Glass jars Solera system (dynamic spirits aging)

[VLAGAVULVIN]

When you have the only cask, you pour something into it, wait, wait some more, then wait again. And it turns out that nothing good happened. Familiar? Another situation: have no cask at all. There is a large carboy in which you blend your spirits, throwing certain staves into it, aerating, waiting, getting a good effect... but you no longer remember how and what you did, i.e. you can not ensure the repeatability of that effect. Ever happened?

I have a couple of "single malt whisky" projects that are being matured in the glass jars step by step / level to level. Starter spirits on the 1st level could be same or different fractions, nuked or not (depends on one's fantasy and targets). First level jars quantity: 3 or more in my case. Fresh staves to be added from time to time onto the upper level. Exhausted ones go (partially) down or (mostly) away.
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How it works. From the bottom carboy (which is at least 3 times larger by vol. than the top jars) I take about 1/3 of its contents as "finished product" for bottling. Then I take the same volume (in total) from level 2 and place it on level 3. At the same time, the volumes do not have to be equal to each other: the benchmark is to achieve repeatability at the lower level (nose and tongue as analyzers). Then from the first level I add to the second. Finally, onto the first level I add fresh portions of newmake.

That's all, have fun or amend, develop, correct, share your experience here, please!

[LWTCS]

I like it.
Any time I have ever created an infinity bottle I have always felt that (more often than not) the sum was mostly better than any individual addition.

Are you utilizing multiple types of fermentation material or multiple distillation techniques? Or is your process always the same to the extent possible?

[Bushman]

Nice write-up and chart. I do the solera method slightly different but should give similar results.

[zed255]

I do similar with my rum, except my 'levels' are all the same volume save for the bulk carboy with the youngest product is in. I make no special effort to oxidize, just headspace and a cloth gasket. I do use different treatments like toast and char on the wood and vary the ABV in each vessel. I like the results. As with any ageing process, the longer the better, assuming for a hobbiest the true upper limit is well past even the most patient. I think this style of ageing and by default blending makes for a more consistent result.

[jonnys_spirit]

I'm working this too using glass and badmo as the final vessel. As the BadMo becomes neutral we'll see but I do put different wood into the preceding jars. If the final vessel is a bit too non-dimensional I'm finding that I can cut the new make vessel a bit wider and it blends down fairly quick - and in my case I'm using a four container system so I have four choices to make a blend at any time but the final is usually the best in any case...

Cheers,
j

[squigglefunk]

I do something similar where I have a bunch of gallon jars of booze that I transfer and blend into my stomach for final processing. I call it the solar plexus system as it tickles my ganglia

[VLAGAVULVIN]

Are you utilizing multiple types of fermentation material or multiple distillation techniques? Or is your process always the same to the extent possible?

A good question, it depends... Within the framework of one project, the barley malt wort [fermenting off-the-grain] is always the same. Maybe a little more Special-B malt this time and a bit less Dark Caramel malt for the next generation's wort, according to the current odor/taste status of the 2nd level's jars. Always double distilled Scotch classics. But one time I could take a bit longer heads or the other day to dive deeper into tails - depending on the ferment and low wines parameters and "nosing-tonguing on the fly" of the run. Now what I meant by "fractions". For example, I collect some late heads and early hearts in separately. And I add late hearts and early tails there in. Willing to nuke-freeze-nuke them all with gator skin staves in a separate jar of my level-1. This jar could also have a tiny quantity of sweet waters and/or wort and/or even ferment (really tiny little). The main hearts will rest in peace a jar with toasted staves, for example. The third jar could extract not only from staves but also from some crushed chaga (yeah, it's getting now a bit away from the classics, but I'm not Dr. Lumsden or Brian Kinsman, lol). Small innovative batches as hobby only, you know...

Nice write-up and chart. I do the solera method slightly different but should give similar results.

Thanks! Will you probably be so kind as to describe your milestone differences in a couple of words?

I do similar with my rum, except my 'levels' are all the same volume save for the bulk carboy with the youngest product is in. I make no special effort to oxidize, just headspace and a cloth gasket. I do use different treatments like toast and char on the wood and vary the ABV in each vessel. I like the results. As with any ageing process, the longer the better, assuming for a hobbiest the true upper limit is well past even the most patient. I think this style of ageing and by default blending makes for a more consistent result.

My 1st level jars in sum make that 1/3 of the bottom carboy. So, I totally empty them every time and then fill with newmake. Different treatments is the great thing, yupp! The oldest spirit in my "lighter solera" is dated by Sept.-2018

I do something similar where I have a bunch of gallon jars of booze that I transfer and blend into my stomach for final processing. I call it the solar plexus system as it tickles my ganglia

[squigglefunk]

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what do you use for the "aquarium pump" I assume not a regular fish tank air stone and air line? I know they make stainless steel "Sintered" air stones for carbonating beer....

[VLAGAVULVIN]

what do you use for the "aquarium pump" I assume not a regular fish tank air stone and air line?

And not a regular aquarium, tho

I know they make stainless steel "Sintered" air stones for carbonating beer....

