!!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

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rum is life
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!!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

I just ordered my still and I'm trying to plan out how I want to go about things. I've been reading just about every post on Rum on the site to try and figure out what I want to do. It will be my first wash/run and I want to know what some people who have done this before think about it.

First, I would like to use an all molasses wash, 1 gallon of fancy molasses and topped with water to 5 gallons. I'm going to mix 1 gallon of water with the molasses and heat to get a liquid form and then add water until I hit 5 gallons total. I have a Rum making turbo yeast that says it's designed to interact with molasses for max fermtation. After it ferments, I will run it through my pot still. I want to run off the first 250ml. Take whatever comes out after that, until it hit's about 60% abv to use as dunder/run oils later. I'm hoping I will get a 1 gallon yeild out of this as a sample run. I am planning a slow burn(for the first run) instead of double distilling. I am going to bottle 1/4 gallon to sample in a week and another 1/4 to sample in 2 weeks. I then want to try a 1/4 gallon straight as is(for control purposes) and a 1/4 gallon after filtering it with carbon. Does anyone have any tips on if that is a good idea or bad idea. Or if there is anything else I can do to make it better. Please help, I LOVE my rum and want to make my own.
plonker
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by plonker »

Hi rum is life,
If you just ordered your still, your first wash should be a basic sugar wash to clean your still and learn how to run it. You should throw this alcohol away or use it for cleaning.
For your second run you can look at a rum. do NOT use a turbo yeast. A pot still will carry the bad flavours over.

Rums get better with backset or dunder. A third generation rum tastes way better than a first generation.

Use pugirums recipe http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =14&t=5994 with practice and time and skills you can make an exceptional product. At least as good as commercial.

Also carbon is something you might use for a white rum but it will strip flavour
scarecrow
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by scarecrow »

rum is life wrote:It will be my first wash/run
Then be prepared to dump it. First run always cleans it out.
I did a vinegar and salt run, then 2 water runs and then a low strength sugar wash.
THEN, I did my first run.
rum is life wrote:First, I would like to use an all molasses wash
This is how I make my rum, but I use blackstrap molasses from the feed store in town.
12 litres water
8 Kg Molasses
60 g dried yeast
1 multivitamin
1 vitamin B
1/4 teaspoon epsom salts

I also add rum oils (1litre) and about 250mls molasses to the thumper. I collect from 80% down to 60% for drinking. Feints down to 40%. Oils from 40% down to 25%.

Ferments in 3 days. Settles for a week. Slow run through pottie with a thumper.
This gives me about 1.5 litres distillate at about 72% ABV.
rum is life wrote:I'm hoping I will get a 1 gallon yeild out of this as a sample run.
Unlikely. You only started with 1 gallon of molasses which is only half a gallon of fermentable sugars. That would mean your wash started at about 20% ABV. Rough calculations would put your wash at about 5% alcohol = 1 litre. Of this about half is drinkable = 0.5 litres.

Straight molasses based Rum washes do not have a high yield. It's taken me 8 washes to get it to 12%, through a LOT of trial and error.

scarecrow
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

This is all great stuff. Thanks guys. I got that I need to clean the still before trying a rum run. can i use the turbo yeast that i bought in order to make the low sugar wash to clean it? (since I already bought it).
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

I have a few more questions:

1) when I add the backset/dunder/oils, do I put them in the fermetor to repeat the fermantation process?

2) After a ferment, Should I clean the fermentor or leave what's left in it?

Sorry if these sound like dumb questions, but I'm trying to learn to get some delicous rum
plonker
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by plonker »

Hey rum is life,
I would save the turbo. Just use bread yeast, its cheap and it works really well. :D
rum is life wrote:I have a few more questions:

1) when I add the backset/dunder/oils, do I put them in the fermetor to repeat the fermantation process?
Yes, start with say 2 gallons, and then reduce the amount each generation You need to watch the PH level and add bicarb if it gets low. The flavour difference is amazing..
rum is life wrote: 2) After a ferment, Should I clean the fermentor or leave what's left in it?

Sorry if these sound like dumb questions, but I'm trying to learn to get some delicous rum
If your hygiene is really good you should be fine to not clean the fermenter. Personally I boil the molasses and clean the fermenter to keep bacteria down... but some people like the bacteria.. look up dunder pits..

Expect to do a few runs and learn as you go. Your second one will taste so good that you will want it to be the one you mature, until you do your third one.. :)
Good luck!!
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Okay, from what I'm getting from everyone here's what I'm going to try.

Clean with vinegear and water
2 runs of just water to help clean
1 run of low sugar wash to use the alcohol to clean pot still

Then my wash will consist of:
1 Gallon(3.7L) fancy Molasses(12.5lbs or 5.6kg)
2.5lbs or 1.13kg of brown sugar(should I try more or less at first?)
1 Gallon(3.7L) water heated and mixed with molasses and sugar
1 mulit vitamin
1 vitamin B(what type of vitamin B though, B6, B12 etc)
Top off to 5 Gallons of total wash (18.9L)
60 grams of yeast(what type is better? Dried, bakers, etc and is 60grams the right amount I would need?)

