High Ester Rum

[SaltyStaves]

Next time go wild! Maybe put the infected dunder in after a day or two to limit sugar losses.

Agreed. Boiled dunder in the wash will add some acidity, but beyond that, you won't get much ester development. Infected washes are a symbiotic fermentation with yeast and bacteria teaming up to produce things that neither can create on their own. It comes with a lot of risk. One way to lessen it is to make sure the yeast get out in front well before pitching the infection. But I'd only risk it if I was starting from scratch and needed new dunder stock. That way, if it all goes to hell, you can use the failure as pit stock. If I already had plenty of dunder to play with, I wouldn't risk creating more.

[OtisT]

But I'd only risk it if I was starting from scratch and needed new dunder stock. That way, if it all goes to hell, you can use the failure as pit stock. If I already had plenty of dunder to play with, I wouldn't risk creating more.

I always need new dunder stock. I pretty much save every batch to use in the next. Sometimes I use fresh, sometimes it is infected. That all depends on how active I am stilling. I have been alternating Rum and Whisky batches which typically gives each fresh batch of dunder/backset time to stew. I have been saving a quart of infected dunder/backset from the previous patch to infect the new with when I know I am not using it right away.

I do this with my whisky too. In fact, my next product will be a "high ester" bourbon. I hope to do a similar process to this thread, while implementing some lessons learned here. I have 5 month old infected backset and feints from a batch of chocolate bourbon I made last year. The feints were mixed with fresh dunder I plan to use those with a fresh batch of honey bear bourbon.

Otis

[durty_dunderpants]

Next time go wild! Maybe put the infected dunder in after a day or two to limit sugar losses.

Agreed. Boiled dunder in the wash will add some acidity, but beyond that, you won't get much ester development. Infected washes are a symbiotic fermentation with yeast and bacteria teaming up to produce things that neither can create on their own. It comes with a lot of risk. One way to lessen it is to make sure the yeast get out in front well before pitching the infection. But I'd only risk it if I was starting from scratch and needed new dunder stock. That way, if it all goes to hell, you can use the failure as pit stock. If I already had plenty of dunder to play with, I wouldn't risk creating more.

yeah this. you've probably read the much-referenced arroyo work which suggests adding the "infected dunder" (muck) once 50% of the ferment is complete, and then only at a maximum of 4% of the total volume. by then the yeast are gonna be dominant but there'll still be enough chance to get some interaction - which should continue after the yeast has fermented all they are gonna do so the question becomes when to still. the distinction is made clear from the boiled stillage dunder that is added in larger proportion to the ferment. i've seen other work that suggests adding different components of the wash at different times from which could also be inferred that while dunder goes in early, muck (and acid) goes in later.

for us i think it's less a risk in absolute, rather that it's a potential inconvenience. it's one thing when your job all day is to ferment and distill rum but not all of us have that sort of luxury

[Shine0n]

Id love that job!!!

For now I'll keep on my path of rum and bourbon.

Keep at her Otis, sub'd as well!

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Otis, I cannae sleep at night thinking of:

I let all the jars air for 3 days. Jar volume loss progressed from 7% at the head up to 25% at the tail.

... more volatile (low-boiling) fractions should lose more volume, but you noted the opposite data... how come?

VV

[OtisT]

Otis, I cannae sleep at night thinking of:

I let all the jars air for 3 days. Jar volume loss progressed from 7% at the head up to 25% at the tail.

... more volatile (low-boiling) fractions should lose more volume, but you noted the opposite data... how come?

VV

I’m not sure why. I through it odd myself, though consistent throughout the entire run, which is why I recorded the observation. Thinking on it a few seconds I wonder if it is like barrel loss, where room humidity impacts the loss ratio of alcohol to water, with low humidity causing more water loss. Just a guess. Otis

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Thinking on it a few seconds I wonder if it is like barrel loss, where room humidity impacts the loss ratio of alcohol to water, with low humidity causing more water loss. Just a guess.

