Muck Pit Lifecycle

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SaltyStaves
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Re: Muck Pit Lifecycle

Post by SaltyStaves »

bluc wrote: Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:37 am So do the maggots eat the acidic contents turning it to rot rather then gold?
Eat? Maybe. Piss, shit and vomit? More likely.
Either way, you'll never get those acids back without bringing along a lot of fouled water flavour. Moral of the story is to never let that situation happen.
bluc
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Re: Muck Pit Lifecycle

Post by bluc »

If trying to "promote" acid production do you think adding the alkaline clay is a positive? do you think maggot infestation happened because of alkaline ph rather then highly acidic???...or was it highly acidic when maggots took hold. Also did you add any meat to the pit?
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SaltyStaves
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Re: Muck Pit Lifecycle

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Too acidic and putrefactive bacterial development will halt (or not get started at all). Its one of the fundamental mistakes I see. People take acidic dunder straight from their boiler and expect it to develop, but if it is too low a pH, its not going to do anything that fresh dunder wouldn't already do. The lime is needed to get the pH into the zone to promote putrefactive bacteria and the right amount of excess lime will help keep it in that zone as the pit will become more acidic.

The maggots changed the environment of the pit to suit their needs. It was acidic and they changed it all by themselves while I wasn't paying attention.

The rotting goat heads myth is thought to have come about because the muck graves are open to theft from rivals and/or to put rivals on the wrong path. If one distillery suddenly gained popularity, then others would want some of their 'special sauce', so the horror stories were a good way to combat that.
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Re: Muck Pit Lifecycle

Post by bluc »

Thanks very helpful :thumbup:
MementoMori
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Re: Muck Pit Lifecycle

Post by MementoMori »

Outstanding thread, thank you. Cheers.
"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness". Aristotle
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