Search found 434 matches

by muckanic
Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:07 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: Cachaca
Replies: 86
Views: 26075

Re: Cachaca

HookLine wrote:Love to get my hands on some cane juice.
I saw a TV doco where some mob in QLD is starting to market it as a healthier sweetening alternative. IIRC, they may have also been doing some sort of fruit drink as well.
by muckanic
Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:44 pm
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Fruit wash
Replies: 69
Views: 17985

Re: Fruit wash

Last batch I made I followed a similar recipe and waited till it cleared. I guess the taste is off by a little bit still,( it was 6 months since I made this) and the yeild was about 1 ltr from a 25 l wash. I didn't use as much sugar though. I think the pears I had were pretty good, but the final pr...
by muckanic
Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:51 pm
Forum: Materials Safety
Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
Replies: 50
Views: 18078

Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol

Just because we are opening a limited discussion to allow the subject of non traditional materials to be discussed does not mean we are throwing the doors open to the "why worry about plastics in stills when you use toothpaste with aluminum in it" line of benighted reasoning. Wasn't aware...
by muckanic
Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:27 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing
Replies: 56
Views: 8875

Re: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing

some of the info in the above replies is correct, some is a little off. i am both an all-grain brewer and a distiller of single malts so i might be quilified to answer your questions. if you do not boil the sweet wort you plan to ferment and distill it will develop a sour lactic tang. this is okay ...
by muckanic
Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:12 pm
Forum: Materials Safety
Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
Replies: 50
Views: 18078

Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol

Sorry, I know I said my last post would be my last, But please have alook at the link, please dont get bored with it , read it all the way through My attention was lost at about the point when the author was going on about the dangers of microwaved food. Microwaved plastic yes, microwaved food no. ...
by muckanic
Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:41 pm
Forum: Rum
Topic: Rum wash not right?
Replies: 23
Views: 4840

Re: Rum wash not right?

Can I leave the lid off and wait for the bubbles to subside? Can I add something to break the bubbles? Some folks add oil when stilling to reduce foaming, and there's no reason why that couldn't also go into the fermenter. A quick search here suggests olive oil is favoured, for reasons that complet...
by muckanic
Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:30 pm
Forum: Sugar
Topic: White Sugar Nutrients Informantion
Replies: 91
Views: 81857

Re: White Sugar Nutrients Informantion

The only problem with multivitamins is that you end up with an orange tint through the wash because of the Beta-carotene (which is the stuff that makes a carrot orange). Might have to scrounge around for a beta-carotene-free multivitamin :D The B group multi's don't have carotene - that's a Vit A t...
by muckanic
Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:47 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
Replies: 39
Views: 16810

Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?

the 25l boiler has a swaged line around it about 6in from the top which it sits and seals on, there is enough space between the bottom of the boiler and the mash tun to allow about 10l of condensate to collect before it touches the boiler ... These are the parts for my relief valve, simple and fail...
by muckanic
Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:47 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
Replies: 39
Views: 16810

Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?

My boiler has a 2400 w element, and it takes about 75 minutes to boil up 40 litres of 40%, from a starting temp of about 25-27 C. A little slow, but 2400 w is a very convenient size element in Australia/New Zealand, as you can plug it into any standard power socket (10 amp) in those two countries. ...
by muckanic
Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:05 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
Replies: 39
Views: 16810

Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?

This is the steam inlet ring that sits in the bottom of the mash tun. It's a bit hard to see how many holes you have in it but, as I have speculated before, that sort of thing could also function as a manifold for draining the mash tun when sparging beer. I take it you use a separate drainage syste...
by muckanic
Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:44 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: Steam heating for a copper pot still?
Replies: 39
Views: 16810

Re: Steam heating for a copper pot still?

