thoughts from the pro's ??

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:59 am

hi all, i started my first wash last night at 6:00, don't know what to call it but i'll explain...i mixed up----
25-30 lbs sweet feed
25-30 lbs cracked corn
5 gal. miller lite-beer
5 gal. hot tap (well) water
5 tsp. amylase enzyme

was gonna let that sit for enzymes to work, 24 hrs ?? then i was gonna add
15-20 lbs. sugar
2 gal feed grade molasses
15 gal. hot water (with the sugar disolved in it)
1/2 cup quick start distillers yeast
1 pack turbo 48 yeast
this morning it was bubbling by itself, anyone have any to do's or not to do's ?? or what to call it ?? thanks, chuck

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:48 am

did you poor everyting you had left together?
give it a name yourself.

how large is your fermenter?

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 11:16 am

hi stoker, what do you mean by pour everything i had left together?? i didn't add anything else to it yet, it'll be 24 hrs soon.. it's bubbling on it's own, not fizzing, bubbling slowly..
ok i'll think of a name..
fermenter is a plastic 55 gal. drum w/removable lid and bungs...
wasn't sure if my quantiteis were gonna be right ?? 1st. time (i'm a virgin) that's why i asked.... thanks, chuck

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:01 pm

what do you mean by pour everything i had left together

well, you mixed a bit of everyting together, why did you do that? espescially for your first wash.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:40 pm

i did what iv'e been reading about, and then some... figured it should be enough to run 2 batches in double boiler and see what works the best... i'm using a still designed for making ethanol (charles 803) which i am gonna tweak the operation/input/cooling condensers/bye passes..
i asked for anyone else that has tried it but got no responses, so i figured i would try.... might not work, but atleast i tried..
do ya think it'll taste good ?? thanks, chuck

AfricaUnite · Post by **AfricaUnite** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:30 pm

It'll be unique thats for sure probably need to age a bunch like any good whisky.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:37 am

mmmmmmmmmm, ok, thanks..
oh, bye the way, i did have the beer left over, everything else was bought on purpose.

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:00 am

yeah the beer is the stranges ingredient, it has already fermented, so adding it didn't make sense, you could add your mash before you'll distill it.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:05 am

i read on another forum board that since beer is not pasturized it will continue to gain ABV however not real high ABV, but since i had it, i figured it wouldn't hurt..
if you read on stiiidrinkin's msg. board, some have distilled leftover beer and they claim it's mighty tasty.. that's why i added it... thanks, guys

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:36 am

can you give the exact url of that board?
ty

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 9:24 am

sure, it's http://www.stilldrinkin.com onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow , that's where i found this address, glad i did....
yesterday i added --
20 lbs. sugar dissolved in about 18 gal. water
2 gal. molasses
1/2 cup quick start distillers yeast
today it's fizzing kinda nicely, smells real good too...
i'll keep ya posted.. thanks

Swag · Post by **Swag** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:03 pm

Just make vodka from it.

Post by **theholymackerel** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:02 am

I'm sure someone posted that they distilled beer and it was "mighty tasty", but they obviously either have no palate, or smoke so many packs of cigs a day that they can't taste anythin'.

I personally have tried hooch made from beer and it was a whole new level of nasty from the hops carryin' over. Before ya think that I don't like hops, I do. I LOVE hops and hoppy beers. I homebrew beer and grow hops around my patio. But booze made from beer sucks.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:59 am

holymakerel, theholymakerel, i didn't mean ta piis ya off, it's just what i read somewhere else....soorrrrryyyyy..
but on another note..
all has been going well with my ferment, i thought, it quit bubbling slowly yesterday, smelled good, looked good, i was gonna run it tomorrow..
today it looks and smells totally different...... it kind smells like a strong cider, it has a film on top almost like a spiderweb.... it's been fermenting in the garage for 8 days now, avg. temp. about 78 degres... is it spoileed ?? did i let it sit too long ?? was it to warm ??
every lesson in life costs money, some cost more than others..
thanks, chuck

pothead · Post by **pothead** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:05 am

last time I had a fermentation with that dusty spider-web looking stuff on it, my whole run smelled just like nail-polish remover. I would toss it, and start fresh (without the beer).

And relax, If THM was pissed off...you would know it.

Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:52 am

Was this going to be your first run with your new still? If so, I think you should run it just to get the hang of your new equipment. Who knows, it might turn out o.k.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 12:31 pm

man, i'd be skeered to get an open flame anywhere close to this stuff, as the day goes on it's taking on a whole new form and smell, i think it went from cider to fingernail polish remover to freakin paint thinner..
i have a call into the engineers at DuPont to see if they think i should patent my recipe............ lol ,.. chuck

ok, the p.r. guy just called me back they wanna send a team of chemical engineers out on monday to do some testing, they might be interested in purchasing the formula of my new discovery...
no tellin what it will be like by monday...
i am gonna get it out of the garage though, it smells really flamable..

Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:12 pm

It's 18-20% max. I put 50% stuff in my propane fired still all the time.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:31 pm

i was kinda kiddin about that..
it smells really strong, i don't think i wanna be around the smell..
i'm sure it would make some good fuel ethanol though..
i'm gonna dump it !!
my brother has my backhoe, that's why i didn't move it to the basement where it's cooler... dunno if it was too warm or not ??

