Pugi's Rum or "Pugirum"

[Sea_Dog]

I used the yeast bomb slightly modified because of my available ingredients, pitched 30 or so grams of bakers yeast on my own rum recipe and two hours later it looks like the whole thing is on the stove and boiling it is already working so hard.
Very nice.

[Aulimaster]

Concernant y est bomb i foud fertiliser 12-0-0 would that be good just need to use more? Says on the pack good source of nitrogen and iron Is iron ok in the wash ?

[frozenthunderbolt]

Concernant y est bomb i foud fertiliser 12-0-0 would that be good just need to use more? Says on the pack good source of nitrogen and iron Is iron ok in the wash ?

Nope. Most yeast DONT like a high iron concentration.

[bcboyz86]

I have a question maybe someone has run Into... The gallon of molasses I use has about 3.5kg of sugar in it. And along with the with the 2lbs of brown sugar I'm up to 4.5kg of fermentables...this seems like way too much. It would end being somewhere around 13.2%ABV... Well over the 8% target range and the SG has been as high as 1.160 :/ should I cut the sugar out completely? Just using the molasses it would be a 10%ish ABV potential, still seems high :/ any suggestions?

[Barney Fife]

Your molasses has more sugar than feed molasses(as per Pugi's recipe), so I'd use less molasses, not less sugar. In fact, that IS what I do, as I use fancy molasses, too. Just use about 1/2 to 2/3 gallon(to a 5 gallon wash), then as much sugar as necessary to bring the SG to where you want it.

[bcboyz86]

Does using less molasses Instead of less sugar make a flavor difference? It's only $11 for a gallon so that's fine with me to spend on a $5 wash...or is it more complicated than that and is better to use more sugar and less molasses?

[Aulimaster]

As far as i understood less molasses =milder taste I'm using fancy molasses too fermenting my 1st batch used 3 x 1,36kg of molasses and 2lbs of brown sugar for a 5 gallons wash we will see how it goes

[bcboyz86]

So Barney, you use the sugar to get the SG to where ya want it, not because of flavor? If that's the case I could probably take some time and figure out how much molasses it would take to shoot for an 8% wash and just use that much. Pretty much just write down how much I need(might do a little more) and just be consistent from that point forward. I'm getting pretty excited for my keg boiler to be done...just gadda wait for the tax man to give me some of my money back! And he's taking his sweet ass time its kinda a paint to use the 5gal preassure cooker/propane setup with the heat up times for three batches. It will be so nice to just throw in 15gallons turn it one, and relax for an hr er so and wait till its heated up. I also got about 4ft or 2" and 2ft of 3" copper pipe and the fittings from work for next to nothing because they're sending it to a recycling center...so I probably saved about $200 in copper for my big'n reflux tower. That way I can keep the small 1-1/2" set-up on the 5gal boiler for small stuff and run big washes with the electric keg.

[LWTCS]

If that's the case I could probably take some time and figure out how much molasses it would take to shoot for an 8% wash and just use that much.

Good plan if you have a trustworthy grade of molasses. Bad plan if its loaded down with unfermentables on a PPM basis.
Near perfect brix for Saccharomyces cerevisiae is 18. Adjust for your expectations accordingly.

[bcboyz86]

Bad thing about that is I'm not a "who's who" in the world of molasses and couldn't tell good from bad except by what tastes good to me, and maybe by the sugar content compared to weight of total volume/weight. Might have to take a lazy Sunday and figure that out...

[rad14701]

Which brings me to a SG question. My SG is 1.116 on one and 1.110 on the other 5gal jug(split the recipie into 2 5gal jugs) it says 1gal of molasses, 2lbs of brown sugar, and the yeast stuff. My molasses has about 3584grams of sugar in it. Seems to qualify for fancy molasses to me... And its only $11/gallon! But I'm thinking there's too much sugar in my wash.... Should I cut the brown sugar out, or try to get some blackstrap and mix them half and half with? The ABV is at like 15-18% potential... Too much... but it does smell pretty darn tasty! Kinda wondering if it will just take longer to ferment out, or if there will just be a lot of fermentables in the wash after the booze kills the bakers yeast :/ any suggestions for me?

