What'd ya'll make today?

[blind drunk]

Rummy spirit run

How'd that go?

It went well. It's airing out but it looks promising. Just a 10 liter charge @ 40%.

[cornsqueezin]

Just started a batch of sweetfeed mash with some added barley and rye to it. Should be ready to run in about a week.

[blind drunk]

Rummy spirit run

How'd that go?

It went well. It's airing out but it looks promising. Just a 10 liter charge @ 40%.

Blended it up and it's pretty nice. Highish abv. One thing I notice whenever I make rum is that the room the jars are sitting in always smells nicer than the final product itself. There's an evaporating essence that I can't seem to bottle Floral, buttery and sweet. Those nice tastes and aromas are in the bottle to an extent, just not as ephemeral and delicate as they are in the air. My next little project is to take the remaining feints from this run and the previous run (from the same low wines) and run them. See if there's anything I missed If there is, I'll blend it back to the main jar.

[bez]

well i started 3 mashes today 1 known good recipe and 2 test recipies here they are.
1) ran a batch (8 gal fermenter) of corn sugarhead on saturday that was ready, so i took the 6 gallons or so of the backset put some sugar in it and melted it down put some fresh corn in my 32 gal brute. added the backset and the good corn from the 8 gallon fermenter that i ran and topped off the 32 gallon for some ujsm.

2) my town JUST got a brew shop and i no longer have to travel 1 hr away to the nearest one now. they had a good price on 5 gallon glass carboys ($29) the other brew shop wants close to $40 for one, but anyway found some roasted barley that looked kinda interresting so i picked up 1lb of that and 1lb malted white wheat (dont know what i am gonna do with that yet, but i got it when i do decide lol) plus some other odds and ends. which brings me to my second mash is 1lb roasted barley (ran threw my mill), 2lbs milled rolled oats and 3lbs milled corn (8gal fermenter).

3) is a 60% cracked corn / 40% rolled oat mix (used 5lbs of this) along with 1qt blackstrap molasses used sugar to adjust (8gal fermenter). i hope that 1qt molasses will carry over enough flavors?

i used c & B superstart distillers yeast on all 3 batches and am using aquarium heaters in all fermenters now to keep a steady 85deg F.

[rtalbigr]

Ran my first strip run for rum using aged dunder in the mash yesterday. I was really surprised at the difference the aged dunder made, much fuller flavor profile.

Big R

[johnny108]

Kirschwasser!!!
Ran 4 liters of low wines through it's spirit run- collected hearts. Made the house smell great!

[Odin]

Stripping some 27 liters of All Bran right now.

Odin.

[The Baker]

Kirschwasser!!!
Ran 4 liters of low wines through it's spirit run- collected hearts. Made the house smell great!

How did you ferment the cherries?
I understand you have to leave the stones in the wash to make authentic kirsch; do you ferment the fruit whole then retrieve the stones, let them dry a little, and smash them?
I would try that; pitch the smashed stones complete into the wash and the bits of shell would probably float and could be skimmed off?
(Much too much trouble to separate the stones from the whole fruit and then try and pick those little kernels out from the shells!)
I must talk to some people who grow cherries to see if they have damaged ones, they are being picked around now, may even be almost finished...

Have you heard of fermenting cherries the way plums are sometimes traditionally fermented for slivovicz (sp?) ?
They start the ferment with whole plums, then as more plums are picked they are simply tossed in on top of the others....

Thanks for any advice or comments.

[johnny108]

TheBaker-
I'm afraid I am using bottled cherry juice from a local store, the natural sugar level would give 6%abv- I increase it to 10% with table sugar, and it doesn't hurt the flavor.
I (long ago) made Kirsh the "real" way with real fruit, but- I found I didn't really care for the bitter notes that the cracked seeds gave the spirit (kind of reminded me of a mild run-in I had with hydrogen cyanide once...).
I've read about the "old" method of making plum brandy like you mentioned (old fruit on top of new), but, I've never tried it. It seems like this would be a good
method if you were relying on natural yeasts, but, I tend to be a bit obsessive in my mash/wine/wash making, having started out as a brewer. When using whole fruit, I would ferment on the skins and pits (no cracking) until the wash started to clear itself, I would then run it through a coarse strainer into the still, in order to keep the solids out of the boiler.

[The Baker]

Thanks, Johnny.

