Scotch Recipe

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kevin007
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Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Hi all! I hope I am not an annoying newb when I ask this question. I have studied these threads and researched online for weeks. I am familiarized myself with the fundementals of mash making, sg's, abv's, heads, hearts and tails. etc. I have purchased a 20 liter alembic potstill, and all the equipment needed for an all grain mash. I am waiting for it to arrive and continue to research hard to get a reliable recipe. I intend to use the BIAB method (Brew In a Bag) and will use crushed barley from the mountainous region close to me. I just need a recipe! So many, vague recipes with missing info out there. Someone who has made Scotch using this method please just help by sending me a recipe. Example: X lbs of crushed barley to X liters of water. Mash for X amount of time at X temperature. Remove grain. Sparge use "X" liters of water. Now boil? (some SAY TO BOIL SOME DONT) Remove and cool (chill method or just wait?) OG should be "X" ferment for "X" amount of days. Final SG should be "X". Besides this looking for recommendations for yeast strains and can someone tell me what the ideal PH level is for the water? Again, sorry if this is too much of a newb question but I am a bit frustrated after putting in hours (about 72) of research over the last 6 weeks in what little time I have found only to fine there are ZERO basic step-by-step recipes out there to try. Lots of suggested methods with missing info but the above missing "X" factors are what I am looking to clarify. I am also open to all suggestions for malted barley types. I intended to use a barley grown in the local mountain region near me. I enjoy very lightly peated, fruity macallan and balvenie or Dalwhinnie type scotches. Anything from Highlands or Speyside is my dram. I don't love heavily peated Islay scotch. I intend to experiment with barrel aging in pre seasoned barrels if this preface helps at all with your recommendations for a recipe. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD can someone just post a recipe and end the maddening, fruitless, endless abyss of research I have been doing? Thanks. As of now I have gathered the following that need clarifying:

1, Some recipes suggest a standard grain bill of 2 lbs (0.9 KG) malt per gallon (4.5L) water. I;ve seen allot of recipes that deviate from this.
2. Some recipes suggest the ORIGINAL SG (SG after mashing but before fermentation) should be 1.050 but that 1.06 or 1.07 is ok. Another recipe says your original SG should NEVER be below 1.060. Others say your whiskey mash typically has an originating SG between 1.06 and 1.07.
3. I have read that the FINAL SG of Scotch should be around 1.010 which is 7% and should NEVER be more more than 9%. However, I also read that Ardbeg will often have 9-11% ABV wash before distilling.

Questions:
1. After mashing, is it OK to sparge/add filtered spring water to reach the desired ORIGINAL SG (which I can only assume is somewhere around 1.06) as needed?
2. Water Ph levels seem important. ANy info here? I have heard that pH should be about 6.0 before mashing and that Enzymes that convert sugars in mash need a ph in the 5.2-5.6 ph range. Most water has a Ph of 7 but the mashing lowers that 7 down a bit so adding Gypsum at the start will also lower it a bit and get it close to the 5.2 - 5.6 range that's optimal according to some sources. Any info on water would ne much appreciated.
3. Yeast: Type of yeast and pitch temp is really divergent from recipe to recipe. Many reicpes don't even specify the type of yeast but the pitching temp is all over the place. One says pitch at between 23 C another at 26 °C. Some recipes say to pitch at 32 degree or 30 degree. This will obviously depend on the yeast and to a certain extent I assume I will just follow the yeast package instructions but according to other recipes, the wort should be cooled to about 21 degrees c (or 68f) before pitching and that anything between 15-25 degrees c is acceptable to ferment and pitch yeast. One guys says to pitch hot 9over 26 c) to get really good fruity esters (that's what I am after) but yet another says to pitch between 15-25 c. Can anyone just dumb this down and recommend a yeast and pitch temp?
4. Fermenting: This is again all over the place. One recipe ferments for just one day. One for 3 days until its 5-7% ABV. Some recipes said 10 days. One said that when the ferment dies allow it an extra week or two to develop esters and to "Don't worry if you see a milky surface". I am new to fermenting and some clear guidelines would be much appreciate. Example: Pitch the yeast and ferment for X days. at X temp.
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der wo
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by der wo »

Good read. :D
You have mentioned all the options you have. Now you have to choose. Look at the large Malt Whisky recipes here, read all the comments and choose. And then soon you will have a first result, which will provoke new questions.