And if the air is too humid like in wet mountain hollows then the total volume of heads is even to grow up as the hi-proofed heads pick the water in )))

Okay and thanks, gonna sleep now safe and calm

Brgds, VV

[CatCrap]

New make rum to me tastes pretty ordinary at best,
I am underwhelmed by both the rumminess and the character right now. I’d give it a “meh?” Time and oak bring out the rum flavours, just give both of them time to do their jobs. 12 months from now I'll be surprised if you recognize it as the same spirit that left the still

I could not agree more. I'm only just beginning my foray into rums.. but, i've noticed that off the still, and after a few days of airing, the rum spirit has very little resemblance to Commercially bought rum. Now.. i'm not saying my goal is to make commercial quality rum, more so that the flavor profile i'm after is.. well, Rum! From what i've read, mostly here on HD, Rum almost never tastes "Good" or, like Rum right away. It will take at least a month of resting, and usually with some Oak, it will vastly improve over time and the flavors will come together. I've even noticed this with my Neutral. New make neutral is pretty harsh, and a strong bite. But after about 5 weeks i came back to it, and it had significantly settled down and smoothed out. No Oak, no stress or nuke aging, just sitting in a jar for a month, maybe being open and aired once or twice.

So, Regarding Rum, i can't say from MY experience, but only from the experience of other's i've read, but we should be confident, and have faith that over time the Rum flavor will come into it's own. I can assure you i will report back over time how my Rums age. My first Pugi Rum spirit run.. once it aired a couple days, and i sat down to make cuts, i was pretty disappointed! I thought.. wow this doesn't taste very good at all. I truly considered running it through again, thinking i must have screwed something up. But.. i'm pretty sure it just needs time to settle down and smooth out. I've got 90% of my Panella rum on oak, some French some American, all SD mini-staves (high long grain to minimal end grain ratio-designed for longer term aging) and only a couple jars white. The Pugi Rum (B Sugar and Molasses) i put most of it on oak and did some spices with the rest. I did some experiments, by doing Sachets (cheesecloth with cotton twine) of varying quantities of spices. Golden Raisins, Clove, Cinnamon Stick, Black Peppercorn, Coriander, Allspice. I also made a syrup (based on Mash Rookie's Daughters Spiced Rum) from Molasses, brown sugar, orange peel, Vanilla Bean Paste, some of the same spices. I reduced this, strained it, reduced again, then added a bit more of the Vanilla bean Paste after cooling. I find the vanilla is pretty delicate, and cooking it mellows it out quite a bit. BTW i use this for Vanilla..

https://www.amazon.com/Nielsen-Massey-V ... ey+vanilla

Niellsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Fair warning, the Larger size bottles have gotten extremely expensive. They were around 40 bucks a couple years ago, then climbed to 60, now they are about $100, for i believe 32 OZ. My supplier informed me that their were some cyclones or hurricanes that devastated the vanilla bean crops, causing the price to skyrocket. Fresh Picked green vanilla beans have to sit and ferment and cure for at least 6 months to develop their flavor, so this caused a bit of a lag time in the price jump. When the crop was wiped out, they had to raise prices a couple times because they knew they wouldn't have any more beans for a while. fascinating industry.
I'm a big fan of this product. It contains NO vanilla Extract (True/Real extract, or GOD FORBID that fake ass bullshit imitation vanilla extract - Please no one ever use that trash, it's like the difference between Real Maple syrup, and Corn Syrup they try to flavor like maple, like those HUngry Jack brands and shit)
Anyways, this product is Vanilla Bean Seeds (the tiny tiny little black ones) which are suspended in sugar syrup. A Tsp or so packs a great punch of vanilla flavor, and you get the benefit of the look and great flavor of the actual seeds, without having to deal with whole beans which, of course i love, but have a couple of drawbacks. For example, when scraping the seeds they can be hard to handle, and it's hard to yield all the seeds, and to exclude all of the Bean itself. The bean does contain some nice flavour though, so i'm not against vanilla beans at all. Just thought i'd plug this awesome product for yall if anyone is interested. A small bottle is pretty affordable and goes a long way, and a Large bottle will last you forever. The syrup keeps the scent, flavor, and aroma very strong and pungent for a very long time. I find it to be an outstanding product.