I'm now thinking I'll go electric with an immersion ellement in terms of heating. Reason being, it seems that there is no need to worry about burning an all grain wash with an internal ellement providing one is not distilling on the actual grains and filters correctly. This was why I was considerin...
by muckanic
Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:24 pm
Forum: Pot Distillation/Thumper and Design
Topic: pot still column height
Replies: 19
Views: 18014

Re: pot still column height

Plenty of scotch distilleries use onions and all sorts of things to encourage reflux. I think they know what they're doing. I actually haven't heard of any commercial practice whereby the head and/or column is insulated, as they presumably want the reflux once again. One idea I'm entertaining is to ...
by muckanic
Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:00 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing
Replies: 56
Views: 8875

Re: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing

phenol 90 wrote:Now I just need to work how I can adapt this process better to the art and science of distillation and all that is involved.
It is usually a good idea to add some sort of dry beer enzyme either pre or during fermentation. That can increase the alcohol yield by 25%.
by muckanic
Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:52 pm
Forum: Fruits & Vegetables
Topic: Trying to perfect a potato mash
Replies: 34
Views: 12450

Re: Trying to perfect a potato mash

Slightly off-topic, but we have had threads in the past about enzyme-free, thermal methods of spud starch conversion. Also, seeing schnell has weighed in I thought I might talk some chem. I was reading a NZ distilling book recently (which I can't seem to find anywhere on the net) which talked about ...
by muckanic
Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:46 pm
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: wd-yeast & original floor malt
Replies: 14
Views: 3138

Re: wd-yeast 10 Hours 25L

I added about 1 pint of the yeast from the previous batch this was around 3pm it's now 1.00am in the morning and it's reading 1.005 SG ???? how can this happen soo quick?? its mind boggling but welcome by all means! Do you mean a pint of liquid or a pint of slurry? A beer-strength, 5-6 gall brew ne...
by muckanic
Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:20 pm
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: Bakers yeast v distillers yeast?
Replies: 38
Views: 18633

Re: Bakers yeast v distillers yeast?

I believe the diacetyl ester responsible for the butter flavor blows off early, if the wash sits around a couple of days you'll lose it, so it's interesting to hear that you were able to capture it early in the run. Diacetyl is actually a ketone if you can stand me getting technical about it. This ...
by muckanic
Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:21 pm
Forum: Materials Safety
Topic: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol
Replies: 50
Views: 18078

Re: Report on leeching of plastics into ethanol

This Below is just one example , do searches , you can go on finding well justified negative reports where plastic is concerned, and these are just related to every day food and water/liquid be stored in these containers made from Plastic, the most shocking bit of the report below is regarding the ...
by muckanic
Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:47 pm
Forum: Yeasts, Enzymes, Fungi, Nutrients
Topic: Bakers yeast v distillers yeast?
Replies: 38
Views: 18633

Re: Bakers yeast v distillers yeast?

I've started doing something recently that I had threatened to do for a long time, and that is playing around with a Belgian witbier yeast in my rums. Wash is all-molasses, 7-8% ABV. The original gravity attenuates 67%, so the molasses is probably a bit lighter than blackstrap. The yeast is a bit ha...
by muckanic
Wed Jul 29, 2009 8:04 pm
Forum: Tried and True Recipes
Topic: Double Fermented Sour Corn Mash from Scratch
Replies: 96
Views: 98382

Re: Double Fermented Sour Corn Mash from Scratch

Well, it may not make whiskey, but treating the low wines with alkali (specifically, sodium carbonate) can salvage many a fault. It will keep both bacterial acids and wild yeast medicinal phenols in the pot. Sulphides ought to blow off and/or be trapped by copper.
by muckanic
Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:51 pm
Forum: Grains
Topic: Rye Whiskey from enzymes
Replies: 25
Views: 6577

Re: Rye Whiskey from enzymes

Strictly speaking, there are actually three possibilities here. One is to mash unmalted rye with enzymes, another is to use malted rye, and the third is to use home-malted, dried but unkilned rye (sometimes referred to as "wind" malt). It is not clear whether the extra depth of flavour in ...
by muckanic
Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:40 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Making a Steam Wand
Replies: 5
Views: 2994