My advice: Don't use the BIAB for mashing, but use it for straining. You need an even temperature and the ability to stir well. Both is more difficult with a BIAB. Never heat the mash, only heat the water.
der wo wrote:Per 10l mash:

- 6.5l water at 60°C in an insulated vessel.
- Switch it off and throw in 2kg(7%abv) - 2.75kg(10%abv) crushed malt.
- Wait and stir occasionally minimum 2 hours.
- Filter and press the mash with a BIAB cloth.
- Now you have probably around 6l filtered mash. You want at the end 10l. So the second water has to be 10 - 6 = 4l. Heat the 4l water up to at least 90°C.
- Switch it off and throw the malt back into the vessel
- Wait and stir occasionally until the temp has dropped to 55°C or lower. You can remove the insulation to speed this up if you want.
- Filter and press it and mix it to the first mash.
- Close it and pitch yeast after temp has dropped enough. I also like to add nutrients.

The first low temp water protects the enzymes. The second high temp water solves all the sugar and starch out of the malt. The enzymes of the first water will convert the starches of the second water during cooling down and fermentation.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by MDH »

A few notes.

You don't need to boil for Scotch - it's distilled very soon after fermentation providing little time for bacterial takeover. There is the possibility that if you use lower pitch rates to provide more fruitiness that you will encounter bacterial takeover; in this case, I would mash for an additional hour to extract more sugars, sparge and then boil.

Secondly, you will want to make sure your conversion is strong and complete and that your target specific gravity is relatively high - aim for 7-9% alcohol. This is because acids and enzymes from within the grain will together lower the pH of the mash to less than 5.3. After yeast addition, this puts the fermenting wort in the position to lower its pH even more to the middle-low 4's by the end. That shifts bacteria "preference" to lactobacillus, which is ideal for whisky and takes over the ferment gradually as the yeast run out of simple sugars to consume.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by bitter »

Actually doing a boil will help decrease puking.. so long as you boil just enough to get through hot break. Most scotch distilleries use open vats for fermentation so they are not worried about an infection after fermentation because they run it when its ready. But if you have limited time.. the boil will ensure you don't get an infection before you run it.

If you like peat like scotch use 50-100% peat smoked barley... if not decrease till it suits your taste.

Most distilleries have there own special yeast they use. You can find your own or use a neutral ale yeast will give a nice drop. Experiment... you might find something you like

B
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by MDH »

The last Scotch distiller I spoke to told me that they are using a combination of a high-ester Ale strain, and finishing with AB Mauri Distiller's Yeast which he told me was being cultivated in Australia.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Pikey »

WOW :D
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der wo
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by der wo »

MDH wrote:The last Scotch distiller I spoke to told me that they are using a combination of a high-ester Ale strain, and finishing with AB Mauri Distiller's Yeast which he told me was being cultivated in Australia.
Here is a list of Scottish distilleries and their yeasts:
http://whiskyscience.blogspot.de/2011/0 ... rties.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
But I think such details are not yet important for the OP. He can start with bakers yeast. And then when everything works, perhaps he will think about yeast strains.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Bushman »

Good information. I do as der wo suggests in his first post
Never heat the mash, only heat the water.
. You might want to look at Jimbo's process in the Tried &True recipe section.
Jimbo's single malt AG recipe
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Thank you all for the reply's kind gentleman! This helps clarify a few important points for sure. And thanks Der Wo for the great details. Very helpful my friend! I was able to locate some Safspirit M-1 Distillers yeast by Fermentis which is said to impart fruity flavors which I like. I will be trying my first batch with it. I am also starting to enjoy some peated malts so am going to do a mixture of peated and Optic barley. I was intending to use the BIAB method only because I am a newb to brewing and it seemed easy. However, it seems like it would be just as easy to use the BIAB Bag to simply strain it into the fermenter so thanks for that tip as well. I will try that. I had not thought of dipping the bag of malt back into a hotter water and sparging when it cools like that but the reasoning for this sounds smart so I will try that too. In fact I think I will try der wo's recipe exactly! Its actually a great recipe for me because I have a 20 litre alembic pot still and I have been told not to fill it more than 50% to prevent issues (not exactly clear what issues specifically I am preventing but I know when to take advice from those more experienced than me. So I don't ask questions, Will just distill at 50% still capacity for the reason of being better safe than sorry)
Der Wo do you know what specific gravities this recipe is aiming to produce? How critical is it to the final product that an exacting SG be reached? I think my only area I want to get a little more clear on is the proper fermentation duration for good scotch and how to know when its done fermenting and ready to distill... does anyone have any comments about how long to ferment? Der wo how long did you ferment for this recipe? Any comments about distilling "the lees" . Is this done when making scotch? Does it help with flavors? Does it burn in the still? Advanyages? Disadvantages? Thanks again. Greatful to this cumminity and all your kind reply's!
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Also, can anyone comment on preheating the scotch whisky wash before putting it into the still? In other words is it a good practice to take the finished wash and preheat it in a separate boilers before pouring it into the alembic still to start distilling?
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

One more question comes to mind about your recipe der wo (sorry to be a pain) what nutrients do you add in and how much?

