Search found 103 matches

by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 9:55 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

Thanks again !
by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 8:58 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

You know, I really don't know. Of course the remedy starts working immediately but depends on how low your pH is. Now this is all assuming pH IS the problem, too. Shells are good insurance regardless, but let's hope there's nothing else causing your stuck ferment. I just measured the PH, and it was...
by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 7:16 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

If I were to guess, 4 eggshells minimum. You can boil 'em to be safe, then crunch them up and throw directly in or put in a brew sock and toss that in. Assuming you'll get some oyster shell for next time ---and even sea shells work--- I wouldn't bother trying to save the eggshells. They dissolve as...
by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 6:30 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

Is it possible to raise ph with baking soda ? Yes, but it can easily add a saltiness to your mash. Fry up some eggs and throw the washed shells into it. For the future, order some crushed oyster shells (used as chicken feed supplement) and put a fist-sized ball of 'em in a brew sock and throw that ...
by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 1:41 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

Is it possible to raise ph with baking soda ?
by udiraz
Mon May 27, 2019 1:04 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

I base on few paraters:
1. no bubbles from air lock.
2. no visual signs of bubbles
3. wash still sweet
4. I also tested with hydrometer, and see that it is not going anywhere :-)
by udiraz
Sun May 26, 2019 10:00 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Re: Stuck fermentation

Thanks !
That is the good ph range, and how much calcium hydroxide should I add if I need to correct the ph ?

Thanks,
Udi.
by udiraz
Sat May 25, 2019 8:37 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Stuck fermentation
Replies: 16
Views: 2339

Stuck fermentation

Hi All. I started to make a mash from dried apricots. you can see the thread about it here: https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=74249. Well, for the first few days it was bubbling very nice, and than, two-three days ago it got stuck. First it went very slow, and now it is comple...
by udiraz
Mon May 20, 2019 6:26 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Dried apricots
Replies: 11
Views: 2772

Re: Dried apricots

Hi Guys. An update - yesterday I started fermenting the apricots. I washed them well, put in a fermenter with filtered water, stirred it well with paint mixer connected to drill hammer. Them I put some hydrated 1118 yeast. Looked today, and it was fermenting like a jacuzzi ! Not a sign that the sulp...
by udiraz
Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:18 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Dried apricots
Replies: 11
Views: 2772

Re: Dried apricots

Thanks MDH ! I am thinking about adding yeast, and not wild yeast only. last time I used lalvine - both 1116 and 1118 on apple cider that was distilled. both worked well. I am thinking about using them again, if I can get some. What do you think about using pectinase or AMG enzymes to gain more suga...
by udiraz
Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:09 pm
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Dried apricots
Replies: 11
Views: 2772

Re: Dried apricots

Thanks guys. Well, I looked again, and it is the sulphured version. However, a good friend did succeed in fermenting them (without adding yeast - just wild yeast), so it will definitely not prevent fermentation. I don't know about the sulphur itself - how hard it will be to get rid of it with copper...
by udiraz
Wed Apr 03, 2019 4:12 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Dried apricots
Replies: 11
Views: 2772

Re: Dried apricots

Hi Chris :-)

I have no idea.
I think they are not because of the relatively dark colour. I know that they ferment well. I saw it in my friend's house...
Thanks !
by udiraz
Wed Apr 03, 2019 2:25 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Dried apricots
Replies: 11
Views: 2772

Dried apricots

Hi Guys. Recently I got a little treasure from a good friend - 55KG (~120 lbs) of dried apricots. I thought about putting it in a barrel and add water and yeast (optional) to ferment, without adding sugar. On the package it says 60% carbohydrates (60g for 100g serving), of which 30% sugars, and 3.5%...
by udiraz
Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:44 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Crazy Over Friut?
Replies: 16
Views: 2751

Re: Crazy Over Friut?

Hi. I think you just complicated things. I started to make alcohol with grapes. It is the ideal fruit to make alcohol, and I think that there's a good reason why almost all ancient cultures made alcohol from grapes. It is very juicy, and very very sweet. you can easily get 13% or more alcohol wine -...
by udiraz
Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:05 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Run some Wine??
Replies: 15
Views: 2836

Re: Run some Wine??

Yes udiraz metabisulphites generate SO2 for sterilisation purposes and MDH (post 2) asked if the OP had added "Sulphites" - SO2 seems to disappear with airing from another recent thread too. The other posts seem to relate to "Sulphides" - which I don't think are the same thing a...
by udiraz
Thu Jan 05, 2017 4:25 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Run some Wine??
Replies: 15
Views: 2836

Re: Run some Wine??

