What'd ya'll make today?

Production methods from starch to sugars.

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NZChris
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by NZChris »

CoogeeBoy wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:58 pm
NZChris wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:13 pm I've been adding slaked lime, daily, into a collection of nasty feints that I'd accumulated over the past couple of years, until the pH got to 7.5. I filtered precipitate out once, then, when it reached 7.5, filtered it again and ran it in a Bokakob.
Now this is timely. My wash is going slowly and I checked the pH, it was 7.4.

Looking at Bluc's post, is that too high for a wash?
bluc wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:34 am Wouldn't esterfercation(is that a word) already have happened. Does alkaline break down esters? I thought it only prevented them...
Of course I normally have the opposite problem with pH crash but I am using oyster shells (it is a TTFV wash by the way)

Any thoughts?
Letting the pH of a wash go over 7 can produce smells similar to rotting flesh. I was cleaning up feints, not wash.
Shells do not actually buffer at a pH you want. If you use too much, or leave them in too long after the ferment finishes, they can wreck your wash.
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rubberduck71
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by rubberduck71 »

Spirit run of an Irish Whiskey sugarhead.

Stripping corn whiskey sugarhead later this week!

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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Now this is timely. My wash is going slowly and I checked the pH, it was 7.4.

Looking at Bluc's post, is that too high for a wash?
bluc wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 3:34 am Wouldn't esterfercation(is that a word) already have happened. Does alkaline break down esters? I thought it only prevented them...
Of course I normally have the opposite problem with pH crash but I am using oyster shells (it is a TTFV wash by the way)

Any thoughts?
[/quote]
Letting the pH of a wash go over 7 can produce smells similar to rotting flesh. I was cleaning up feints, not wash.
Shells do not actually buffer at a pH you want. If you use too much, or leave them in too long after the ferment finishes, they can wreck your wash.
[/quote]

Thank you! Taking them out today.
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by tombombadil »

I started a booners but with a yeast called "Philly Sour". It's designed to be used with berlinner weise type beers where you want some tartness. It produces it's own lactic acid, enough to be pretty tart when it's done fermenting. I'm wondering if this will make it an interesting whiskey yeast. I might use it for a HBB type of spirit I'll be working on in a couple months.

So far it's chugging along as expected. There was about a 36 hour lag time but I didn't make a starter so maybe I'll have to do that next time I use it, if there's a next time.

I'm fermenting at the upper end of the fermentation range as my fermentation fridge was turned back in to a normal chest freezer after I shot a pig :) 150 pounds of pork was not going to fit in my normal freezer...
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

Starting to grind corn, old school, for a batch of all corn myself.
20210730_184730.jpg
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Stonecutter »

Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:06 pm Starting to grind corn, old school, for a batch of all corn myself.
20210730_184730.jpg
Hell yeah! Ye olde Corn grinder from earlier this month eh? Did you do the restorations yourself Deplorable?
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

Stonecutter wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:41 pm
Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:06 pm Starting to grind corn, old school, for a batch of all corn myself.
20210730_184730.jpg
Hell yeah! Ye olde Corn grinder from earlier this month eh? Did you do the restorations yourself Deplorable?
I did. All but the welding. There was a piece broken out on the flywheel where it mounts to the shaft. A brother from lodge got it welded up for me.
I soaked everything in vinegar for 72 hours to remove the rust, gave it a good scrub with a scotchbrite pad, and two coats of primer and two coats of paint to the outside. replaced all the hardware with new SS bolts and nuts. ran some rice through it, then some popcorn. made a few adjustments to get the setting where I wanted it, and grabbed a 50# sack of field corn to try it out.
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It's a workout. The hopper holds about 3 pounds, and it takes 5 minutes to grind through a hopper full. 2 Hoppers full per arm gives you a good arm pump. Its about 92F in the garage, so Im gonna finish the rest of the bag in the morning when its cooler. I got about half way through it tonight.
Im going to grind this bag and mash it with enzymes, 2 pounds per gallon and see what I get for an OG. If I dont get 8 to 10%, I'll run the next sack through a little finer, or run it a 2nd pass through my roller mill, but there is a lot of flour in this. I think I'll be okay on a no boil mash. My intention is to fill a 5 gallon barrel with 100% corn. at $13 a bag, I should be able to fill a barrel for $60 or so.

If Im not satisfied with the yield, from feed corn, I'll go back to corn meal, but at 1/3 the cost of cornmeal, I have to at least try it out. My experience with corn meal and SCD's easy mashing technique gets me 1.068 to 1.074 consistently at 2#/gallon.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by jonnys_spirit »

Wow! Sounds like a workout! I’ve used feed corn a few times and it’s been pretty much the same as grocery store corn meal. Here it’s only $7/sack so well worth it.