Thanks again

K
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der wo
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by der wo »

To fill it 50% is on the safe side. I usually fill 70%. But then I have to strip slower than possible.
The SG depends on the malt content. 2.75kg malt, total 10l, will give you around 1.077. 2kg malt around 1.054. FG should be 1.000. Higher SG means more abv and stronger taste. Lower SG means less abv and finer taste.
And a higher SG needs longer to ferment dry. But generally the fermentation duration depends on temperature, yeast strain, yeast amount and preparation... You should run in when the airlock shows no activity anymore or when the SG doesn't drop anymore. 4 days or 2 weeks are possible...
The lees: In opposite to a brewers mash you will have much lees, because you didn't remove them before fermentation (boiling, cold brake, siphoning). And of course the yeast will be at the bottom. I often distilled with the yeast, sometimes without. Didn't change much. The Scotts distill with the lees. Lees can scorch. Heat the wash up with open lid and stir with a mash paddle. So you can feel if it tends to scorch. Then distill slow and if possible insulate the still.
I use plant fertilizer (1tsp bluecorn per 10l mash), 1 Vit. B pill, 2 tbsp garden chalk (against pH crash) and a few crumbs copper oxide or carbonate (against sulfides).

kevin,
even the best questions and answers will not prevent, that also you will have a few fails especially at the beginning of the hobby.
In this way, imperialism brings catastrophe as a mode of existence back from the periphery of capitalist development to its point of departure. - Rosa Luxemburg
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Again, that you all for your assistance and especially der wo for your generous responses and rgeat recipe sharing. At the risk of annoying everyone with my newb questions, I have two more related to this subject. Maybe the answers will be of some help to the next newb wishing to break into the hobby.

1. Distillation Temperature. What temperature should I heat my still to? Is there an ideal temp to maintain the still for Scotch? I have been told that for a newb its best to go low and slow? How long would it take to do a stripping run and a spirit run on a 17liter batch in an Alembic pot still? Should I allocate a full day per batch? Any tips on temp would be great. This is literally the last and final area that I feel like I have a huge hole in my knowledge that needs to be filled before I start. I heard it can take 5-8 hours to complete, depending on the size, shape, temperature and charge of the still.

2. Lastly Between the stripping run and the spirit run, do you clean out the pot ale and throw it away after the spirit run? I know this is a total neewb question but I need to be clear on this please. In other words, do I add the distillate from the stripping run back into a cleaned out still before the spirit run or just dump it onto the pot ale?

Is it true that you know the distiallation run is finished when the distillate coming out is under 1% abv. I have geard that at 1% you should have about 2/3rds of the original still volume emplty and 1/3rd is left which is the pot ale. So if you start with 20L still 70% full you will be pouring 17.5L in to the still. When 5.8 liters comes out you have boiled out one third. At this point, check the ABV on the last container and see if its around 1%. If so, youre done the first run. Is my basic understanding here flawed or am I on point?

Obviously I will be determining feints by smell etc and I have studied this somewhat but I also want to be able to do some basic math on distillate value and know how to take ABV measurements to know when I am getting to the end of the run so I don't scortch the pot.

Thanks,

K



The wash distillation is mixed in with the foreshots and the feints from previous spirit distillations and distilled in the spirit still.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

kevin007 wrote: 1. Distillation Temperature.
For Scotch keep it warm to hot. The yeast will take it to 76-80+, I let it drop to 70 then I increase it to 74 for at least 24 hours to finish it. I run a waterbath with a pump and aquarium heater to keep temps where I want them. Local rum guy does his at 100 to develop esters. I'm not that brave yet.