I have to tell, only from my own personal experience, that to the first batch I ever done (grapes), I added quite a lot of bisulphite. I figured out that it may be a problem, so I aerated it for a night, and then distilled. Maybe because my still is all copper, there wasn't any bad smell, bad taste ...
by udiraz
Tue Aug 02, 2016 6:09 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Paraffin oak barrel
Replies: 5
Views: 1570

Re: Paraffin oak barrel

Hi Just to let know what happened... I cleaned the barrel with boiling water, and that actually cleaned off all the paraffin wax from inside the barrel. There was a lot of it... Now the barrel is without paraffin wax coating, and I just put 15 Liters of new grapes brandy @67% for a few months. Let's...
by udiraz
Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:26 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Paraffin oak barrel
Replies: 5
Views: 1570

Re: Paraffin oak barrel

Thanks guys. I've had the same experience and I think it was the dilution process not paraffin. Probably minerals in your water and the water and alcohol need to be the same temperature. I've asked this before and have been told to add one to the other or the other way around that confused the hell ...
by udiraz
Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:22 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Paraffin oak barrel
Replies: 5
Views: 1570

Paraffin oak barrel

Hi guys. I distill fruit brandies for a few years now, and I bought a nice 15 Liters barrel from this company: http://www.tonnellerie-allary.com/cooperage-french-barrel-making-vats-en/cooperage-art-tradition/small-oak-barrel.html . Those are very high quality barrels,but, I suspect that the barrel I...
by udiraz
Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:01 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

Thanks you guys !
I really appreciate your efforts and help :thumbup:
by udiraz
Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:37 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

Thanks Odin and Chris. Odin - I did notice that you wrote from experience. Chris - Theoretical physics is still somewhat theoretical, and not always practical. I always like to talk to people with hands on experience, because they know how things work in reality, and not only in the books. That's wh...
by udiraz
Mon Apr 11, 2016 12:54 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

Another trick to consider is a sleeve over the element. http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56722 I run my still on gas stove, so it is open fire... so this probably not apply to my case. I am "digging" in this subject so much, because I am really short in time, and the...
by udiraz
Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:37 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

My brandy runs, the charges are boiling at 100C around the time the low wines reach 30%. The alcometer goes in the collection vessel. I don't record the abv of what is coming out of the spout as it's the abv of the total collection I'm targeting. Cognac distillers will go even lower. Heat loss from...
by udiraz
Sat Apr 09, 2016 10:56 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

To distill a brandy down to less than 30% low wines, it is boiling at very close to the boiling point of water for quite some time, so if you used straight water in the bain marie there would be little temperature difference to give you the heat transfer you need at the end of the run. Chris I thin...
by udiraz
Thu Apr 07, 2016 12:34 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Re: Bain Marie vs standard pot still

To distill a brandy down to less than 30% low wines, it is boiling at very close to the boiling point of water for quite some time, so if you used straight water in the bain marie there would be little temperature difference to give you the heat transfer you need at the end of the run. Sorry Chris,...
by udiraz
Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:21 am
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Bain Marie vs standard pot still
Replies: 47
Views: 9340

Bain Marie vs standard pot still

Hi I am considering buying a new larger still. I can choose between standard pot still and bain marie still. Well, I distill fruits - mostly grapes and apples. With the bain marie still I will be able to make great real grappa from the grapes leftovers, which is really nice. I can also do Arak with ...
by udiraz
Tue Jan 26, 2016 6:28 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Apples !
Replies: 26
Views: 5720

Re: Apples !

Well, I crashed and pressed, but ended up with only ~90 litres of apple juice. Maybe I did not calculate the weight well, and some 20 KG of apples were to rotten to be used. But what I think is the main reason, is that my crusher did not crush it fine enough, and so the press could not juice it well...
by udiraz
Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:22 am
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Apples !
Replies: 26
Views: 5720

Re: Apples !

Thanks guys. My press is about 35 litres - about 9 gallons. When I press grapes, it takes me a few hours to press 300 KG. I guess apples should take more or less the same time. How long does it take to ferment with 1118 ? How much alcohol drink does it make sense to get after all from this amount of...
by udiraz
Wed Jan 20, 2016 12:53 pm
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Apples !
Replies: 26
Views: 5720

Apples !

Hey. I got about 300 KG of apples (that's what I could put in my car...) - red delicious and pink lady. those are third grade apples, used mainly for industry - juice, extracts etc. I picked the better once though... The real nice thing about it - it was free, and I can get more if I want (and I wan...
by udiraz
Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:46 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Aging brandy in partial full barrel
Replies: 5
Views: 1969

Re: Aging brandy in partial full barrel

Thanks guys !
my options are 15 liters or 4 liters.
4 is obviously not enough for me, and 15 may be too much, but I am pretty close to it (13-14 liters of 65% ABV brandy that I have now).

I will go for the 15 :-)
Thanks.