hi all im dirtynickels and ive been wondering??

[DirtyNickles]

hi all ive got an important question ive been wondering and could use any help anyone could give. ive been doing a banana mash for bout 3 years now the brandy comes out great and all i share with seem to love it too. i put cinnammon and nutmeg in my mash just to make my wife happy "to get her involved". i have a friend whos allergic to cinnamon and she loves brandy but is afraid to drink mine because of the cinnamon . my question is ..... does the brandy " after mash is distilled" have the cinnamon allergin in the liquor or is it still in the mash after i extract the alcohol ? ( i would think that the alcohol doesnt contain cinnamon and shed be fine to enjoy it) thanks for any and all responces and help

[zacwest52285]

Does the cinnamon flavor carry over? If the flavor is not present I would say have her try it. Just a small amount, with some Benadryl near by. It will be your own controlled experiment, would love to hear your results.

[wannab]

One batch with out cinnamon would be a much safer experiment than messing with the allergic reaction! It would be great to see the banana mash.recipe, I had seen a youtube vid. from a third world country, where they were using bananas. thanks wannab

[Prairiepiss]

Welcome aboard.

Why chance it? Either make here some without. Or don't give her any. She should know her boundaries. And be able to make that call. Otherwise have some benidrill it an epi pin around. I wouldn't take the risk myself.

[zacwest52285]

I guess the biggest variable for me would be how allergic she is. In my case certain things will kill me, others just cause a little swelling of the lips and such. Its really her call as PP said.

[Wormbiscuit]

How 'bout that recipe!

[DirtyNickles]

Thanks for the responses. My banana bread brandy mash recipe is as follows. I have a 7 gallon potstill so I seperate a 20 gallon mash into 4) 5 gallon buckets and in each bucket I use..... 6 lbs of overripe bananas/ 2 lbs over ripe strawberries / 2 whole peeled peaches / 1 can tomato paste / 5 lbs sugar dissolved in 3.5 gallons of spring water " I collect 20 gallons from a natural public spring down the street"/ Two cups lemon juice/ and 1 tbs of preactivated ( distillers yeast) . ....... How i mash in is simple enough too..... I bring the 3.5 gal water to 150 deg add the sugar and stir till water is clear and not cloudy / I blend all fruit , lemon juice, tomato paste to a liquid/ and add to warm water / while I wait for my mash to cool to 96 degrees I activate the yeast in a bowl with warm water ( sugar, tbs of lemon juice, tbs tomato paste). ..... Now I do this times four and when all four bucket are cool I add the yeast( 4 bowls , 1 for each bucket) ((add 2 tbs cinnamon , nutmeg , and all spice to each bucket too))). I lid the buckets with a crack and ferment for nine days. Now I have four 5 gallon runs for my 7 gallon pot still and it usually hit the hearts at 170 proof and I usually stop when it hits tails and I end up with 3/4 of a gallon of 140 proof per bucket of mash each run with a total of 3 gallons of 140 proof. I proof the 3 gallons of brandy with distilled warter to 105 proof for taste and quantity caus I usually share with friends and family. The brandy has a wonderful banana strawberry peach essence that follow to a wonderful mild warm burn down the pallet and a fruity after taste. This is a down home brew and I really don't follow formulas And equations, I try to keep my mash traditional . Thanks again for reading. I appreciate any cunstructive criticism also. Nickles*

[wannab]

Thanks for posting the recipe nickles, I can work w/this. Thanks! wannab

[Hoodlums Hooch]

One batch with out cinnamon would be a much safer experiment than messing with the allergic reaction! It would be great to see the banana mash.recipe, I had seen a youtube vid. from a third world country, where they were using bananas. thanks wannab

I think I saw that video. Was it the Ugandan war gin documentary by Vice? That was cool to watch.
Thanks for sharin the recipe dirtynickels...just wondering what the abv your mash is when finished. Your getting the hearts at 85% abv on a pot still? Is this first run or a final spirit run results? Im in on this recipe as I have lots of free fruit sources welcome to the site and im gonna bookmark this for the future and get my wife involved also

[DirtyNickles]

Thanks hoodlumhooch and wannab. I alway start at 170 - 160 proof on every run I do on my potstill whether its molasses,fruit brandy or corn and grain. It usually holds at 170 -160 for a little bit and drop in proof slowly and once i hit 115 proof it almost crashes immediatly to 90 and i hit and taste tails. after i collect all my liquor from the run i end up with 3/4 of a gallon of 140-130 proof .I always cut my heads by taste and use the methanol for cleaning agents or fuel for tuff trucks. I've considered running my spoils through again but I didn't think its necessary . If there's a bennifit for a "spirit run" perhaps I'll give it a go;) some info on a spirt run will be greatly appreciated too! One other thing I've noticed is my proof of my liquor is greatly increased when I make a 20 gallon mash ferment into four 5 gallon individual mash ferments. I've tried fermenting the 20 gal mash all together in the same bucket then divided them after to distill but my runs started at 135 proof. So I think smaller ferment volumes are better than larger ones. I've tried it twice and both results were the same. ( ( i also use food grade plastic buckets *5 gal and 25 gal* for my ferment) thanks again for any and all tips or tricks and constructive criticism * Nickles