For a Scotch style whiskey, time and infections make the best whiskey. Open and longer ferments (7-10days) develop flavors. I will clean my equipment but I rarely sanitize. Since I started using dunder I kinda gave up on the whole sanitation idea.
kevin007 wrote:2. Lastly Between the stripping run and the spirit run, do you clean out the pot ale and throw it away after the spirit run?
Most people do but it doesn't need to be super clean. Some people will keep some backset(pot ale) with it to add flavor. This will be something you can decide on as your style. I probably wound't use all the backset, but enough to dilute the low wines to 40% abv.
kevin007 wrote:Is it true that you know the distillation run is finished when the distillate coming out is under 1% abv.
The distilation run is finished when you think it is. For Scotch stripping run I keep it going until I get fairly cloudy spirit coming out. That's normally pretty low on the % scale, but it's been a while since I measured. Scotch needs tails for flavor, especially smoke.

For the spirit run setup your jars and go from there. The first couple times you're learning the cuts and flavors of the difference parts of the run (Fores, Heads, Hearts, Tails). This is not something that is a one and done. Each spirit style you make the cuts will change. I didn't get cuts very well until I had ~10 runs completed. At that point I could start to recognize the flavors in commerical spirits.
kevin007 wrote:The wash distillation is mixed in with the foreshots and the feints from previous spirit distillations and distilled in the spirit still.
Dump the foreshots, everything else is fine. Some people will refer to the heads and tales as the feints, some only are refering to the tails. You can do both heads and tails for scotch for flavor and alcohol recovery.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by masonsjax »

#1 Distillation Temperature
Single Malt Yinzer addressed FERMENTATION Temperature. If you did actually mean distillation temp, well... it's not good practice to distill based on temperature. Depending on the exact mix of compounds in any given wash, the boiling temp will vary. Better to run by taste, smell, feel, sound, sight instead. Practice makes perfect, just start running and keep doing it often. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

I concur with the rest of what SMY had to say, good advice.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by der wo »

kevin,
there is no temperature to hold except you run a reflux still.
The stripping run can be done within 2h if you want. It depends on the danger of sorching and puking, what speed you can use. Many here strip 1/4 of the wash volume, what means 17l : 4 = 4.25l low wines. I recommend to collect 1/3, what means 5.7l low wines. It will result in a stronger taste without downsides IMO. But when you have only reached a low wash abv (6% for example), you will perhaps need three distillations for a good yield and a good taste, if you stripped 1/3. So if you want to collect 1/3, aim for 8-10% abv (or add the feints to the wash instead of the low wines. Generally your feints will help to get a broad middle cut.). I don't care, if I have 1, 2 or 0% at the end. BTW, I don't think it's measurable. Probably there are more congeners than ethanol here, which all affect the specific gravity.

"Pot ale" is backset? Normally you throw it away, clean (not sterilizing) the still and after 3 fast stripping runs you do 1 slow spirit run.

Edited a mistake
Last edited by der wo on Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Single Malt Yinzer
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

masonsjax wrote:#1 Distillation Temperature
Single Malt Yinzer addressed FERMENTATION Temperature.
Sometimes SMY doesn't really pay attention... :moresarcasm: Thanks MasonsJax for correcting that significant oversight on my part. :ebiggrin:
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Jes2xu »

kevin007 wrote:Hi all! I hope I am not an annoying newb when I ask this question. . . .
Thanks for asking dude, and a huge thanks to all that answered!

. . . .. . It seems now I don't need to ask most of the questions I was going to :)
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Thanks EVERYONE! Great tips. I was talking distillation temp but those tips on keeping a nice warm ferment are helpful too. I might use an electric blanket I have at the house to keep my fermenters warm. The tip "it's not good practice to distill based on temperature. Depending on the exact mix of compounds in any given wash, the boiling temp will vary. Better to run by taste, smell, feel, sound, sight instead" super helpful. From what I have read that is exactly what I had gathered but that's the info I was hoping to clarify in the forum and I did. I think I am ready. Wish me luck. I will write back with my results once done. Cheers all!
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

I promise this is my last question before I start my batch. Do you put ALL of the distillate that comes off the first stripping run into the spirit run? In other words, do I throw out the foreshots from the first "stripping run" the way I would in the final sprit run or is it fine to collect EVERYTHING from the stripping run, including foreshots and put it into the second "spirit run"
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

der wo you mention that "there is no temperature to hold except when you run a potstill". I am running a copper alembic pot still. Not a column still. So, does that meant hat your rule applies to me and there is in fact a temperature I should run because I am in fact using a pot still?
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by der wo »

A mistake. I edited it now. Thanks.

