Search found 240 matches

by Yttrium
Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:18 am
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Forum Blackout
Replies: 4
Views: 2176

There's a lot of information on the yahoo forums, but the lay out of the forum is just so bad that I typically stay away from it.
by Yttrium
Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:04 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Add water to the ferment before putting in the boiler?
Replies: 8
Views: 3799

Usually the only reason to add water to a mash before distilling is to make sure any internal heating elements will be completely covered by fluid during the whole distillation process. That being said, if you find that you get a better product by adding water, hey go for it, I'm not one to argue wi...
by Yttrium
Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:04 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: chemist - molasses - phosphorous
Replies: 4
Views: 1854

Watch out, it may have a preservative in it that will kill the yeast. You may want to experiment with a small bit of it before doing a larger batch.
by Yttrium
Mon Sep 05, 2005 7:39 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Mash and minute amount of copper
Replies: 2
Views: 1295

While I agree that mash is often made in copper mash tuns due to the good heating conductivity of copper, using copper in a fermentor just seems like an awful waste of money.
by Yttrium
Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:47 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: I'm guessing sugar might be a good thing to stock up on
Replies: 3
Views: 1553

On the plus side, ethanol is close to becoming an economically viable fuel...
by Yttrium
Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:35 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: Got a visit from the BATFE last month.
Replies: 14
Views: 5088

Some friends you've got if they call the police on you for making wine... :o
by Yttrium
Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:36 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: urea and cancer - wine and distilled beverages
Replies: 3
Views: 1426

Ethyl carbamate (EC, urethane) is a naturally occurring component of all fermented foods and beverages. Because EC has shown a potential for carcinogenity when administered in high doses in animal tests, the wine industry is interested in reducing EC levels in their products. Just about everything ...
by Yttrium
Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:20 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: size does matter??
Replies: 7
Views: 2404

In terms of overpowering(aka flooding) a condenser, the actual size of the boiler is irrelevent. The strength of the heating element is what matters.
by Yttrium
Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:58 pm
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: size does matter??
Replies: 7
Views: 2404

It is odd that an increase in boiler size would lead to an increase in column variability.

When you switched to a larger boiler did you use the same heating element as you did with the smaller boiler or did you switch to a powerful one?
by Yttrium
Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:57 am
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Minimum flammable proof?
Replies: 4
Views: 5241

The flamability of an alcoholic drinks is dependent on the temperature of the liquid. If you warm it up enough, you can light 15% schnapps on fire.
by Yttrium
Wed Aug 03, 2005 6:07 am
Forum: Beer, and Wine
Topic: Hard cider recipie needed
Replies: 5
Views: 3661

Before trying to ferment it, check the ingredients label. If you see stuff like Sodium Benzoate just give up now cause that stuff won't ferment.
by Yttrium
Thu Jul 28, 2005 2:36 pm
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: refilter my bourban
Replies: 7
Views: 3431

Some whiskies, even good ones, will go cloudy if water is added, or if the temperature changes. There is nothing wrong with this, but it might turn off some consumers, so lots of places tend to filter their whisky.
by Yttrium
Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:10 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Jam
Replies: 12
Views: 3932

In the canning of fruit jellies, I believe that pectin is often added to ensure that things go properly. I'm no expert on canning so its possible that the pectin gets broken down some how, but I believe that the fermentation of pectin leads to the production of methanol.
by Yttrium
Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:48 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Feed Grade Molasses
Replies: 15
Views: 14958

There is stuff called "dry molasses" which is sold in 50 lb bags and makes good fertilizer. I've tried using it, and it is a pain to use since it contains stuff like tiwgs and bark in it.
by Yttrium
Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:45 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Question for you scotch makers?
Replies: 7
Views: 2151

It depends on what kind of scotch you want to make.
by Yttrium
Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:06 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Killer heache for days
Replies: 8
Views: 2673

How much of it did you drink???
by Yttrium
Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:55 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: Distilling old wine
Replies: 30
Views: 18452

