Agave Update

corntornado · Post by **corntornado** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:32 pm

I have done a few reflux column sugar washes and got neutral spirts with good success. I have done one mollasses/sugar wash and run it through a pot setup with a nice outcome. So i figured i would experiment and try something a bit different. Heres what i did:

Whiskey mash:
I soaked 8 lbs of cracked corn in about 3 gallons of 175F water for about an hour to soften it up. I then added a little more cool water and dropped my temp to around 155F. I used a homemade mash jacket(an old subzero army sleeping bag and a garbage bag) wrapped around my bucket with lid and left it overnight. First thing this morning I removed the jacket and checked the temp it had only dropped 7 degrees in 12 hours! I stirred it very well and boiled 4 lbs of dried wheat malt extract and 4 lbs of light dried malt extract( I got the extract free), cooled it, added it all together with 5 beano tablets for a total volume of about 6.5 gallons. Got my temp down to a little over 100F and pitched about 2 or 2 1/2 oz. of fleischmans yeast and stirred again. Within one hour there was about 2 inches of creamy foam on top. The begining gravity for this concoction was about 1.110. Ill tell you more on this as it progresses.

Agave Mash:
I got about a gallon and a half of raw agave nectar (It cost me 120$ for a 5 gallon bucket OUCH!) Added it to about 3 gallons of 140F water and stirred very well. This stuff dissolves very, very easy. It also is a very clean looking wash, it has a very light gold color, but very transparent. Added 2 more gallons of room temp. water and stirred until it was about 102F. The begining gravity on this was 1.080.(after temp /s.g. adjustment was made) I then added one packet (5g) of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. And im waitin on it to start. I will also tell you more as it progresses.

Wish me luck ,as i am a newbie to all this. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:48 am

My 2 cents:

On the first one, the whiskey...You're heading the right way. Mashing is pretty simple, but it takes some practice. First- forget the beano. If you want the best and most traditional conversion of starch to fermentable sugar, use 6 row malt. Get it from a brewshop or online, but standard ol 6 row is the key. It's my opinion that beano is pretty worthless in the pursuit of good whiskey. Good long rehydration of the corn is essential. following SG is a great guide..making 20% or so of the grain bill 6 row malt will convert the starch int he grain to fermentable sugars that the yeast can use.

As far as the agave goes... I'm straight up jealous and am not ashamed to say it. (I live in Texas after all... so close to Mexico and all that great tequila)
All I can say here is maybe I would have started a bit more yeast for that volume of wash, but if you practice good hygiene there should be no trouble. If I spent that much on ingredients, I'd be damn sure I made a good starter (read research and read some more) or at least pitch a couple or three packs of yeast. Make sure that the yeast I want gets started first...

I'd love to hear updates of how the agave progresses. Thats in my near future...

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:10 am

Wow. That's great to hear that your are trying Agave.
Where did you get it from? I recently bought 5 gal too but it cost me 140 plus shipping.
Is it 100% Blue Agave?

I've got 4 different 1 gal batches of agave mead/wine going but I'm not going to be able to put up a 5 gal tequila wash for a few months. I'm REALLY excited to find out how yours goes.

corntornado · Post by **corntornado** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:06 am

I bought the agave here locally from a wholesale supply house, I can imagine the shipping would be alot if you had to order it. It is RAW DARK 100% AGAVE NECTAR. Doesnt say blue anywhere on it. From what i have read RAW means it was not heated in the preparation of the nectar. It taste really good, very sweet, and is alot less viscous than honey. You can actually pour it(carefully). ill keep you informed on how its going. Im excited as well.

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:16 pm

Is that from essential living foods? They are the only ones I know of selling "raw" (minimally heated) syrup?

There were only about 4 suppliers of Agave syrup when I looked. And only 2 of them had blue agave.

corntornado · Post by **corntornado** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:37 am

My agave wash finished fermenting completely. It had a very pleasent citrus/wine type smell. Very light colored, real similar to a clean sugar wash. So i went ahead and ran it through a pot still setup. After finally getting my temp stabilzed, It ran super smooth throughout the entire run the hearts of the run were coming off at about 150 proof, with a very pleasent smell. It tastes very nice as well,a small hint of citrus with a medium peppery taste, this was fresh off the still, but still had a very strong alcohol burn. I was able to collect about 3 liters before the proof started dropping. I collected about 1 more liter of tails which still didnt taste or smell very bad at all. It was getting late (about 1 AM) and during the week,so i went ahead and shut it down. The next day i took about 600 ml of hearts, added about 75 ml of tails, and about 75 ml of distilled water. At this point this blend was about 130 proof. I added a small amount ,maybe 5 or 6 very small toasted oak chips to the bottle and let it sit. It has been sitting for about 3 days now with occaisional shaking of the bottle and has a wonderful very light golden color. It tases really good!still citrusy and peppery. This is my experimental batch in this bottle, I plan on aging it for at least a month or so before diluting down to about 80 proof. If this works out well ill go ahead and do a similar blend with the rest of the batch. Just keeping you informed on my progress as there seems to be alot of interest in agave.

possum · Post by **possum** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:30 am

Thanks for the update...that sounds so cool. It is hard to let the good stuff sit without touching it

Don Ventura · Post by **Don Ventura** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 12:22 am

Damn Man you beat me to it!!! I have my agave on order for Unsulfered 5lbs. I wonder why I had to buy my by weight and not by volume? Anyway, I hope mine turns out as good as yours. Keep us updated!!!

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DAMN ITS NOT JOSE!!!

jbrew9999 · Post by **jbrew9999** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:14 am

At what temp did your Agave wash ferment?

My wine is still going last I checked.

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