[OtisT]

Might have mentioned a few posts back about the niceness in those first few jars .... I love walking into the distilling area and smelling that stuff ... I leave the fores and early hearts jars there ... I like it stinking out my space .

But its not going into my mix .

Was rereading older posts and found this gem. Yummy rum, we are much alike. . I also like much of what is going on in heads jars that I never end up using in a spirit. When doing cuts I sometimes worry my friends when I say “I like that jar” to something that is obviously heads.

Have you ever tried doing anything with those later heads jars that don’t make the cut, other than recycled feints? I have thought several times about oaking and aging a run by run location, to try and identify individual qualities by where they came from in a run. Would be great to know what those individual scents/flavors turn into with time. A fun experiment for later in life when all my barrels are full.

Otis

[OtisT]

Here is what I got out of the first generation of high ester rum:

High ester rum - generation 1 products

7 L Badmo barrel filled with high ester rum
6 L feints (gen4)
11 L infected fresh dunder
1 L White Cut rum
1 L Barrel Cut rum
4 sample jars of what went into this batch for smell comparisons (1 L Strip Cut rum, clarified molasses, dunder, feints/dunder mix.)

********

It will be a month+ before I start generation 2 of my high ester rum. I have reviewed my process, your feedback and my results so far and plan to make a few changes on my next batch. I am documenting my change notes here so I know where to pick up next month.

My production goals will be the same. First priority is to fill a Badmo barrel (7+L) with barrel cut rum. If possible, steel a small white cut of approx 1 liter.

I am putting my desire for a single run rum on hold. I will focus on refining this double run process first before going off on that tangent.

Based on feedback and results from my first batch of high ester rum, I plan to make the following changes to my original recipe and process:

- Ingredients - reduce white sugar by one quarter. Increases the % of molasses sugar from 57% to 63%.
- Ingredients - add some DAP and Vit B to ferment for more nutrients (precaution only)
- Ingredients - do not clarify molasses (unnecessary)
- Ingredients - don’t kill infection with heat prior to ferment
- Ingredients - new 1st pitch yeast ( TBD - the search is on )
- Ferment - let the ferment go longer, 7 days +
- Ferment - add infected dunder after yeast is established in the ferment, approx. 50% through fermentation (based on SG.) ~36-48 hrs?
- Strip - try a slow heat up on one strip, and compare to normal strip
- Strip - collect more dunder, (20-30 L?)
- Strip - Strip down further when saving dunder, collecting until ABV is 5% off the still.
- Spirit - compress heads, not just foreshots. This next run will be using my 4th generation of recycled rum feints and I want to pull some heads out permanently before the next generation use. I will start doing this as a regular practice on multi-generational feints use. I think removing 1 liter per batch in the future is a good starting point (approx 7% of expected collection) but I will go a bit deeper on this next batch because this is the first time after 4 gens.

Questions/Considerations

Spirit - Should I run with slight reflux beyond collecting foreshots and compressed heads for permanent removal? Previously I have only compressed what I was removing permanently before switching to pot still mode. I am considering doing this next run with 6” of mesh in the column and a light reflux, maybe 2:1. My white cut had a bit more bottom smell in it than I would like. I think this may help clean that white cut up a bit, but I don’t want to do this at the expense of my barrel cut. What do you think?

Thanks
Thanks for following my exploits and for all your feedback and support. I plan to keep this thread running through my generations of the high ester rum, and will post periodic aging updates as I sample things.

Otis

[ElCubanazo]

Working with Molasses

I have 7 gallons, 80 pounds, of feed grade molasses. The label says the minimum sugar content is 33%. 33% of 80 pounds is 26 pounds so I have the equivalent of 26 pounds of sugar in my molasses. I'll use this info later when I get around to starting the ferment.

clarifying molasses
I hear it is highly recommended that molasses be clarified, especially feed grade molasses. This is especially important for this run because clarification removes "stuff" that can lead to off flavors and smells. The process of clarification is simple and takes 24+ hours to complete.