I've often heard that pectin in fruits is what gets converted to methanol....One thing that I've been thinking about doing is dumping some pectin, used for canning fruits, into a small test wash just to see what happens.
by Yttrium
Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:07 pm
Forum: Grains
Topic: wheat vs barley enzymes
Replies: 7
Views: 3818

I've never heard of wheat requiring a temperature different from barley to under go the convertion from starch to sugar. There should be a some difference in temperature between barley and wheat. I believe the main difference is in the glutenization of the starch. For a more through description, ch...
by Yttrium
Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:47 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Feed Grade Molasses
Replies: 15
Views: 14958

I eventually went to a place called Gordon Food Service and bought a gallon of foodgrade molasses for around $10 US. The brand was "Groeb Farms"
by Yttrium
Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:22 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: Oxy Clean?
Replies: 3
Views: 2034

Oxyclean is bascilly hydrogen peroxide which you can get a lot cheaper than Oxyclean.
by Yttrium
Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:20 pm
Forum: Beer, and Wine
Topic: Cheap Homebrew?
Replies: 46
Views: 23955

I'm with you ginzo, there's no way I would ever drink enough to make this hobby profitable. That being said, I enjoy distilling, so it doesn't matter if its not cost effective to make your own.
by Yttrium
Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:18 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Feed Grade Molasses
Replies: 15
Views: 14958

I wasted a bunch of my time trying to ferment some feed grade molasses. Eventually I did a test and found that around 150 grams of that molasses into a 5 gallon wash would effectively shut down fermentation.
by Yttrium
Fri Jul 08, 2005 4:05 pm
Forum: Boilers
Topic: 30qt Stock Pot...a way to clamp the lid down?
Replies: 20
Views: 14210

Well....now that I see the stockpot you have, a heavy weight is probably your best way to go. In my experience, aluminium tends to corrode during distillation, so you'll eventually want to replace your boiler with a stainless steel stockpot.
by Yttrium
Fri Jul 08, 2005 2:26 pm
Forum: Boilers
Topic: 30qt Stock Pot...a way to clamp the lid down?
Replies: 20
Views: 14210

Some solutions

1. A place a metal bar(s) across the top, using screws etc, tighten down the bar to the handles of the stock pot.

2. Use a bunch of small clamps around the lip of the stock pot to secure the lid.
by Yttrium
Fri Jul 08, 2005 2:23 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Activated carbon question
Replies: 6
Views: 1888

Jack Daniels is filtered through burnt maple wood, which is pretty darn close to activated carbon.
by Yttrium
Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:00 am
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: 1/4" ID and 1/4" OD
Replies: 6
Views: 2176

Are you talking about a peice of 1/4" tubing? How long is it, if its 3 inches, throw it out, if its 30 feet, save it you'll be able to use it when you decide to upgrade your still.
by Yttrium
Wed Jul 06, 2005 6:58 am
Forum: Flavoring and Aging
Topic: neutralising
Replies: 1
Views: 1379

activated carbon is the way to get rid of flavor
by Yttrium
Tue Jul 05, 2005 6:34 am
Forum: Forum Rules, Notifications and Helpful Hints
Topic: New WIKI - USE IT
Replies: 124
Views: 128124

My guess is that it is some sort of bot that scoures wiki's looking for main pages that are editable.

Does anyone know if there is a moderator of the wiki other than Uncle Jesse?
by Yttrium
Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:22 pm
Forum: Condensers/Cooling Methods
Topic: glass condencer
Replies: 1
Views: 1245

As long as everything is getting condensed, you should have no problems. If you wanted to try and increase the heat transfer from the water jacket to the inner tube, you could try stuffing a torn apart copper scrubber into the inner tube.
by Yttrium
Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:18 pm
Forum: Still Related Hardware
Topic: This looks pretty
Replies: 10
Views: 2765

The seller quoted an original price of 2500 pounds, which is probably pretty accurate. Luckily for the buyers, the value of equipment like that drops dramaticlly once it is used. My guess is that it is probably worth somewhere between US$50-100