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Thank you UJ! I was gonna take everything back that I said whilst deep in the cups last night anyway...

Cheers,
jonny

For good flavor and yield, it's better to strip until you have your desired ABV for the spirit run than to shut down early and proof it down with backset. yeah...I'm still learning...I didn't initially regret stopping the earlier run at 40, but now find myself wishing I had some more volume for a s...

If you need to top up the spirit run charge a little for volume, I recommend using fresh ferment instead of backset. All low wines is ideal but I often use a mix of 2x low wines strips (about 11g), 1x feints cut from last run (about 3g), and fresh ferment (1-2g) for a 16g spirit run charge.. Cheers!...

Backset is typically an acidic solution of cooked beer (alcohol removed). The acidity should protect it from harmful bugs and you might see a lacto infection which is fine (we use LAB in our pepper ferments and similar). Boiling it before use in the next mash is the same as pasteurization so it's go...

Congrats on the successful run ISB! You should ready through the UJSSM Tried and True recipe thread which is basically what you made since you didn't actually mash the corn (you would need enzymes or malt to mash the corn). UJ makes a good drop and multiple generations with recycled backset and perh...

Howdy and welcome from one old man to another!

Cheers,
jonny

Anyway, I was wondering whether commercial brandy producers do anything different for fermenting their wines to be used in distilled product other than not use SO2... And if yes, discuss the what and why... Fruit brandies are a little different because they naturally have a lower SG while wine grape...

High osmotic pressure is another consideration when exposing the yeasties to a higher initial SG. Any input or discussion on how these environmental variables like SG, temp, nutrients, and pH affect yeast production of perhaps undesirable higher alcohols or other byproducts that are concentrated by ...

We don’t want to stress the yeasties - in general. Distilling concentrates the flavors (and etoh) produced by the yeasties. What I’m trying to get at is what the best environment might be for the yeasties regarding brandy. We can run two+ ferments easily so maximizing etoh isn’t necessarily the prim...

Do you know of any consensus and/or protocol on that in the wine>brandy industry? ie; reducing SG to 1.070 or whatever prior to fermentation with the addition of acidulated water for example? Cheers, jonny I am contemplating picking a white wine grape early this year (Chardonnay) at a lower brix (1...

SO2 remediation and H2S remediation are often confused. I have used H2O2 dosing to remediate excess SO2 which I detected strongly in the low wines and it was successful. Better to avoid it if you're planning on distilling from the get go but sometimes I'll distill the wines I decide not to bottle af...

IMG_2510.jpeg IMG_2511.jpeg IMG_2512.jpeg 500ml barrel proof bourbon about 60%abv. 250ml wine bottled 4/20 (aka coronavirus 420). Blend (and highly quaffable!) Guestimate slightly overproof 40+%abv. Initial testing is it’s not bad. Not a huge plus either but I’ll force it down me gullet in any case...

I've used small amounts of red wine and port as an adjunct at bottling to approximate wine/port barrel finishing as well as re-using staves and fingers from wine batches. I have not yet used ratios closer to 2:1 likker:wine that would be needed to proof barrel strength to bottle strength but I may j...

8-10%abv fermented dry is the goldilocks zone if you're stillin. Cheers! -jonny Jonny, Totally respect your comments and have found a lot of value in them over the years, but I’m not sure that’s unniversally true especially for brandy made from wine (or fruit mead distillations) when using wine yea...

8-10%abv fermented dry is the goldilocks zone if you're stillin. Also recommend following a double distillation protocol. First run strip until you have close to 0%abv coming out of the PC. About three strips will yield enough 25-30%abv low wines for a spirit run. Collect your spirit run in about 24...

Great idea with the power brick! How long does 20Ah last for those?

Cheers,
j

I save my foreshots and early heads for cleaning fluid. I’ve got 2-3 gallons available. Proof it down and run it like you stole it!

Cheers,
jonny

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And if you keep some white or make some later it provides an option to blend down the oak if desired. A month or few to meld after blending is also nice

Cheers,
J

A stir plate, low sg, nutes and a few days is a little bit of another rabbit hole if you want to increase the size of the colony before pitching. Maybe autoclaving fresh yeast before it dies is a thing? Veal is definitely “a thing”…

Cheers,
-j

I use melter honey as the main honey source in my honeyshine since it’s a little more economical and also add local honey too. Ferment, distill, recycle honey dunder and feints then solera style aging on different fruitwoods and used/re-charred bourbon oak. Small batch only because it is a bit price...

God, I hate to be “that guy” but damned near every question you asked has been answered in the beginner’s forum or elsewhere. Tried and true recipes are called that because they work. A search for “diastatic power” will tell you why you are not getting anywhere, there are dozens of articles. There ...

I must have read the same article but I also did a little independent research and that was my conclusion too. Something about cooking at above 212*F breaks up the molecules and releases the amino's or some such thing... One thing I know how to do is turn a little yeast into more yeast (you can call...

I tested out autoclaving some used trub by canning it in small mason jars - I compared that to Fermaid K or O (don't remember which) but the fermaid worked better as a nutrient.. I might do that test again because that used trub had been sitting around in an airlocked jug for about two years before ...

I haven't done it yet either but I do plan to make a TC insert that I could put under my onion head to run it as a vertical thumper - perhaps with an overflow downcomer to keep it from flooding - without forced reflux.. I think it would be pretty easy to fabricate with a 3" copper disc, some co...

Question about transferring boiling water to fermenter: I set my fermenter on a bench/pedestal I was thinking I would transfer boiling water with a transfer pump instead of trying to pail it or set the fermenter on the ground under the hot water heater spigot. 1/2 hp pump with cast iron body, unsur...

I have an onion head with 3" TC's that I sit on top of an 18" riser... Not much difference on passive reflux but I like the way it looks and it does help prevent pukes on strip runs.. I'd recommend double pot stilling for just about everything - I haven't used plates yet and may someday bu...

To me, straight honey shine has a nice floral flavor and nose that I appreciate. I guess it depends on what the bees make the honey from? I did a mashed malted barley in apple juice once and topped up with honey - the mash smelled absolutely amazing and it turned out quite good as far as I remember ...

I don't see how that clarify's your first statement Chris ? Talking in riddles again ? Maybe have another try. If the store bought smells like nail varnish when you heat it, you could get rid of that by heating it until it doesn't, then putting a lid on it and cooling it. Someone with little distil...

You could pour it into your next spirit run which you'll be doing cuts on anyway. If it's neutral and your spirit run is UJ it might dilute the flavor slightly depending on volume. If you're refluxing your UJ in a tall packed column for neutral then I thing it doesn't matter.

Cheers,
jonny