[DirtyNickles]

To answer previous questions Yes feint hints of cinnamon do carry over in the brandy. I'm really interested in the allergy issue also and would love any responses in the matter. And houdlum hooch I don't know the method in checking the abv of the mash. Any info is greatly apprecitaed. * nickles

[Hoodlums Hooch]

Thanks hoodlumhooch and wannab. I alway start at 170 - 160 proof on every run I do on my potstill whether its molasses,fruit brandy or corn and grain. It usually holds at 170 -160 for a little bit and drop in proof slowly and once i hit 115 proof it almost crashes immediatly to 90 and i hit and taste tails. after i collect all my liquor from the run i end up with 3/4 of a gallon of 140-130 proof .I always cut my heads by taste and use the methanol for cleaning agents or fuel for tuff trucks. I've considered running my spoils through again but I didn't think its necessary . If there's a bennifit for a "spirit run" perhaps I'll give it a go;) some info on a spirt run will be greatly appreciated too! One other thing I've noticed is my proof of my liquor is greatly increased when I make a 20 gallon mash ferment into four 5 gallon individual mash ferments. I've tried fermenting the 20 gal mash all together in the same bucket then divided them after to distill but my runs started at 135 proof. So I think smaller ferment volumes are better than larger ones. I've tried it twice and both results were the same. ( ( i also use food grade plastic buckets *5 gal and 25 gal* for my ferment) thanks again for any and all tips or tricks and constructive criticism * Nickles

Alot of guys run their wash thru on a stripping run, which is just a fast distillation process with no cuts, purely trying to strip the ethanol out of the wash quickly. They save up some or all of the likker for a final run that they call the spirit run. Typically the spirit run is a higher abv as you are putting all of the ethanol back into the boiler at around 40% abv, or lower depending on preference. Some claim that this method makes the likker alot smoother, but sacrificing some of the original flavors out of the product. Edit: it also raises the starting abv tremendously when you start collecting.
As you are making a brandy I would assume your likker would be better suited to a single run distillation to retain the original fruitiness of your product. The stuff that doesnt make the cuts for you could be used later in another spirit run thru a reflux still to make some "neutral" likker similar to vodka. Thats what my plan is thats why I built my pot still and my bokabob still.
You have some good experience runnin your likker it seems. Im just learning and just finished my 4 th run today, 2nd making whiskey. I have done a lot of research on the technical side of the business but now its time to take the training wheels off and ride that thing.
By the way sounds like your using an alcoholmeter to measure your proofs right?

[Hoodlums Hooch]

To answer previous questions Yes feint hints of cinnamon do carry over in the brandy. I'm really interested in the allergy issue also and would love any responses in the matter. And houdlum hooch I don't know the method in checking the abv of the mash. Any info is greatly apprecitaed. * nickles

http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 61&t=14928
Im hoping I did this correctly. Look at this thread. It will help you figure out how to get your mashes ABV by using the hydrometer. Its a very accurate tool to use to get even better with yer brandy. Enjoy. Thanks for sharing by the way. Sounds like small batches is the way to go. enjoy the site my friend and Ill holler at you later.

[edwatters]

2 cups of lemon juice in each bucket?

[rad14701]

2 cups of lemon juice in each bucket?

That sure would push the pH down through the basement...

[DirtyNickles]

Is a low pH bad? I never have checked ph levels before. Should I treat my mash like fish tank water . If its important I'm interested in why. Thanks for the comments

[Richard7]

Is a low pH bad? I never have checked ph levels before. Should I treat my mash like fish tank water . If its important I'm interested in why. Thanks for the comments

Yeast are living just like your fish in your tank. The happier they are the happier you will be in the end. If the yeast are stressed it will show in the taste.

[Dnderhead]

yeast like neutral to slightly acid, from a pH of 7 (neutral) down to about 5,,below 5 it will slow until 4.5 -4.2 where yeast will stop working.Most try to keep wash with a pH of 5-6 ,this is because lower pH retards bacteria and yeast will still ferment.But you do have to be careful not to start to low as it ferments the pH can lower and be to low before the ferment is finished.

[DirtyNickles]

Thanks dunderhead I will keep that in mind and research the methods. Thanks for the info it makes sence .

[Dnderhead]

I thank most on here over do the "back set" and other "acidifying" ingredients.most is not necessary.
i make all grain mash,and fruit must and never have a problem using nothing.it mite be diferant if i was open fermenting in the pig yard (i did know of one that did that)or in the out house .a good starter or jug yeast over come most problems.