[*]Mix 1 part molasses with 2 parts water in boiler
[*]Heat the mix (I brought it up to 180 deg F.)
[*]Pour into clear bucket, to settle for 24 hours
[*]Siphon off all but the sediment. I had very little. less than 1/2" under 24" of liquid

My boiler is only 15 gallons, so I had to do this is two batches. Each batch filled up a small ferment bucket

IMG_0547.JPG

IMG_0548.JPG

After siphoning off the good stuff I took the dregs and filled a gallon glass jug. 12 hours later I was able to siphon off an additional 1/2 gallon.

Otis

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could've sworn I heard that heating molasses up beyond 140° F can create a compound that's pretty toxic to yeast? Is this true?

[Yummyrum]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could've sworn I heard that heating molasses up beyond 140° F can create a compound that's pretty toxic to yeast? Is this true?

Curious to here more about this ElCubanazo , can you elaborate or say where you heard it ?

I have done similar clarifying to Otis many times and heated mine to around 85 deg C which is way hotter than 140 deg F . I just use good old Bread yeast and have never had a stalled Rum wash using 100% Molasses . Yeast just gets stuck in and does its job .

. I think this may help clean that white cut up a bit, but I don’t want to do this at the expense of my barrel cut. What do you think?

I found Tails or bottoms as you call it are the devil in my Rum . No amount of aging would make them improve ....if anything , they tend to transform into a Sassparella kinda taste for want of a better description and the smell never leaves . Any way you can keep them out or reduce them in your final cut is the secret to good Rum in my opinion . So yeah , a bit of reflux may well be a great idea . I use a Flute nower days which certainly compresses the tails and keeps the yuk out of my Rum but I remember with the Potty , that it was a hard job to keep them out .

[Badmotivator]

- Ferment - add infected dunder after yeast is established in the ferment, approx. 50% through fermentation (based on SG.) ~36-48 hrs?

Otis

The strategy I employed was to ferment an 8% simple wash to completion, then add infected muck and enough sugar to bring the potential up to 10%. Then you leave that to ferment to completion plus some more time to allow the bacteria to do their utmost stinkification. It'll help to have an accurate PPG number for your sugar source. Use that PPG calculation instead of a hydrometer, since the 8% will mess with your hydrometer reading.

This way you know the wash will have at least 8% (or whatever you like) and you know that the bacteria have some yeast and sugar and whatever else to act on to make ample carboxylic acids. I takes some of the uncertainty out of the "when should I add my muck?" question.

Hope that helps.

[ElCubanazo]

Curious to here more about this ElCubanazo , can you elaborate or say where you heard it ?

Distilling Craft podcast. Episode: "Slow as molasses". @ 19:00.

Link to the podcast here: http://pca.st/ubex" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Yummyrum]

Distilling Craft podcast. Episode: "Slow as molasses". @ 19:00.

Link to the podcast here: http://pca.st/ubex" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

LOL , after listening to 20 minutes of the podcast I realized the significance of @19:00

Cheers . Interesting stuff . still can't say It noticably effected my yeast but will certainly take it on board . I don't Clarify these days anyway .

[ElCubanazo]

Distilling Craft podcast. Episode: "Slow as molasses". @ 19:00.

Link to the podcast here: http://pca.st/ubex" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

LOL , after listening to 20 minutes of the podcast I realized the significance of @19:00

Cheers . Interesting stuff . still can't say It noticably effected my yeast but will certainly take it on board . I don't Clarify these days anyway .

Hahaha. Yeah I mean I've definitely heated to boiling and mixed in molasses before but keeping it below 140 just also saves me time!

[Shine0n]

I'm not opposed to adding dunder/muck to a fermentation as many do it with success, my only fear is that if it turn's sideways I'm out of some serious cash and ferment.
I'm glad to see you doing this and documenting step by step in detail has made me rethink some things for this process.
Not sure I'll switch right now lol but I'm definitely interested in what you're doing with this and will watch this going forward.
I'm suckered in deep on this thread.

I hope you make it to s3-18 and bring some there so I can try a pour.