I was interested in the 'throwing fruit into the fermenter from time to time' system because, like the old-time plum brandy makers, I would probably get fairly small quantities
at any one time, as the fruit ripened.
And if I had a friend who had an orchard, and he had one of these barrels fermenting away in the corner, he might throw all the second quality, and the damaged but still sound, fruit into it.
Fairly small quantities, fairly often.
If the alcohol police saw it, which is unlikely, he could fairly innocently say he was trying to make some cherry wine.

Oh, and P.S., I would be putting new fruit on top of the old, but I guess that was a typo; of which I have my own full share!

[Odin]

Stripped my first AG yesterday. Allmost 8 liters at 29%. Spirit run will be on saturday or sunday.

Also some all bran & muesli strippings (15 liters) that have to be fractionated. For a vodka and maybe some more gin.

Odin.

[johnny108]

TheBaker- do you have the space in the freezer/icebox to store the fruit until you can gather enough to make a good sized batch?
You could also use the fruit to make wine- clear mashes have always given me a better fruit flavor than a cloudy one. Just add sugar to the mashed
fruit (and yeast), ferment until dry, then rack it off the sediment/lees, and treat it as a wine, until you have enough to run it. (might also be helpfull if
alcohol/tax men come looking!)

Today I ran a wash made of sugar beet molasses- just a stripping run. Trying to see if I can make a decent rum without access to Hawaiian sugar-cane molasses. Not sure if the low wines smell "right"- it's been about 8 years since I smelled low wines from a rum wash...

[tomgndallas]

Hey Odin,

Definitely let us know how that all grain turns out, I am very interested to see what kind of flavor you get. I had been screwing around with welch's grape concentrate wine. I had 5 gallons aging for two months in glass, decided to strip it instead and make a ciroc vodka knock off. I am stilling the low wines now, I got about 1.5 liters of good stuff off the strip, now I am shooting for a around a half liter of sweet hearts that I can dilute to just over a liter at around 45%. I have been wanting to do this for a while, just now got around to it as it took a while to get the input wash where i wanted it.

Essentially i used this recipe to make the cheap wine, better than the cheap store bought mind you, and less expensive

2 can welch's frozen grape concentrate per gallon
about 1 pound of sugar per gallon
made just under 5 gallons with SG of 1.08
EC-1118 yeast, 5 tsp fermax, inverted the sugar with 1 tbsp of citric acid powder
2 weeks in primary fermenter, racked off to secondary, sat for about two months

cheers friends!!

[spungmike]

Hello Fellers: I ran my fifth run with my little 3 1/2 gallon pot. Got a little different count as I have been getting. Usually I start at 140 proof, and work it down to 80 proof. But, today I started at 130 Proof, and worked it down to 75 proof, I also have been getting five pints on my runs. Today I only got four pints. The diffence is that I have been using the Turbo Yeast that came with my fermenting kit, but for the run today, I used distillers yeast. Also, huge differnce in the taste. They have all been sugar washes, but I could taste the difference from the Turbo to the Distillers, being the Distillers seemed smoother. I still have not gotten my grain wash to settle yet, so I am waiting on it. It is also a Distillers Yeast, can't wait to try it out. Also I wish I would have started with a bigger pot, maybe even a flute column, that seems like the way to go. But, not being the best handy man, I will probably have to buy me one from KS. Would like to thank you fellers for all the help, and guidence I have received from ya'll.

[Large Sarge]

Spirit run ending in 2 gallons of 120 proof UJSSM 3rd gen. Using Steens Cane Syrup still instead of regular sugar. Still loving this stuff. I am gonna have to hide it from my buds this time.

[tomgndallas]

making up another 6 gallon batch of welch's wine so I can work on some more Ciroc grape vodka. Man, I tell you that stuff is great. It has the slightest hint of sweet grapey taste. I asked my wife what she thought, she said, yep, it tastes a little purple...haha.

I will not age it as long as the last one, as the last batch was seriously supposed to be wine, but I did not care for it. I think I will get into wine making also soon, but I will buy really good grape juice to do it.

For now, homemade Ciroc that is better than the original. It costs more to make, but the quality is far superior, and still cheaper than a liter of Ciroc on the long run. No headache, no hangover, better flavor, cannot be beat.

Cheers Friends...

[tomgndallas]

Spirit run ending in 2 gallons of 120 proof UJSSM 3rd gen. Using Steens Cane Syrup still instead of regular sugar. Still loving this stuff. I am gonna have to hide it from my buds this time.

Hey Sarge,

Sounds like that beast of a still of yours is running great. Man the weather is great in Texas now, It's 59 and sunny in Dallas, perfect!