Mix in the fermentor for 4 days, let sit for 3 days and slow burn it.
I'm still gonna just throw away the first 250ml(I've heard that this is where most of the bad stuff is). Take what I can until about 60% ABV and save that as endset.

I know I'm going to have to mess around with it, but I want to have a descent base to start from. I will adjust to my taste as I go, but want my first run to at least be palatable and give me something to work with from there. Thanks for all your help gentlemen. This site is great info for all.
rubber duck
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rubber duck »

Your recipie looks good but, if your going to use bakers yeast to ferment I would use less mollases 3 quarts or no sugar.
Fancy mollases has a good bit more fermentables in it the black strap or feed grade and Im not shure bakers yeast will handle the alcohol. I like bakers yeast but if you want a higher alcohol wash use a 1118 yest (that will handle 16%) and use your recipie with 4 lb shugar.

Other then that maby a tbs of boiled bakers yest in the wash for nutriants and some dap or a pinch of epsons salt.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
HookLine
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by HookLine »

1) when I add the backset/dunder/oils, do I put them in the fermetor to repeat the fermantation process?
Backset and dunder are the same thing in rum making.

But rum oils are different, and they are not added to the ferment, but to the low wines for the final spirit run.
Be safe.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Thanks for the help with the terminology. I'm a newbie to this.

If anyone could tell me, what yeast is best to use in a pot still? baker's, bread, dried etc. And is 60 grams enough to use in a 5 Gallon wash?
And also, a few people have told me to add Vitamin B to my wash, what type of B? B6, B12 etc...

I'm glad that this site is around.
guillermo
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by guillermo »

For yeast to make rum, I like Danstil EDV 493 from White Labs.
See: http://www.whitelabs.com/distilling/yeast.html.
It loves molasses and gives good flavor. I keep my washes hot as White Labs recommends, between 30 C and 36 C (86 to 96F) and the fermentation takes only 3 days. No need for vitamins (blackstrap has plenty) but I do throw in some DAP. This yeast is not cheap, about $35. for 500 grams but this quantity will last a long time.
Barney Fife
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by Barney Fife »

No need for vitamins or anything. Maybe DAP if it's gets slow after a generation or two. Plain 'ol baker's yeast is all you need, and may in fact be better than the wine/beer yeasts.

If white sugar is cheaper where you are, use that, as the molasses will give you a ton of flavor. I know I sound like a broken record among the blackstrap faithful here, but I use fancy molasses and don't use any sugar. Fancy has about twice as much fermentable sugar as blackstrap. One gallon fancy, top up to the 5 gallon mark with hot tap water, let it cool to 90 some degrees, add yeast, and walk away. Most excellent rumsky. Save the trubs and yeast cake in the bottom of the pail but scoop out a few ounces and set aside, with a wee bit of warm water to help the yeast stay alive; add the dunder back to the pail after the run, all of it, add 7-8 pounds white sugar, and when it cools enough, add the yeast/trubs you set aside to restart it. This one won't be as strong a rum as the first run, but it's a great blending rum, as the dunder will still have a ton of molasses flavor.

I tried the Pugi run oil deal, and never found anything there that wasn't there already. As long as you save up your rum feints and run them, the oils and all are there already. Saving the cut that has the oils showed me that I only collected more and more of them, no mater how often I put them back through.

And as everyone said, run a throwaway wash first.
HookLine
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by HookLine »

I tried the Pugi run oil deal, and never found anything there that wasn't there already.
Starting to hold that view myself. Don't do the rum oils separation thing anymore. Still tastes fine to me.
Be safe.
Be discreet.
And have fun.
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

How much yeast should I use for my receipe?
Barney Fife
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by Barney Fife »

Don't much matter; yeast reproduce quickly. A pinch is literally enough. More will lead to a quicker starting ferment, but it also leads to a thicker yeast cake at the bottom of the pail, I find, though this may be my imagination. I never measure; maybe a teaspoon is about what I use.
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Okay, I have a newbie question. I always read about people rack the wash to the still. What exactly does this mean?
rubber duck
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rubber duck »

It's a fancy word for siphioning. Don't ask me why.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Can anyone tell me about how long it will take me to run a 5 gallon wash through a still pot?
rubber duck
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rubber duck »

There are way to many variables to tell. running slow, fast. heat sorce, altitude, condencer diameter and many more thing not listed.

Maby 2 hours start to finish, maby more.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

I have a 2" condenser. I'm planning on a slow cook.

I will be moving to an area where the altitude is approx 5000 feet above sea level. How much time will this add or subtract from the process?(so I can plan ahead for that.)