Good stuff, keep it up

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Have you ever tried doing anything with those later heads jars that don’t make the cut, other than recycled feints? I have thought several times about oaking and aging a run by run location, to try and identify individual qualities by where they came from in a run. Would be great to know what those individual scents/flavors turn into with time.

You are definitely not alone

I collect and oak later heads (say, "necks") to blend them as 10-20ml per liter after aging. I'm almost sure they have nuthin of acetone and most of aldehydes as I take fores very, very, very slow in a rigorous reflux mode.

Say, I have 10 liters of apple&pear low wines with 6% of all possible spirits inside. If we suppose the mentioned 600ml as 100% then my first 5% (30ml) are always the fores. I take them away. And I'm starting to sniff it further. Closer to 7% it happens to smell about the yummies. Then I make my reflux ratio as if there were collected hearts and pick up the next 10% (as 30ml and 30ml) in 2 different jars. The first jar is suspected to be poisonous. The second one is rather cute but sometimes not very estery. I age them separately with oak chips as freezer-sunny_window-oven-aeration for about 5 times. In a month or two they become smashing to be blended with hearts. Yep, they get matured faster than the hearts.

[OtisT]

Howdy.

I want to make a sipping rum with character.

This is how I started this thread. I wanted to make a sipping rum with character. After sampling my various cuts today I can say this; Holy shit did I hit the mark. This stuff has incredible character and I am enjoying sipping it right now.

White Cut - I'm nursing a glass of my narrow White Cut rum from this batch now, enjoying the incredibly fruity and rummy nose. No bottoms and no heads. This is clean and pure fruity and molasses based deliciousness.

Barrel Cut White - I set aside a bottle of the barrel cut rum for sampling and comparisons. The wider cut in this rum puts the rummyness forward more, though the fruit is still there and strong. It seems like the flavors/smells are blended together well and the spicy warm rum taste lingers in the mouth longer than the white cut. Enough whiffs and you can smell some rough edges of a young spirit. I can taste a hint of bottoms in there, but it is pleasant enough to finish the glass.

Barrel Cut aged 3 weeks - OK, I know its a bit early for reporting on a barrel aged spirit, but I was tasting other stuff so I figured why not? The color is ever so slightly yellow from the toasted barrel. Incredible! First, any rough edges are gone already. I can detect Vanilla smell which is new to this spirit. The fruit is less dominant and there is a new sweet smell of oak that spirits get when on oak long enough.

I'll sit down with these later, and other jars I saved from this first batch of high ester rum (HER), to see if I can match earlier smells/tastes to what I have now. I can't wait to share some of this with friends.

Otis

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Congratz on your young HERo

Will try following the same way with my rum. And not only rum.

[OtisT]

....... It is really quite more subtle than I was expecting, which makes my white cut pleasant but less “Rummy” than I would like. Even the barrel cut has only a slight molasses rum and bottoms smell to it and I am underwhelmed by both the rumminess and the character right now. I’d give it a “meh?”

Much of the fruitiness and any trace of banana are gone after the spirit run. As mentioned earlier, this is much more subtle and neutral than I was expecting.

Only three weeks and a big change.

I was re-reading my thread and found the above notes on my Rum when I first made cuts. I can’t believe how much this product has changed in only 3 weeks. From Meh to Yah. .

This changed happened across the board, from the white cut to the barrel cut still in a jar to the barreled rum. I’ll try to check these weekly now, as it seems like this Rum is changing fast.

I have read a lot about folks’ Rum loosing fruity notes after a few months. The way these fruit notes developed quickly once the cut was made, it kind of makes sense they will go away quickly too. I’m envisioning these molecules are relatively light and on top for a dominant smell, and are also the first to evaporate off for good. Hopefully my barrel is soaking up these fleeting molecules and will retain more of the notes.