[tomgndallas]

Stripped my first AG yesterday. Allmost 8 liters at 29%. Spirit run will be on saturday or sunday.

Also some all bran & muesli strippings (15 liters) that have to be fractionated. For a vodka and maybe some more gin.

Odin.

Hey Brother Odin!

So what is the story on the AG, do tell!!

[blanikdog]

I had a gallon of Eau de Vie lying around for a few years and as summer was coming I turned it into Limoncillo last week. Tried it last night with ice cubes and soda. The louche was superb as was the taste.
.

[frozenthunderbolt]

Stripped my potato/malt grain wash yesterday and my 2nd ever sweetfeed today. I also made sweet chilli sauce.

[spungmike]

Today I ran my first grain mash. Corn maze, barley wort, sugar, distillers yeast. It was 3 1/2 gallon wash, for my little copper pot. It started at 140 proof, then dropped really quick to 130 proof, stayed therefor about a pint. Then got another pint at about 120 proof, then got another pint at 100 proof, another pint at about 95 proof, then dropped off very quick to about 80 proof, so I just ran it down till it just trickled out, going to use that later on my all spirits run. Very tasty, much better then the sugar, turbo yeasts that I have been running. Loving my new hobby....

[LWTCS]

Really good run today. Got my rig to stop dead in her tracks at 80-81%.
Only bout 300-350ml of tails collected till she just stopped.

Merry Xmas to me.

[GrumpyCoyote]

Ran off the rest of my All-Bran/Malt (tasty), and dropped a new (to me) idea - quick-grits and de-activated yeast into the fermenter. Good day.

[heartcut]

Ran 3rd generation rum last night, got 2 gal from 12 gallons wash. Left the wash outside for a day (got busy) and heating wash from 38 degrees F takes a bit longer than from 70 . After heatup, the run took less than 3 hrs and the flavor was exceptional, in particular I could drink the last 2 jars before tails white (but I'm putting them in the mix). Mixed the lees and 4 gal dunder for Gen 4. How long does this stuff keep getting better?

[blind drunk]

Malted barley wort.

[mash rookie]

I knocked up a 12-13 gallon batch of Rum last night. Shooting for 12-14%

4-1/2 gallons of dunder + ½ cup calcium carbonate.
1 gallon of fancy molasses.
20 lbs sugar

Yeast bomb. ½ cup bakers yeast, ½ cup yeast nutrients 6 b vitamins boiled.

Pitched ½ cup bakers yeast that had been woken up in warm water.

I covered it with a cardboard lid and a block of wood.
It is working like crazy this morning. I had to move it to a cool spot in the shop it is working so hard. Its temp was in the 90s.

[Samohon]

Kegged up my AG Ukrainian Pilsner today with one of my 5gallon corny's. Put it under 25lbs of CO2 and stored in the fridge @ 5°C...
Usually takes about 3 days to carbonate and 2 weeks to condition...

Running 25L of Special K low wines tomorrow through the VM for voddy...
My stock took a hammering @ Xmas/New year...

Will keep ya'll posted...

[Odin]

I am making an UJSSM style Scottish Single Malt. Bought peated malt, threw in water and sugar in such a way that temps are below 75 degrees C to prevent tanines comming over. Melted the sugar, let the grains swell, and at 30 degrees C I pitched the yeast. Increadible good nose & taste just as a beer. Increadibly speedy ferment. Was done in 3 days! Stripping went good. Collected me some 20 liters, got 6 liters of low wines of 32% (beer must have been like 10.5%). Low wines already had a distinct peated single malt taste & smell to it. Not bad either! Started up gen 2 with some 30% backset, new sugar and some replaced grain. Took of like a rocket. This time I will let it sit a bit longer. Think I will run this wash on Saturday, together with the low wines of gen 1.

Looking for some kinda Conamarra taste, but without the omnipresent heads. Thinking of ageing on JD wood chips. Maybe I will drench those in some Sherry first.

Odin.

[Ghost]

Did a 12 gallon run of all bran today - started the pot still this morning at 830 - didnt have the first drops until 1020am, finished up about 2 pm. very selective in what I took. stopped collecting at 85 proof and then collected about another half gallon in tails for the next run. I dumped about a half gallon in feints this run as well, no sense in chunking them - they were a little cloudy, so I figured why not just dump them in with the all bran mash and re run.

[heartcut]

Got up at 6 and am running some rum= Harry's GGG without the corn and potatoes. Just got past the heads and it's tasting light but good.