Yes, these sintered ones. There is one bullsh!t that I noticed while working with them. If you blow a distillate infused on a sherry staves then for some period of time it smells like hydrogen sulfide. Here is such a "stainless steel" from the Chinese.

[VLAGAVULVIN]

I'm working this too using glass and badmo as the final vessel. As the BadMo becomes neutral we'll see but I do put different wood into the preceding jars. If the final vessel is a bit too non-dimensional I'm finding that I can cut the new make vessel a bit wider and it blends down fairly quick - and in my case I'm using a four container system so I have four choices to make a blend at any time but the final is usually the best in any case...

Sounds great. For my solera vat, I would use / blow into some "tired out" exhausted cask could I have it at hand...

[PalCabral]

Interesting thread, Vlaga!

For hobby distillers, a Solera system is the most practical way to achieve some sort of aged blended product, that can get close to the blending possibilities of cellared vintages that large distilleries (sometimes) have to their disposal, and it makes an alternative to the more typical single batch matured product of moonshiners. When I lived in Portugal I schemed on a solera project for my Aguardente Velha, Portuguese Cognac-style brandy, where the first two children generations would be grape specific and the Solera would be a blend. Never got there though.

You need to produce a lot of the same product though to be able to have a Solera system containing at least 3 generations, or is your Solera a blend of many different products? If it is the latter, the Solera will not only age with time but also evolve in taste and character as different blends from different products end up in it. I think for many hobby distillers, we move from one project to the next without building up enough stock to even have two generations.

In the back of my head is a plan to make a Solera system for my Christmas Aquavit. The Norwegian tradition is to mature the drops of caraway nectar in casks over the year and release bottlings for xmas and easter. As you know, there's the Linie moniker where the casks are transported as ballast on ships across the globe, passing the equator, the line, at least twice on its' journey, thus improving the product by the swell of the ocean and the climatic changes of the journey. There's a great thread in this forum of a fellow Norwegian who matured his Aquavit in the trunk of his car, the seasons and the movements of the car trying to mimic the Linie Aquavit maturation process. What is less discussed is the cellars of old destillates available to Lysholm, Löten, and the other Norwegian Aquavit producers. Me thinking that I could employ a Solera system for my two brown Aquavits, Tunheim Taffel and Baåga Grande Reserve, where there would be two yearly releases from the Solera and then a backfill through the generations above. Volume and time is all that is missing.

[VLAGAVULVIN]

You need to produce a lot of the same product though to be able to have a Solera system containing at least 3 generations, or is your Solera a blend of many different products? If it is the latter, the Solera will not only age with time but also evolve in taste and character as different blends from different products end up in it.

Depends on where ya wanna go:

Any time I have ever created an infinity bottle I have always felt that (more often than not) the sum was mostly better than any individual addition.

To begin with… Let’s say, you wish to get to always have at hand some “Canadian” style booze. Barbecue and so forth, for easy casual drinking. But not as flat as vodka + coke + ice.

Then take some whitedog corn shine. Add a fair qty. of barley&rye damn-over-oaked stuff. Drop a bit of weathered commercial Scotch from the bottom of an old bottle (why not, finally?)… Try different ratios on tiny samples. You’ll find something that to be way more complex and interesting than any separate component. Not bad thing is to keep the idea in your head all the time: it still has to be a recognizable Canuck... or Irish... etc.

I think for many hobby distillers, we move from one project to the next without building up enough stock to even have two generations.

This is your path. And your traffic rules. And you don't have to go all the way down to the bottom, or down to the Solera itself. Stop in the middle. Lemme explain.

Example #1. Let’s go hard. As Islay folks do. There are Lagavulin and Caol Ila. They seem to use the same peaty malt from Port Ellen. And run on similar pots. But Laga-16 and Ila-12 är olika djur. You want to get both from the common spirit run. How come? Take early hearts as 75..72% AbV and give them some ex-sherry staves. Take main hearts as 72..65% and give them a fair amount of toasted white oak. Take late hearts as 65..59% AbV and throw gatorskin burnt staves in. And after just a couple of years, lol… go get your Laga-16 as blended early&main&late hearts. And your Ila-12 as the unblended one. Maybe the late hearts will need more oak aging. But not 16 years, man

Example #2. Barley malt + unmalted barley + a bit of rye and oats. Let’s singlepot it / go triple-Irish. Well, 85..80 is okay as whitedog (just proof down to 40% and wait for a month only). Next, 80..70 is to be The Irishman (split it for different types of oak staves and blend later according to your taste). Finally… take some 70..65 and mix with “stripping run 45%-ish” and “middle run 27%-ish” = here’s your Poitín, either oaked or applewooded or who cares what else. So, 3 versions of 1 mashing project gotten: not bad, eh?

[VLAGAVULVIN]

As far as I know, Russians also carry barrels in the trunks of their cars, lol.

Me thinking that I could employ a Solera system for my two brown Aquavits, Tunheim Taffel and Baåga Grande Reserve, where there would be two yearly releases from the Solera and then a backfill through the generations above. Volume and time is all that is missing.

If one lacks character, another is overtanned, a third lacks color or alcohol... There's too much caraway, here's not enough juniper... Polish them all in one! Go for it!