Your mill looks great restored :)

Cheers!
-j
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

jonnys_spirit wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:53 pm Wow! Sounds like a workout! I’ve used feed corn a few times and it’s been pretty much the same as grocery store corn meal. Here it’s only $7/sack so well worth it.

Your mill looks great restored :)

Cheers!
-j
Thanks Jonny, it's funny where this hobby takes you.
Those results are good to hear.
Bob's Red Mill cornmeal is $18 for a 25 pound bag. Whole corn at TS is $13 for a 50 pound bag. If my results are as good as yours, I might just barter for one of them fancy AMA grain grinders. But the story of hand made whiskey from corn ground on a 110 year old grist mill by hand makes the booze better. A few drops of sweat makes the corn sweeter too. :wink:
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Stonecutter »

If my maths right that is damn near a 45 minute free workout (off grid) just for tonight. I’m sure the sweat’ll add a distinctive flavor profile that can’t be beat. Send some vintage grinder vibes my way would ya?
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

Stonecutter wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:12 pm If my maths right that is damn near a 45 minute free workout (off grid) just for tonight. I’m sure the sweat’ll add a distinctive flavor profile that can’t be beat. Send some vintage grinder vibes my way would ya?

Hand milling corn for likker is like splitting your own fire wood. It heats you twice :wink:
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Twisted Brick »

Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:39 pm
Hand milling corn for likker is like splitting your own fire wood. It heats you twice :wink:
Here here! Great job on the mill reno!
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Bryan1 »

Did a single malt mash today, malted all my own malt and got a full conversion, now the results from last years run are outstanding so time to get this years under way and off to a good start
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by jonnys_spirit »

Finished up the mini reflux alembic mod. 1” over 3/4” mini CM RC. Not even sure whether it’s going to knock down full power on the hotplate but it’ll probably do something.
B3415136-4EA2-41E9-9EA5-B173BCA56CB2.jpeg

Split rotating top to be packed with copper mesh or whatever.
D075DB48-B7F0-4FB7-90E9-1DE8D4C3F471.jpeg
Little 2.5 gallon boiler seems just about right for certain feints batches. Not really looking for neutral out of this so I’ll clean it up and and see how she runs.

Cheers!
-j
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

I got up early this morning, and finished milling the 50# bag of whole corn, and its now mashing, waiting for 180F to add the enzymes. Should be ready for the first dose in about two hours or so. I'm a little short on headspace in my fermenter for this mash, so I'm going to have to pull off a few gallons after the two enzyme treatments, and ferment some of this in a 6 gallon bucket or I'll have a mess to clean up.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:39 pm
Stonecutter wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:41 pm
Deplorable wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:06 pm Starting to grind corn, old school, for a batch of all corn myself.
20210730_184730.jpg
Hell yeah! Ye olde Corn grinder from earlier this month eh? Did you do the restorations yourself Deplorable?
It's a workout. The hopper holds about 3 pounds, and it takes 5 minutes to grind through a hopper full. 2 Hoppers full per arm gives you a good arm pump. Its about 92F in the garage, so Im gonna finish the rest of the bag in the morning when its cooler.
Isn't that what you've got children for?
When mine got too big to go up chimneys, I had to find something else useful for them to do!

I stripped 50l of TTFV for about 10l @50% or so.

Going to prepare my neutral for Christmas goodies, lemoncello, a raspberry liqueur, all that good stuff.
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

Isn't that what you've got children for?
Only one left at home, and he's always working.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by CoogeeBoy »

Deplorable wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 4:05 pm
Isn't that what you've got children for?
Only one left at home, and he's always working.
:)
Clearly not a corn grinder like his father, or his father's father, or his father's father's father!
Taking a break while I get a new still completed....
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

He's slowly becoming a whiskey sipper, so i told him if he wants to drink my booze, he has to start helping. I need a still hand.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

Pitched yeast this morning on 25 gallons of my first all corn whiskey. 2#/gallon got me a OG of 1.064. If I can consistently get that from feed store corn, I wont be buying any more corn meal. As good as it smelled while it was gelling yesterday, I think Im going to go get a bag of Crystal Malt and some Wheat Malt, and see if I can make me a Kettle Corn Whiskey.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by jonnys_spirit »

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Running some SSS low wines in sac mode to test the mini alembic reflux setup out. I can get full reflux so we’ll see. Split column is not ideal W:H ratio but maybe it’ll be useful.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by jonnys_spirit »

B8770650-819C-4B80-977F-0ABECE3DF18C.jpeg
I might check with a better hydro
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i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
————
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by NormandieStill »

That's awful pretty JS!