Otis

Otis

[CatCrap]

I can't agree more. From my short and limited experience.. Rum that tastes like crap(or not like rum, or not good) off the still tastes amazing awesome incredible in 3-4 weeks, and i'm sure will just keep getting better. It's like a fuggin miracle, how much spirits change, without really doing anything to them, over time. Probably one of the most challenging and fascinating parts of this hobby.

it's like those that make Salume/Charcuterie and aged cheeses. You have to have either a ton of experience, a lot of knowledge, a little luck, a lot of faith or ALL of the above, to make a product today that you will be consuming in a long time and have any clue what to expect. TO know that if i do X, it will result in Y, given Z amount of time, in Q conditions. I love the are of making products that use Time as a major ingredient/technique. To be able to incorporate "leave for a month, or 6 months, or a year, or two or ten" as part of the process.
Interesting how so many products like this came out of necessity. The first guy to make prosciutto didn't decide "I bet if i salt the hell out of this leg of pork and hang it for two years it will be delicious" He did it because he had a lot of pork on hand, and wanted to preserve it for when he didn't have so much pork on hand. Just like those who put the first whiskey in the first barrels. They didn't do it for flavor.

It's truly some sort of magic. Foresight. To know that if i treat this product just so, and age it in the correct environment, it will be something special, given just the right amount of time. And when we are talking about likker... there are thousands of variables. Even if you gave me your recipe for rum, for example, and i tried my damndest to replicate it, chances are, in a year, we would have vastly different products.

Time is a FUN ingredient, no?

[Saltbush Bill]

I can’t believe how much this product has changed in only 3 weeks. From Meh to Yah. .

People over think rum way to much ..keep it simple ....use lots of, or all molasses, don't be disappointed with what you taste /smell leaving the still .............Oak it hard n long ...then enjoy.
Put a padlock on a bottle and don't touch it for 12 months , if you can.

[OtisT]

High Ester Rum, Generation 2

I started a new batch of High Ester Rum (HER) today. As previously stated, I am making some minor adjustments to my recipe and process based on recommendations and experiences from the previous batch. To avoid confusion on future tasting notes, I will refer to the previous batch as Generation 1 (Gen 1) and this one as Generation 2 (Gen 2) of my HER.

I will be documenting this batch from scratch to reflect my changes, ensuring this section of the thread for Gen 2 is inclusive of all information.

Some of the processes and ingredients I plan to use specifically for the purpose of affecting esters include:
• Using infected dunder in the ferment (added late in the ferment process)
• Managing PH of the ferment for ester production
• Using a high ester producing yeast to start, and a 2nd yeast to finish dry
• Low O levels late in the ferment
• Allowing the ferment to sit a few days past done, to allow more time for ester formation
• Use a slow warm-up and a reflux period on the stripping runs to encourage Fischer esterification (*test. Compare a slow to a fast strip run.)
• Using a mix of dunder and feints from Gen 1 added to the Spirit Run charge
• Use a slow warm-up and a reflux period on the spirit run to encourage Fischer esterification
• Using copper bits to my SS boiler as a catalyst for Fischer esterification on all slow warm up and extended reflux period runs.
• Making appropriate cuts – look for goodness on the edges and match to expected aging time
• Time in a proper barrel – Toasted American White Oak BadMo Barrel

To reiterate, I’m no expert. This is just educational for me and a good way to document as I go.

Key Ingredients and Prep to make HER

For Gen 2 I have the following key ingredients to use:
• 8 Liters of Infected Dunder – From Gen 1. A Bret Lacto infection, so I’m told. Infected for roughly two months.
• 9 liters of Mixed Feints/Infected Dunder. Was 6 liters of heads/tails from Gen 1 @ 62% ABV. Feints were mixed with 3 liters of infected dunder from Gen 1. Total is 9 L @ 41% ABV. I added a small bit of copper to this carboy when I mixed it, as a catalyst for esterification as it sits. I do believe this will only help when the mix is heated later (Fischer esterification), but I figured I would add this now just on the chance it also helps in cold mixes that sit.
• 80 lbs (7 gallons) of feed grade molasses. I am not clarifying this time, so there is no prep needed this time.
• Yeast #1 – I selected a new 1st pitch yeast for this batch. It is a Belle Saison (Belgian Saison style yeast.) This is the same yeast I used in my high ester bourbon recently. It smells nice and it’s what I have handy.
• Yeast #2 - I will again be finishing the ferment with bakers yeast, Bob’s Red Mill.

Let the games begin!

