any of the trub from the fermenter, and have not added any new yeast...
by Barney Fife
Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:30 pm
Forum: Grains
Topic: Trouble malting barley
Replies: 77
Views: 48974

Re: Trouble malting barley

By definition, a single malt is made of an all malted grain bill. What you're suggesting would lean the flavor profile more toward an Irish whiskey, because the Irish, always the penny-wise, do exactly as you suggest. They use enough malt to convert the whole wash, and not more; the rest of the grai...
by Barney Fife
Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:22 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Malting corn, winter style
Replies: 53
Views: 8516

Re: Malting corn, winter style

I made a simple 3'x4' frame from 2x6 lumber, then lined it with a fine mesh metal screen. Don't staple the screen to the bottom of the frame, because your malt will find its way between screen and frame... Attache the screen to the top surface, and let it hang into the frame; this way, all your malt...
by Barney Fife
Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:01 pm
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Rye whiskey help
Replies: 4
Views: 987

Re: Rye whiskey help

How long has it been "working"? Some mashes take several weeks to complete.... Using two different yeasts is a bad idea, unless you really know what you're doing, because some yeast are 'killer yeasts' and will kill-off the other one. Won't stop your ferment, but you also don't get the ben...
by Barney Fife
Wed Oct 09, 2013 7:22 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

The amount of yeast to use for anything depends simply on how much patience you have. The more yeast you toss, the faster and more vigorously it will take off. You can go overboard with this, and the wash will literally explode on you, leaving a sticky mess all over your fermenting room. The only ri...
by Barney Fife
Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:08 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

I found it a bit too raw in the white, but then, I don't typically like -any- whiskey in the white. And please re-read the early part of the thread; you're not going to use regular North American "rye" bread, which is mostly wheat with just enough rye to call it rye, and it's leavened and ...
by Barney Fife
Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:23 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Rye bread whiskey
Replies: 478
Views: 147716

Re: Rye bread whiskey

I can give this recipe a well-deserved thumbs-up! A great drink!

I didn't find the correct rye bread in regular grocery stores and supermarkets, but I did find it in high end grocery stores, such as Whole Foods and such. Well worth the search!
by Barney Fife
Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:14 am
Forum: Mashing, fermenting, flavoring and aging related hardware
Topic: Conical Fermenter
Replies: 30
Views: 4331

Re: Conical Fermenter

In beer making, we do a primary, then a secondary, fermentation. The primary lasts about a week; then we rack the beer to a secondary fermenter, leaving behind the trub and dead yeast and stuff, and finish fermenting for another week or two. This leads to a cleaner beer. With a conical fermenter, we...
by Barney Fife
Thu Sep 26, 2013 4:54 pm
Forum: Mashing, fermenting, flavoring and aging related hardware
Topic: Conical Fermenter
Replies: 30
Views: 4331

Re: Conical Fermenter

I'd be concerned with rough welds harboring bacteria or other nasties, spoiling your efforts. Other than that, sounds do-able!
by Barney Fife
Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:45 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: cleaning fermenters
Replies: 35
Views: 4014

Re: cleaning fermenters

Beer and/or wine maker have to get all anal about their fermenters, but we don't need to be. Keep it clean, decently sanitized, and you'll be fine. Use, at least, bleach to sanitize. Between ferments, I keep my fermenter(s) filled with a water and bleach solution, then rinse it completely and re-fil...
by Barney Fife
Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:59 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: copper scrubbers
Replies: 9
Views: 1502

Re: copper scrubbers

I got screwed with plated-copper scrubbies about a year ago. No fun! Ruined an entire batch! It was the same "name" brand that I'd used before, but I guess with the rising cost of copper, they're cheaping out and plating now. Simple way to check them is to wad-up a piece, and rub it vigoro...
by Barney Fife
Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:52 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: About letting the hooch air out. What about stripping runs?
Replies: 6
Views: 957

Re: About letting the hooch air out. What about stripping r

Go ahead and let the low wines air out for as long as you wish. You're not going to lose any usable alcohol. The only thing you will lose is a bit of the most volatile or volatiles, which we toss anyway. It'll help minimize smearing in your spirit run...
by Barney Fife
Sat Jul 13, 2013 8:10 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: rum mash
Replies: 3
Views: 1427

Re: rum mash

I've forgotten a rum wash here and there for many --months--. It was just fine, and in fact was excellent. As long as you leave it closed-up so it won't get infected...
by Barney Fife
Wed Mar 27, 2013 2:23 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Barley mash!
Replies: 117
Views: 12022

Re: Barley mash!