Re: Making a Steam Wand

I need a way to heat about 20+ gallons of mash without burning the mash. Do you mean you want to boil something viscous like corn for an extended period, or just heat it to mashing temperatures? If the latter, my take on it is that you really only need steam for step mashing. Otherwise, just dump a...
by muckanic
Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:22 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: 3/4 inch dia column
Replies: 16
Views: 5411

Re: 3/4 inch dia column

if by condensation early in the path you mean that the condensed vapor would then run back to the boiler, yes, that would not be ideal unless you wanted more refluxing to occur. Yep, that is what I meant, although I'm in two minds whether it is a problem in a pot still. The column or head or whatev...
by muckanic
Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:35 pm
Forum: Research and Theory
Topic: 3/4 inch dia column
Replies: 16
Views: 5411

Re:

Pot still makes little or no difference because you're not dealing with reflux. You could use a 1/4". In a reflux still it's a different story. (Reviving an old thread here because I've been grappling with a similar issue recently). But you can presumably flood a pot still head just as easily ...
by muckanic
Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:04 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: S/S bokabob inline still design question
Replies: 16
Views: 8558

Re: S/S bokabob inline still design question

ive machined the surface of the flange to form a solid fit but the element has a less then an idea surface to seal to. My only options i can see are to turn up a substitue boot out of nylon. Is there any other way to seal these? bear in mind that these elements will be removed to wash the boiler ou...
by muckanic
Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:47 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: "Reverse LM" idea
Replies: 89
Views: 23397

Re: "Reverse LM" idea

the higher tube is the product tube which is airlocked. Maybe this is time to display my ignorance and raise a point that I didn't fully get first time around. That is, Pint's problems with syphoning in his LM take-off line, with the suggestion being that the reservoir was draining faster than it s...
by muckanic
Mon May 25, 2009 11:27 pm
Forum: Mashing and Fermenting
Topic: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing
Replies: 56
Views: 8875

Re: Parallels between all-grain beer brewing

I'm an all-grain beer brewer, but when it comes to spirits I find I like rum a lot more than whiskey. For me, the main hassle isn't mashing, it's malting of stuff that is difficult or expensive to buy commercially, like corn or oats. The brewing snob in me objects to enzyme treatment of unmalted gra...
by muckanic
Mon May 25, 2009 10:43 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: "Reverse LM" idea
Replies: 89
Views: 23397

Re: "Reverse LM" idea

I'd be more inclined to worry about a needle valve not being able to handle total reflux volume and therefore having unintended product take off... One one occasion I did run into the problem of a needle valve not handling product flow but that was with standard LM running in pot still mode where I...
by muckanic
Sun May 24, 2009 12:14 am
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: "Reverse LM" idea
Replies: 89
Views: 23397

Re: "Reverse LM" idea

It seems to me that both the standard LM and RLM designs run into problems at reflux extremes, at low reflux and high reflux rates, respectively. A bend in either the return line or take-off line, respectively, could very well be all that is needed to solve the problem. An unbent return line in a LM...
by muckanic
Fri May 22, 2009 8:25 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: "Reverse LM" idea
Replies: 89
Views: 23397

Re: "Reverse LM" idea

Pardon me if I am being dense here, but as far as I can tell RLM will not permit 100% reflux in the design as presented. IOW, with the valve wide open, there will still be some product take-off. That could be solved with a second valve on the product line.
by muckanic
Thu May 21, 2009 7:01 pm
Forum: Column Builds
Topic: "Reverse LM" idea
Replies: 89
Views: 23397

Re: "Reverse LM" idea

I'm sure this has all been thrashed out before, but power management bothers me. It is a practically easy variable to control, but whether it is the most appropriate variable is another matter entirely. It clobbers any double-boiler based approach, for starters (due to thermal inertia). Putting a co...