I made some beer. An oatmeal stout. For the first time I actually made a genuine AG beer with hops and everything! And as I was weighing up the best way of getting the spent grains out of the bag and into the compost bin without putting them all over the floor, I thought, why not make a gumbalhead.

So I've got 2.5kg of sugar in 18L of water mixed with the biab and the last dregs that had drained from it while the wort was boiling and the left-overs from the cold break after I siphoned off the wort into the fermenter. That last addition may have been a mistake as it occurred to me afterwards that this means there are some hops in the wash. Proportionally the amount should be pretty small. Going to do some more adventures in micro-stilling in a couple of weeks.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by River Rat »

I put together a 15 gallon panela wash yesterday. I'll use dunder from the strip in a second 15 gallon wash in a few weeks. Looking forward to comparing the all panela rum to some all molasses rum. This stuff took off QUICK with bakers yeast.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Deplorable »

I squeezed 50# of corn. Now I'll let it sit for two weeks before I can get to a stripping run and putting down another 50# to ferment. Days like today make me want another HDPE barrel. One for fermenting, and one for racking into and settling.
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by TGCobb »

I did the forth round of my sour mash
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Yonder »

I MADE my wife mad as hell. Didn’t get any pictures to share tho’. :problem:
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by General47 »

Mornin' Lads

Here in the Southern tip of Africa, we are in our 503rd day of a 21 day lockdown, we have had adjusted regulations from bans on buying open toes shoes, alcohol and sigarrettes to almost everything in between at its worst... anyway...

a local small brewery closed down and they were selling off some used equipment and I managed to get 2 x 350l plastic conical fermentation tanks for next to nothing.

So following some of the great advice on this site I wanted to do a decent single malt all grain. This would be my first all grain, only ever did rum and sugar washes before this.

So I started by taking the tank out from its stand and giving it a good clean and scrubbing, followed by a hosing down and a no rinse sanitizer spray applied after that.

I added what I think was 200l of tap water (I dont have another inexpensive water source). I let it stand uncovered for a day. My reasoning behind this is if there is any chlorine, It should use this opportunity to leave the tank.

I then introduced a 3000W floating element, this was probably the most ineffiecient thing i've ever come across after 20 hours I was only up to 83 degrees Celcius, I started at 12 degrees (winter and all) I wanted a boil, but alas. I waited for the temp to reach 75 degrees C, then added in my 50 kg of malt. (I rounded off the measurements I find that the mix should be around 1 part grain to 4 parts water, where sugar washes I push this to 1 part sugar to 5 parts water.)

I stirred every 30 minutes and after 1 and a half hour I had an SG of 1.063 which by the standard of what I have read here is quite acceptable. I let the mix cool down for a day until I reached 30 Degrees and then added 200gr of M1 whiskey distillers yeast and 5 x oyster shells that I have boiled previously to sanitize and added my fishtank heater to keep the mix at temp for the rest of the fermentation.

I am happy to report that there is a sourish fermentlike odor coming off the mix with evidence of bubbles forming on top of the layer of grain that arose to the top. Top layer is maybe 7cm thick of fairly dry spent malt. I am assuming that the process has been a success thus far. I dont wanna mess with it too much at this stage in the fermentation but I will check in in 2 weeks to update this post on how things went.

200l water
50kg malt europ pale ale malt
200 grams M1 whiskey yeast
5 x boiled oyster shells

I was always the plan to ferment on the grain, the conical fermenter has a tap at the bottom so I can dispense wash into a 30 liter bucket through a sift that will catch the grains.

In retrospect for the next batch (next year probably) I will boil water on propane in 20 liter batches after 2 batches I will add the element in, this should bring me up to the boiling point much faster thatn the element alone. Also I can keep count of the water I add to bring me up to 200L. as i was not sure I hit the 200L mark exactly. (open to suggestions from Y'all here)

Thanks for reading
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by Toxxyc »

My only worry with fermenting with grains is always the grains souring. Grains sour REALLY fast, like overnight, if the temperature is even remotely in the right range.

Anyways, who closed down in Malmesbury? I know a lot of small places closed down and I'm trying to keep track here and there. Apiwe is also out of business :(
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Re: What'd ya'll make today?

Post by bronctoad »

whew!!! :sarcasm: I just finished a 14 hour slog fest.

3 strips of teddys ffv :) .

For my 2nd attempt at running my column.

A 3" X36" stainless , With home made (oversized :( ) spp

Time for a nip :D

I hope everyone else has had a good day too :wave:
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