Some distillers remove a small amount foreshots at the stripping, other distillers not. I generally don't remove much even at the spirit run, because I let evaporate more than the most members here during aging.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by MDH »

Scotch distillers run by ABV, not temperature. They have a measuring device (usually an alcohol meter; like a specific gravity meter which you may be familiar with but made of a different substance) and read this to make cuts.

In my own case, the initial distillation of any recipe is done using a spreadsheet in which notes of current ABV and correlated smells/tastes are written, along with timestamps, and essential information such heat settings and environment setting around the still (e.g. room temperature).

With Scotch-style distillations, I typically don't run as slow as possible - in fact, I run a little fast. I've said before here, "on the fast end of slow". Using this method I get a flavor is a little more well rounded. I do very frequent smell/taste tests using a small snifter, and dilute each one of those smell tests with mineral water.

Evaluation is done by first smelling from far away to get the most aggressive volatiles, then closer to get a sense of the "core" of the spirit, then actually emptying the glass, waiting a few moments, and smelling it again (the most heavy aspects can be found - they will be your endpalate). I do this as much as ten times during a run, mostly during crucial moments such as head to late head or late tail to tail.
The still is not a liar. Mash and ferment quality is 99.9% of your performance.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

One thing about the temp: If you keep the power to the heater at the same level, once you hit the boiling point of alcohol, the temp will not rise as fast. It will rise much more slowly as the alcohol (and some water) boil off. Read this as to why: http://electron6.phys.utk.edu/101/CH7/Boiling.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

You'll hear the pot boiling once it hits the boiling point of alcohol. I only mention it because the first couple times you're distilling it's weird to hear it boiling while the temp is way less than 212. My finish still is a copper alambic also, and it actually starts moving a bit with the intensity of the boiling liquids.

Just be safe, use a flour mixture (aka Distiller's biscuits) on all seals, including around the pot and the head of the still.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

Thank you gents. I feel much better not going into my first run blind and thank to you guys I have a great sense of how to proceed. Im sure there is room for trial and error but at least I have a plan and will be safe. I am grateful for the tips! MDH I like the idea of using a spreadhseet to track how well a recipe does. My end goal is to make a great scotch so I am going to copy this practice as it seems like a smart step to perfecting your craft. Single Malt Ynizer that's really good info on what to expect. Thanks for that. I notice you say you use the alembic for your "finish still" do you use a different still for your stripping or initial runs? Just curious
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

Yes I have two. My wash still is a 13 gallon ss "milk can" with a 5500 watt electric element. It makes striping easier and faster, about 2 hours for a 6 gallon batch. I only have a 1000 watt hotplate for the alambic so it took 3-4 hours to strip a 4 gallon batch, and it couldn't handle 5 gallons at all. It's great for 1-2 gallons of low wines and it makes a great product.
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

So I finished my first run using this thread of recipe/tips/instructions. I have about 4 liters of finished "new make spirit" at about 63.5 ABV. I poured this into one 3 liter barrel that had sherry in it for about a month and another 1 liter barrel that had port in it for a month. I am not holding my breath though for this spirit to improve. I have never smelled or tasted new make scotch before but unless this is normal, I feel like something went wrng with this batch. I cant quite peg it down but it does NOT smell like any scotch I ve ever tasted. It has a sort of sweet smell. Like apples. Smells like barley in the background maybe? maybe a bit like bakery dough? the taste is very sweet on the tip of the tongue. then very bitter/nutty on the after taste. Something altogether not scotchy about it. Do you guys think it will change or come together with time in the barrel? or do you think I ruined it somehow? This is what I did.

1. Using der wo's recipe I made 3 X 20 liter wash batches. I doubled the recipe. I steeped 5kg of barley (Optic Malt in one, Distillers Malt in one, and Gambrius Malt in the other) in 60 degree water for 2 hours. I filtered and pressed it through a biab cloth into the fermenter. I then took the grains and dipped into the waterI heated in a second pot of 90 degree water and let it cool to 55 degrees. then I filtered and pressed this too.

2. I used safspirit fermentis whisky yeast. 1 teaspoon pitched into each fermented bucket holding about 19 liters or so each (lost a bit of volume retained in the spent grains maybe?) I pitched at 25 dgrees.

