this entire four months i've had two ferments sitting... untouched.. giving off the occasional bubble...
what i popped open this eve, and am stripping now is a WPOSW... i was expecting it to be vinegar because of the occasional bubble after all this time, but it tasted the same as always...i'm halfway through the strip and it smells as clean as can be....
whats been sitting next to it and kicking off the same once in a while bubble is a UJSM made from blue corn meal and turbinado....it has a tbs of gluco added and i thought perhaps this is working on the cornmeal slowly....and still fermenting slowly...
a paragraph from mr. smiley's book makes me hesitant to strip the UJSM and add it to my low wines....
'when the fermentable sugars have been exhausted, the yeast metabolism changes and begins breaking down non-fementable sugars and other organic compounds and consumes them. this involves the secretion of very different enzymes such as permease that enable the consumption of non-fermentable sugars (dextrins and polysaccharides). This altered chemistry results in the formation of off flavors......these off flavors tend to resist seperation by distillation.'
he also says using gluco ensures a minimum of off-flavors.....
am i going to contaminate my low wines with 'off-flavors' that will not stay in the boiler on my spirit run....?
btw... as my first year nears it's end....even with my recent summer break....and lot's of sippin'...my likker cabinet is still stock full of yummy, hand made juice....
...thnx guys