When you reflux, You are making a neutral product It takes a LOT of reflux to make a true neutral. A bit of reflux at the beginning will help compress and separate the heads, then you can run hard and without reflux to get the full-flavored hearts. I have run my pot still with my 3" flute's de...
by Barney Fife
Tue Mar 26, 2013 6:08 am
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Barley mash!
Replies: 117
Views: 12022

Re: Barley mash!

While it's hard, if not impossible, to completely separate the nastiest of the heads with a pot still, it can easily be done with a reflux column or plated column. But.... Packing your pot still's short column with copper or stainless steel scrubbies AND putting a strong fan blowing directly on it, ...
by Barney Fife
Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:46 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"
Replies: 546
Views: 249528

Re: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

Your molasses has more sugar than feed molasses(as per Pugi's recipe), so I'd use less molasses, not less sugar. In fact, that IS what I do, as I use fancy molasses, too. Just use about 1/2 to 2/3 gallon(to a 5 gallon wash), then as much sugar as necessary to bring the SG to where you want it.
by Barney Fife
Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:05 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"
Replies: 546
Views: 249528

Re: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

Ain't no microbes gonna live long enough in a 30/40% abv environment to cause us any trouble.....
by Barney Fife
Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:25 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"
Replies: 546
Views: 249528

Re: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I like your suggestion of letting the hearts marry with the dunder before the spirit run, too. We still need to make a big heads and tails cut, because despite leaving them out from the strip runs, we run the strips hard enough to get a lot o...
by Barney Fife
Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:54 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"
Replies: 546
Views: 249528

Re: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

The gist of Pugi's method is that we remove the heads and tails from every strip, but save the oils and hearts, then put all the accumulated oils and hearts together for the spirit run. I had questioned the method because I just kept getting more and more oils, and they didn't seem to incorporate th...
by Barney Fife
Thu Mar 07, 2013 10:30 am
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"
Replies: 546
Views: 249528

Re: Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

had kinda a light bulb moment earlier.... When you take out the rum oils your just going down to like 20% ABV...but aren't you using all the dunder for your next wash? So if you didn't get the rum oils out and used the dunder, wouldn't you be essentially using the rum oils that are still in the dun...
by Barney Fife
Sun Mar 03, 2013 4:21 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: my copper is dissolving
Replies: 41
Views: 4787

Re: my copper is dissolving

I was just about to ask the same question..! Many, if not most, copper scrubbies are simply steel that's been plated with copper, and the copper comes-off in a run or two. Happened to me recently with the same brand of scrubbers I had used before, but this time, they turned out to be copper coated, ...
by Barney Fife
Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:19 pm
Forum: Recipe Development
Topic: Partial Mash UJSSM Style
Replies: 7
Views: 1473

Re: Partial Mash UJSSM Style

If you're afraid that the SG is too high(I agree that it is a bit high..), then just split-off into two fermenters, and add enough water to each one to bring the SG to 1.04, for a quick, clean ferment. Nice job with the conversion, by the way! Bet this will be your best drink, yet. Once you get used...
by Barney Fife
Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:23 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Corn cooking project
Replies: 49
Views: 6865

Re: Corn cooking project

And that's why I mentioned that I had never used a pressure canner..... :oops:

Thanks for clarifying!
by Barney Fife
Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:02 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Corn cooking project
Replies: 49
Views: 6865

Re: Corn cooking project

I've never used a pressure canner, but I've used a pressure cooker in the kitchen a lot, and instead of waiting forever for it to cool down before opening it, I just put it in the sink and run water on it to cool it. Start with hot water so's not to shock the cooker and perhaps crack or warp it, the...
by Barney Fife
Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:53 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: All barley malt wort
Replies: 3
Views: 414

Re: All barley malt wort

All grain can be slow to start, especially with bread yeast(which really do prefer molasses or sugar). An Ale yeast would help you see more activity, sooner, but you should be fine. And as the others have said, don't expect it to go all nuts like a sugarhead does...
by Barney Fife
Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:50 pm
Forum: Novice Distillers
Topic: Re-running first gen rum?
Replies: 7
Views: 843

Re: Re-running first gen rum?

The entire reason we make "strip runs" and "spirit runs" is to even out all the generations. In other words, take everything you've collected in the first 4 or 5 gennies, and run them either separately in a spirit run, or add them all -along with- your 5th or 6th gennie, and run ...