3. One finished wash came out at 1.06 og the other at 1.065 og. the third at 1.07

4. I put a space heater on because bvy fermenters were in the basement where temps can be 19 degrees celcius at times. The sticker tstats on the side of my fermenters remained at about 26-28 degrees celcius throughut the ferment. This whisky yeast can work up to 32 degrees according to the package. I tried to keep a warm ferment. I double checked temps by peaking into bucket and shotting a temp gun at it once in a awhile.

5. For the first 3 days the air locks bubbled nicely then nothing. I checked for changes to OG daily. My refractometer was crap and had a blurry line. Wasn't reliable. The hydrometer showed very litter to no change when wash hit 1.001. 1.002 and 1.0025 pn the hydrometer reading.

6. I gave it one more day then fired up my still after giving it a good vinegar run and cleaning the day before.

7. Each of my finished washes now had about 15 liters in them with spent lees laying in the bottom (perhaps 2) liters of water. I left this out. I measured 15 liters from each fermenter and distilled 15 liter batches in my alembic 20 liter pot still.

8. For each batch I distilled the same. I ran out a stiupping run without discarding any foreshots. Each one I took about 1/3rd of the original volume (5 liters) of low wines. the last drops recorded about 10 abv before I quit.

9. I took the low wines from all 3 runs, and added them to a 15 liter spirit run. The spirit run was done on a propane turkey fryer. At the advice of some, I dindt pay much attention to temp. I ran the stripping run with about a pencil led sized output for most of it (steady drip at the end) and about 100 degrees to 105 degrees. On the spirit run I treied to go slower holding a small flame and tyring to keep my temp at about 95 degrees (at times it climbed to 100 or more despite my best efforts).

10. I found out later in a you tube video that I am supposed NOT exceed 95 degrees on the still head (wish someone would have told me this before) I was told in the same video to hold the still at 168 degrees for 10 minutes and when it stop producing about 10 minutes in the foreshots and heads will be gone. I was told that for the duration of 173 to 179 degrees f it will be the hearts. Again, no one told me this so I hope this isn't where I screwed up.

11. I collected the spirit run into 500 ml jars. I discarded 500 ml of foreshots (150ml for each of the 15 liter washes then 50ml more just to be safe. The next 500 ml jars were (jar 2 80%, jar 3 77%, jar 4 76%, jar 5 75%, jar 6 %, jar 7 68.5 % jar 8 65%, jar 9 57%, jar 10 50%, jar 11 40%) I kept jar 10, 11, 12 and 13 (12 and 13 had pretty low abv) to add to a future wash (although I might not add them and might flush them down the topilet if this new make spirit does not improve in the barrels.

12. I know I am new at this, but I am afrid I did something wrong so that the foreshots, heads, hearts and tails all kind of mixed together in the jars? Is that possible? I say this, because I found very litter disernable variation in smell and taste between jars (except the first jar I threw away wheich had a more sickly sweet acetone nail polish smell than the rest) I found most of the jars smelled very similar well into the tails. I didn't get any of the wet dog, smelly socks, wet carboard smell that many say the tials should smell like.

13. basically ALL MY JARS HAVE THAT BARLEY, DOUGH, APPLE, BITTER SMELL/TAST TO THEM. I LOVE scotch and this does not taste like any scotch Ive ever had. Do you think it might improve in the wood?

Again thanks to this gourp for all your kind feedback. I look forward to getting any notes you may be able to offer.

Thanks,
kevin007
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

I should edit for jar 6 I got % and also this hobby is the best hobby I have every had! cant wait to learn and grow and develop workable skills! thank again to this group for facilitating that and sharing knowledge!
kevin007
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Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:22 pm

Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by kevin007 »

lets try that agin (sorry my num lock was on) jar 6 had (drum roll....) 73%. there. got it.
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HDNB
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Re: Scotch Recipe

Post by HDNB »

i'll leave some of those Q's for others.

If you were expecting to hit it out of the park on the first go, i think maybe you expected too much. if you do the same thing over and over again though...it will get better each time as you sort the details.

Acetaldehyde smells of green apples /fruity. heads... the bitter indicate tails. Both in the same drink indicates no or poor cuts. Did you read kiwistiller's guide to cuts? (in novice section)
Alternatively and most likely, smearing throughout the run...this just takes practice on your equipment. took me like 20+ runs on a new plate over the course of months to figure out how to get a good drop out of my latest still. it's all about heat in / product out and finding the sweet spot for your gear.

you'll get it. if this was easy, everybody be doin' it. :ebiggrin:
I finally quit drinking for good.

now i drink for evil.
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