Thanks for the quick replies, sure helps out.
rubber duck
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rubber duck »

Every still is diferant so for your first run figure on half a day to set it up, run clean, and just general messing around.
After you know your still and you have made a few runs you will probably have the bug and you will be at it all day.
So for me stilling day takes all day. I like to do muliple runs the clean up time is the same and i hate clean up.
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
CletusDwight
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by CletusDwight »

rum is life wrote:Can anyone tell me about how long it will take me to run a 5 gallon wash through a still pot?
If you run a still flat out with the heat up full you can wring out all the alcohol real quick. Maybe an hour to warm up then an hour or so a gallon to still.

But if you do that, the thing is out of control. It's difficult to separate heads, heart and tails and they smear into each other.
You end up with either a small quantity of poor quality hearts or a whole bucket full of stuff that turns your stomach when you drink it. (At first you think it's OK - it's only after a couple of glasses you begin to think there might be something wrong)
You have to take it slow and careful, just trickling out the fractions and only opening up when you are sure of where you are.

A lot of the older stillers seem to take this for granted and don't mention it to us neophytes - It's taken me a few gallons of nail varnish remover drunk to work it out. And I still get it wrong.
rad14701
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rad14701 »

As rubber duck mentioned, it'll take a run or three to get the feel of your equipment... And to do that, for a pot still, you're probably better off doing a stripping run and then a spirit run... By doing this you'll be able to play with the heat and take off rate without worrying about the quality of the end product as that will be refined in the spirit run...

However, none of this topic has actually been related to rum, specifically, but, rather, to pot stilling in general...

Good luck...
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Well everyone I'll be able to start my Rum runs in about a week. Thanks to everyone who helped me come up with the final product of what I'm going to do. I'll keep everyone posted as to how things are going. I'm currently deployed and this was my gift to myself. Again, thanks for the help everyone and I'll be back to get more ideas and let you know how my results were so we can call learn together.
Ayay
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by Ayay »

I only read pg 2 of this topic and this may need sayin...

Stripping run = hard and fast with no cuts. Simply gets you an average concentration of 40% all alcohols ready for another run.
Spirit run = slow and careful, to get you around 55%(pot) or 95% (reflux) average good alcohols in the hearts after makin the cuts.

Mostly pot stillers do a few strip runs and then a spirit run. Reflux stillers can get away with a spirit run first-off one-time. Not to say a good pot stiller can't do it in one run; nor to say a reflux stiller will bet better results by doing a few strippin runs and then doing a spirit run :)

That's the fun of it. YMMUMFknVary!
cornflakes...stripped and refluxed
bronzdragon
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by bronzdragon »

I very well may be the only one here that likes it, but i've used the Rum Turbo yeast many times to good effect. Usually when I do runs, I will get one package of it, and ferment 5 gallons ... then transfer and immediately put another 5 gallons on top of the yeast. I do this 4 times in a row. The only thing different I do, is after the first batch I use a little yeast nutrient.

About every aspect of making rum has been covered 100 times on this board, so it's all out there. Molasses has good nutrients already, I just throw a bit in extra.

I typically do 4 batches in a row using stripping runs. I come up with 4 gal of low wines, throw in a gal of water and run that off slow on the fifth run. The only advice I can give you is try and keep your wash at about 10% and if you like a strong flavored rum, run into the tails. The more you run into the tails, the stronger the flavor will be. Then throw it on some charred oak or sugar maple and you're set.

cheers

~bd~
"If it weren't for the alcohol, beer would be a healthfood."
rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

Hi everyone. I haven't been on here in awhile because it took longer than expected to get my equipment. I have a question that I'm hoping someone can answer me. I cleaned our my pot with vinegear and salt. I did a water run, but it was weird to me. I have my therm on top on the colum in the bung and when the wather vapors started coming out it only read 90 degrees C. Obviously i'm not a genius, but I was always told that water wouldn't evaporate until 100 degree's C. I know it's it takes time for the heat to build up and before the vapors come out, but is my therm in the wrong place? Does it need to be deeper in the colum? How should I adjust for when I do an actual wash run? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note. I made my white sugar wash to clean the still out and it fermented nice. I also made up my first 25L wash of the "good stuff" using the recepie from within this forum. There was massive foaming for the first night and now it has trickled down to a steady bubbling. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes..

Thanks all
kiwistiller
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by kiwistiller »

sounds like the thermo is not deep enough? A pic would help, or a description of how it is. 5000ft above sea level wouldn't drop the boiling points that much would it? surely not.
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rum is life
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by rum is life »

i can't figure out how to put a pic on here, but there is about 3mm sticking out of the bottom of the bung.
kiwistiller
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Re: !!!Please Help with RUM!!!!

Post by kiwistiller »

yup you want plenty more. there are instructions somewhere around the forum for adding pics. the jist of it is you use the upload attachments option under the save, preview, submit boxes.
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