Yes, this still sounds a bit high to me... Try adding either the sugar or the molasses until you hit your target SG rather than just letting it skyrocket out of reasonable limits... Or dilute down within reasonable limits if you have enough remaining head space...

[condo33]

Well, I've had success as a novice distiller on UJSSM, so I thought I branch out and make some of Pugi's Rum. Found a nearby feed store that sold me feed molasses at .20 cents/lb which gave me about 5 gals for 8 bucks. After reading the thread, I worried about it being sulfured, or having a preservative that would stall or prevent the frement. The folks at the feed store did not know exactly what was in it. No worries anymore. This recipe took off like a steam engine (after I noticed my lid was not on tight). Nothing was happening after about 5 hours so I looked inside and viewed a nice active cap. Reattached the lid and off she went. I gave the 5 gal wash about 1.5 gal of head space, and so far after 24 hours, no puking into the bubbler. I can see by the activity of the bubbler how this recipe can ferment dry in 36 hours. Smells pretty good too.

[bcboyz86]

Just out of curiosity, what does the dunder smell like when you guys pull it off the still? Is it a sweet good smell, or is it more of a bitter/sour smell? Kinda like raw meat freshly thrown on the BBQ... Kinda wondering if I need to alter my recipe, or if that's just what new dunder smells like before getting a good age on it...

[frozenthunderbolt]

Just out of curiosity, what does the dunder smell like when you guys pull it off the still? Is it a sweet good smell, or is it more of a bitter/sour smell? Kinda like raw meat freshly thrown on the BBQ... Kinda wondering if I need to alter my recipe, or if that's just what new dunder smells like before getting a good age on it...

Yep - it definitly smells less appealing hot off the still than it does cold with some age on it. Dont worry

[bcboyz86]

Awesome. Makes me feel like I've not been a total failer at rum(even though I dropped a pint of good rum.on the kitchen floor ) but I started with a meager 6gallon dunder pit. Hopefully I can grab a 30-50gallon dunder pit goin in the shed out back and really get some good rum goin. I finally got my 7 five gallon stripped washes down to a spirit ran gallon and a half of 87% ABV and tried out 5 different flavors: spiced, spiced with oak, just oak, Carmel, and coconut rum. All at 96 proof. So hopefully after those age(i'll give them 2 months) ill figure out how to flavor the other 2gallons of 90proof I have left. Side question; while I wait on the verdict on how to flavor the last 2 gallons, will I need to flavor, then wait an additional 2months before its a tasty treat So it would be 2months of aging on top of the waiting period for me finding out what to flavor I want it as?

[maka]

I made this Yeast bomb tonight. It smelled like ammonia. Is that right?

[bcboyz86]

Uh, that doesn't sound right... You used all the right stuff? All the yeast bombs I've made have smelled like hot dough and steamy yeast. But it might be your nutrients. I just use DAP, not 20-0-0. So that might be it, but I don't ever recall anyone mentioning an amonnia smell...

[maka]

That was last night. After it boiled and rested over night it smelled ok. I used DAP as well.

[bcboyz86]

Hmmm. I don't ever remember it ever smelling like ammonia, but I don't let it set overnight either. I just get it boiled and dump it right Into the carboy. Add the molasses, and sugar with some dunder and water and away she goes... Just be mindful of the foam for about an hr er two...it can make quite a mess if your not carefully watching....I don't like wasting space in the 5gallon carboys so I usually just pop in a movie and set one on either side of me and shake the bubbles down every 20sec or so till the movie is over or till the bubbles don't reach the airlock anymore... But if you don't have that kinda time, just use less liquid in the fermenter.

[maka]

YA it definatly works off fast. I have a a 30 gallon fermenter with 12 gallons of rum wash in it. About two hours after i pitched i took the top off and stuck my head in for a wiff. Damn near dropped me to my knees. I couldn't believe how strong the alcohol was already. Smells awesome though.