Otis

[OtisT]

Gen 2 - Start the Ferment - 0 hours

I am using a 55 gallon (208 L) barrel for a 30 gallon (114 L) ferment.

I am starting the ferment with:
• Molasses - 7 gallons/80 pounds of feed grade molasses (33% min sugar content) (27 L/36 kg)
• Cane Sugar - 20 pounds (9 kg)
• Yeast (for Nutrient) – 3 packs of liquid ale yeast
• Epsom Salt –1 pinch
• Vitimin B – Powder from 2 capsules
• Potassium Carbonate – 10 oz (284 g) to adjust PH from 4.6 to 5.6

The Process
I put about 4 gallons of cold water in my plastic ferment barrel.

I boiled 4 gallons of water and half the sugar then added my nutrient yeast and half of the molasses to thin it out. Poured this hot liquid into my fermenter. ~9 gallons.

I boiled another 4 gallons water with the remaining sugar and added the second half of the molasses to thin out before pouring that hot liquid into my fermenter. ~9 gallons

I added more cold water until I had 30 gallons. The temp was about 100 F, roughly 10 deg F over my max pitch temp.

I added the Epsom salt and the Vit B.

PH started at 4.6. I added Potassium Carbonate dissolved in hot water, in several doses, until I reached a PH of 5.6. It took 10 oz to raise 30 gallons from 4.6 to 5.6.
Warning - Potassium Carbonate appears to quickly heat up when dissolved in water.

OG was 11 03 - adjusted for temperature.

I stirred that all together well and began aeration with an aquarium air pump and stone as I prepped the yeast and used a wort chiller to bring my ferment down to pitch temp. Total aeration time was 60 minutes.

Pitch Temp was 88 deg F (31 C) and I pitched 4 packs (44 g) of Belle Saison dry yeast from DANSTAR, following their directions for re-hydration. [500 ml, 90 deg water. Sprinkle on top and let sit for 15 min. Stir gently and let sit 5 min. Pour into ferment and stir.]

I covered my barrel with the lid (not sealed). The bottom and sides were insulated, but I left the top un-insulated as I know this will eventually heat up due to yeast activity.

Time to wait....

[VLAGAVULVIN]

I added a small bit of copper to this carboy when I mixed it, as a catalyst for esterification as it sits. I do believe this will only help when the mix is heated later (Fischer esterification), but I figured I would add this now just on the chance it also helps in cold mixes that sit.

How many hours or days would you keep it all together? What temp at?

VV

[OtisT]

I added a small bit of copper to this carboy when I mixed it, as a catalyst for esterification as it sits. I do believe this will only help when the mix is heated later (Fischer esterification), but I figured I would add this now just on the chance it also helps in cold mixes that sit.

How many hours or days would you keep it all together? What temp at?

VV

Typically I have been mixing my feints (heads and tails) with fresh dunder once I make cuts, so the dunder is typically a week to two week old when mix with feints. How long it sits is simply a mater of how long until my next rum. I usually alternate what I make between a whiskey and a rum, so the time it sits has been anywhere from a few weeks to 5 months. I have not done direct comparisons to know if the time this mix sits makes any difference.

The mix stays around 65 F in winters and 75 F in summer. If one was keen to test heating the mix, which I am not right now, I would try splitting the mix in two and slowly heating one to a max of 140 F (just below boiling) for a few hours to a day then cool to compare any differences. Not sure how easy it would be to tell. Both feints and dunder have a strong smelling presence already.

[VLAGAVULVIN]

And what/how does the copper stuff look like after all?..

[OtisT]

And what/how does the copper stuff look like after all?..

I’m not sure. I just started adding copper to the feints/dunder mix as it sits in glass and right now that copper is hiding in that dark stuff. I’m guessing it will be shinney, and will confirm when I empty that for the spirit run. I can tell you that the copper coming out of the boiler after a distillation run is bright and shinny because of the acidity. Otis

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Yeah, let's wait and see, thanks.

My guess is either dark-green or clean&shiny ))) On one hand, there's some definite acidity to clean the stuff. On the other, there's the-sulphur-in-the-flesh... or already not?