Post by **theholymackerel** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:06 am

showrguy:

holymakerel, theholymakerel, i didn't mean ta piis ya off, it's just what i read somewhere else....soorrrrryyyyy..

lol

It takes ALOT more than that to upset me, but it seems like you get yer panties twisted in a knott pretty easily. Hehe.

I wasn't tryin' to upset you, I was simply tryin' to straighten out a piece of bad info that gets circulated every now and then.

I thought folks might like to know what distilled beer was like before they went to the expence/trouble to do it themselves.

If yer gonna get upset when info is shared with ya I'll gladly keep my knowledge to myself. I'm sure you don't need any help learnin', do ya? Given a few decades, I'm sure you'll learn it all on yer own.

I wish ya the best of luck.

hornedrhodent · Post by **hornedrhodent** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:37 am

It sounds like you got a dose of 'the white lady' the bane of homebrewers - dont leave your brew for any length of time after it's finished fermenting in hot weather. Dont open the fermenter to use a hydrometer to see it it's finished in hot weather - just go by the bubbles in the airlock ( or lack of them).

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:46 am

holymakerel, you didn't get my panties all wound up, i was thinking i gotchurs twisted.... if i'm doing something stupid please tell me....you can use all kinds funny critical words, i like it !!!
i'm wondering though, some write not to close up your mash cause the yeasties need outside oxygen..
others say, seal 'er up snug w/bubbler..... mine was pretty much sealed other than looking/stirring a couple a times a day ?????
another said you can keep yer wash for about a week once it's done workin.... deffinately NOT true in this case... thanks all, chuck

Post by **Tater** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:52 am

Id toss it .Try a sugar/molasses or fruit wash much easyer NOT to screw up.

Stangas · Post by **Stangas** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 1:11 am

yeah.. from my very limited experience, i think you tried to take too much on at once.

Yes what you made will ferment, if done right, but the taste... well that will be a whole new story.

Set a smaller goal.. like a mollasses rum, the UG Simple Sour Mash are both very good starters.

ps.. do a search for each, they are constantly being recommended.

I have tried both, and am only now happy with the results where i will be going the next step of doing a grain only mash.... but am expecting to stuff that up a few times before it comes out good

Just some advice from a fellow novice enthusiust

hornedrhodent · Post by **hornedrhodent** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:01 am

showrguy wrote: i'm using a still designed for making ethanol (charles 803) which i am gonna tweak the operation/input/cooling condensers/bye passes..
i asked for anyone else that has tried it but got no responses, so i figured i would try.... might not work, but atleast i tried..
do ya think it'll taste good ?? thanks, chuck

From what I've read the Charles 803 is a fuel ethanol still. Use it for fuel unless you've made it out of all copper and dough gaskets.

my brother has my backhoe, that's why i didn't move it to the basement where it's cooler... dunno if it was too warm or not ??

How deep will your basement be by the time you have enough experience to avoid bad batches? Dont go below the water table - the downstream town will get pissed.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 6:06 am

thanks guys, i did what tater said, i read, read, read, then i read some more..... figured i could pull it off... and i almost did !!! just missed it by about 36 hrs. damn.. lesson learned..
oh, basement is exposed and stays around 63 degrees year round, but the 30 or so gal. mash is kinda heavy..
i'm on 12 acres in the woods so neighbors are not an issue..
i got goodies for rum wash sugar, water, molasses and some turbo 48..
i'm gonna build another still also, 36" x 3" packed column to 3x3x1 1/2" T, to 1 1/2x1 1/2x1 1/2" T, then a pair of condensers, should look kinda cool and run times should be shorter ?????? thoughts ???
chuck

possum · Post by **possum** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:46 pm

I have no comment on the still construction, but the molassis rum is a good bet. I like 5-10lb sugar to 1gallon molassis ,and a lemon and make @ 6gal liquid. Distillers yeast is good, but others work too. Molassis goes like a barn afire.

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:52 am

ok, was gonna dump the stuff mon. but it was too freakin hot outside..looked in the barrel and it's bubling ??
checked it yesterday, bubbles..
today, bubbles..
i asked the older guy that works for me, what he thought it smelled like. he said that smells like some of 'ol papys cider that got wild.. he would always give it to him to drink...
wondering if the alc. is gone ?? before i dump it...
the top has a kinda crust looking film on it, sort of tan in color ???
i'm gonna scrape that off and see what's under there....

showrguy · Post by **showrguy** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:03 pm

mmmmwwwwoooookkkaaayyyyy,
i did that, took the GUNK off the top....still smells like cider..
scream at me please...dump it, or not...
sorry to take up so much space here, but some day, yerallgonnalikeme...
thanks.........chuck

Wed Jul 19, 2006 6:32 pm

Did ya start your rum wash yet? I'd run the stuff you got going there just to get a feel for what your doing. Even if its shit, you'll get some hands on with your still and get to smell the difference between heads and hearts and tails. Then you will be more prepared for the good rum wash when its ready. Try possums recipe a few posts up there. That's a pretty straight forward rum wash that will get ya some good drink.