[bcboyz86]

Yea, I'm pretty sure a HUGE part of why it takes off like that is the yeast bomb. It does the exact same thing in sugar washes too... Ferments like none other, only in the end I ended up with a big jug of lemon-lime looking juice(i sued cane sugar I stead of table sugar) hoping to run both 5gallon washes tommarrow night to have some good neutral almost the exact same recipie, except cane sugar i.stead of molasses.

[maka]

OK

So it has been going for almost 36 hours. Although it is bubbling away like crazy it still reads 1.056. It started at 1.096. The way I see it bubbling I expected it to be way lower than that. I followed the recipe to a "T" other than using DAP instead of Fertilizer. I am probably getting 2 bubbles a second out of the airlock.

[condo33]

Just sounds like she's still working. Let her roll.

[bcboyz86]

I usually give it 2 or 3 days to fully ferment out, then settle. Seems to do the trick...

[bcboyz86]

How many people have done this recipe and flavored it and had it turn out well? I did about 7 stripping runs and one spirit run to yet a gallon and a half of 87%ABV, it doesn't quite smell like the sweet vanilla Carmel dark rum I get from Costco, and wondering how I would get it there... My thinking is that I could just make a lot of Carmel and add a lot of vanilla then toss it in the jar and let it sit for a couple months, then strain it?

[maka]

O.k.

i have seen in this thread 2 different ways of using dunder. Do i add it back to my next wash or do I add it back into the next still run. Pugi describes it as being put back in the still fo rthe next distillation at equal amounts as your spirits. Others are saying add up to 30% back to your fermenter for your next wash.

Wich one is it? or is it both

thanks

[bcboyz86]

I use about 2-3 gallons per 5 gallon wash of the dunder from my last stripping run. If your doing stripping runs then a spirit run later this worked well for me. You end up with a darker flavor...kinda like a deep caramelized molasses flavor(or a least I did) and after I did my spirit run I had about 1 1/2 gallons of 87% rum... And its the best high ABV I've ever tasted after only a month. Of just sitting in a glass jug with no flavoring. For the spirit run I just used a little dunder from my dunder pit, all the strippings from my stripping run, and the rum oils. But I've been experimenting with leaving the tm oils in untill the last 2 stripping runs and pull them out then for my last spirit run. I don't see the need to pull out booze all the way down to 20% every time just to throw it all back in later. So now I just take it down to about 40% or so and add the dunder to the next ferment. I have 7 carboys, so I usually split the first ferment into to, then those 2 into 2 more when each is done stripping. That's if you do it that way to save ya some time. I personally might go a little less on the molasses next time and use me brown sugar (I used a gallon of fancy molasses and 2lbs of brown sugar for this gen of pugirum) but my stuff came out like a really dark rum flavor.

[maka]

hey thanks for the replies. I under stand now. Basically you use the dunder for the wash and for the spirit run.

Thanks

Wg

[bcboyz86]

Yep. But I would suggest maodifying it a little untill you get the flavor you like dialed in. I've used Bakers yeast, Ec-1118, both with and without the yeast bomb. All 4 taste different and take different amounts of times to ferment out. But pretty much there's no "right way" of any recipe. Experimenting is always fun too. I have 6 carboys bubbleing in the basement of different sugar washes with all sugar, golden brown, and dark brown sugars with Ec-1118, K1-1116, and yeast bombs to see what I like the best out of those. Also ABV is something to strive for too. Bakers yeast will only get ya 8%, maybe 10-12% depending on conditions where ya can get 14-18 with the champagne yeasts. So here's endless combinations you can try to get what ya want...and all those with different amounts of dunder, and aged dunder over fresh...there's so much you can do its sometimes overwhelming...

[Wasserwerks]

I agree. It all comes down to experimentation, repeatability and what the final product is. Most important is if you are happy with the outcome. Everyone has different tastes and likes.