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OMG this thread has my head spinning :crazy: Far too much tweaking going on for what should be the easiest drink to make. Please don't take this the wrong way but keeping it simple makes the best rum and your effort was anything but simple. :lol: Blackstrap molasses, bakers yeast, water. The only in...

Keg sitting closer to burner sounds like the culprit. Too much heat would cause smear through your run. That's probably why your getting less of everything.
Try backing off the heat and see how that goes.

Nothing cleans stainless better than stainless scrubbies. Wire a couple up on the end of a broom stick with a bit of detergent and elbow grease.

Angus Young - AC/DC
Try playing the guitar while jumping around like he does. Man is a freak.

Hey Fart, Doin well with the malting. If i may make a suggestion, it's easier to use the storage crates from the beginning without using the buckets. Just less things that need cleaning and storing. Drill a line of small holes along the bottom at one end of the crate. When soaking the grain, fill th...

I've used a washing machine motor with no pulleys. just lined it up to the corona and joined with a good thick short bit of rubber hose as the tailshaft. then use a power controller to slow it down or speed up.

I use a 50 lt keg for aging rum. Had it going for about 12 months now. Holds 45lt plus charred oak staves. I cut a short length from one of the end boards off a used whiskey barrel I have and sit that on top of the keg as the lid. It's been routed 1/2 inch to fit over the keg opening so it wont slip...

I've toured a single malt distillery that was fermenting at 34c chasing the fruity esters, so it all depends on what's fermenting and what flavour profile your after.
Bakers Yeast thrives at that temp but others will struggle.

Brokeback mountain. There i said it.
The idea of watching a film with Donnie Darko playing leap frog with the Joker just doesn't sit well with me.

Best thread ever

Welcome ausguy
Tasted a bottle of Beenleigh's new copperpot rum couple of weekends ago and was very impressed. Liken it to Mount Gay or Matusalem.
The molasses should be cheaper up your way. Pay $28.00 for 25kg of Queensland Molasses down south here.
Enjoy the site.

Hi Shovelhead
Their website says they make a blended whisky. That means they distill separate single grain washes then blend the product after aging. Much like the Scottish do with their blended whisky.
Looks like a lot of work to try and replicate but if your keen then go for it.

So long as the liebig is designed/built/operated correctly, i can't see how any vapor can escape at vertical. However, if you slow the coolant and ramp up the heat then i spose it would be possible. I run mine at vertical because i was having huffing issues that wouldn't go away using a tapered angl...

Well said FMH.
Hard enough learning this hobby without reading all the bullshit some members put on here.
Shit.... hope you can see this post.

cool the take-off before the condenser. i run a mini liebig on the take-off that works fine. no need to put a valve between the two. just hook it up as one line. cooling the take-off doesn't take that much energy and leaves the water cool enough to work the reflux condenser.

"What is best given answer when they ask what it is for?" gardening is the best answer. i actually use a fair bit around home and it works wonders. here is a link for a quick read http://www.rcwsproutings.com/?p=471" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="n...

You're over complicating the easiest wash to make. Why use champagne yeast? It likes lower temps. Use bakers yeast for rum and ferment around 28C for a week or so for a fuller bodied rum or 35C for a hard and fast finish of around 36 hours for a lighter rum. Unless you are experienced in dunder pits...

Jimbo's right about going deep on the strip. The local single malt distilleries in Tasmania all strip to below 5% on output before switching off. One even goes to 0%. How can you argue when they produce the worlds best whiskies?

you lucky lucky bastard
taking your copper with you or building a fresh set-up?

Even online is difficult. I'm having the same trouble you are so i'll be keen to find an answer to this one.

The coil works great at suppressing the tails but has no effect on heads that i could notice. I last used it with rum, only turning it on once the abv hit 70% to raise it back up to 80% +. This compounded the tails further and produced a larger middle cut than normal. Its aging on oak so i'll have t...

If you want a light to golden rum then don't use dunder. It adds funk that is found in spiced rums which is why the Jamaicans use it. Most rum distilleries don't use dunder. I use molasses,yeast,water and ferment fast at 30 -35c. Finished in 1.5 days it gets racked and into the fridge for a cold dum...

Has anyone else caught the megafactories documentary about the new distillery site? I watched the episodes on tv last few weeks but can't find them online so you'll need to dig deeper than i did. Here's a link for info about it. Well worth the watch. http://ficcontentsales.com/programmes/main.aspx?i...

Welcome to the forum TT
Pop down to Nature's works shop at top of Cat and fiddle arcade near the crossing lights and get a 500g block of mauripan yeast for about $4.50
Works on everything i have made no probs at all.

This award has been won by distillers in other countries such as Australia and Japan. You guys are sounding like racists.

Welcome aboard, enjoy the ride.
That still looks super cool, well done.
Kind of looks like it was in a Dr Seuss book. You know the one. " Horton hears a pissed who making whiskey"

Had the same troubles myself when i began distilling. Best advise i read was to taste and smell everything and train your senses. Over time you will learn to taste and smell the differences but only if you know what to look for. Experience is really what gets it done and i don't think there is any s...

Good job Odin.
Like to see what your thoughts are on an all molasses wash.

Odin, what kind of molasses you using? Most blackstraps i've seen are 48-52% sugar.

Odin you legend. Not many people posting on rum so it's good to see your involved. There's gunna be plenty to read. :D If your going to do an all molasses wash i would recommend a fermenter twice as big as the size of the wash. Never had a wash as vigorous as the ones i've done before. I use 7 litre...