Cloudy and not so great
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Cloudy and not so great
Hi guys, been reading lots and lots, but this is my first real post so be gentle... I'm still very much a beginner.
Background: I got the below recipe as a Bombay clone from another website, it was getting rave reviews by everyone that tried it, so decided to give it a try. I'm kind of regretting this now and am thinking about chucking it back through the reflux column to strip - As its not turned out great at all, very disappointing.
So the recipe i found was:
45% neutral spirit - I used Tomato paste wash distilled through T500 reflux column to give a perfectly clean/tasteless neutral.
Macerated 1 litre of that 45% neutral with the following roughly ground botanical s, for 24hrs. (I up scaled so did 2 x 1l jars) as my boiler needs a bigger batch than 2l total.
- 30g juniper berries
- 15g coriander seeds
- 2g Angelic root
- 2g cassia bark
- 2g liquorice root
- 0.5ml almond essence
- 2g grains of paradise
- 2g cubeb berries
- 0.2g lemon rind
- 0.2g orris root
Once 24hrs up add the 1l of macerated spirit (the recipe also states to chuck the botanicals into boiler also) so all of my 2 x 1l macerated spirit went in and switched to the Alembic copper pot still head for the T500 boiler.
Recipe said to add a further 1l 45% neutral. (Again I doubled my maceration amount so also doubled the neutral - So i added 2l further neutral. So all in i had 4l in the boiler. and 2x the botanical list/weights above total.)
So the Run:
First 150ml discarded which were basically mainly heads (no real fores to speak of, as had been taken out already in the reflux run)
Collected about 300ml per jar - I made the rest of the cuts after waiting 24hrs. Chucked any tails to faints jar.
I then distilled some tap water to dilute spirit down to 40%abv which is similar to commercial grade strength here where I live, this is the final strength I'm aiming for in my gins.
So conclusion:
Tastes yuk, the spicy and medicinal notes are way too excessive, however another issue is - has gone gone really cloudy, which I cant understand as I thought I had got enough of the juniper oils out at the beginning, and was combating that by using distilled water as a pose to tap or mineral... I've read about diluting with more 45% neutral to clear it up, but im honestly not sure if this is salvageable taste wise...
It maybe could do with a dial back, as my initial thought is that I've gone way too OTT on the botanicals. (maybe the recipe was not scaleable) or way too heavy in the first place?
Any tips on where I'm going wrong? Am I adding too much botanicals? Should I have not added them to the boiler (There was zero scorching so that wasn't an issue) and was also using a SCR for the heating element to keep the run slow and steady.
Maybe being new to this craft - Im making the noob mistake of more=better where as maybe should go try something way easier and simple like Odins Easy Gin. I was really looking forward to trying something with a few more botanicals but seems like Ive gone in the total wrong direction here.
Any help or advise very much appreciated
Background: I got the below recipe as a Bombay clone from another website, it was getting rave reviews by everyone that tried it, so decided to give it a try. I'm kind of regretting this now and am thinking about chucking it back through the reflux column to strip - As its not turned out great at all, very disappointing.
So the recipe i found was:
45% neutral spirit - I used Tomato paste wash distilled through T500 reflux column to give a perfectly clean/tasteless neutral.
Macerated 1 litre of that 45% neutral with the following roughly ground botanical s, for 24hrs. (I up scaled so did 2 x 1l jars) as my boiler needs a bigger batch than 2l total.
- 30g juniper berries
- 15g coriander seeds
- 2g Angelic root
- 2g cassia bark
- 2g liquorice root
- 0.5ml almond essence
- 2g grains of paradise
- 2g cubeb berries
- 0.2g lemon rind
- 0.2g orris root
Once 24hrs up add the 1l of macerated spirit (the recipe also states to chuck the botanicals into boiler also) so all of my 2 x 1l macerated spirit went in and switched to the Alembic copper pot still head for the T500 boiler.
Recipe said to add a further 1l 45% neutral. (Again I doubled my maceration amount so also doubled the neutral - So i added 2l further neutral. So all in i had 4l in the boiler. and 2x the botanical list/weights above total.)
So the Run:
First 150ml discarded which were basically mainly heads (no real fores to speak of, as had been taken out already in the reflux run)
Collected about 300ml per jar - I made the rest of the cuts after waiting 24hrs. Chucked any tails to faints jar.
I then distilled some tap water to dilute spirit down to 40%abv which is similar to commercial grade strength here where I live, this is the final strength I'm aiming for in my gins.
So conclusion:
Tastes yuk, the spicy and medicinal notes are way too excessive, however another issue is - has gone gone really cloudy, which I cant understand as I thought I had got enough of the juniper oils out at the beginning, and was combating that by using distilled water as a pose to tap or mineral... I've read about diluting with more 45% neutral to clear it up, but im honestly not sure if this is salvageable taste wise...
It maybe could do with a dial back, as my initial thought is that I've gone way too OTT on the botanicals. (maybe the recipe was not scaleable) or way too heavy in the first place?
Any tips on where I'm going wrong? Am I adding too much botanicals? Should I have not added them to the boiler (There was zero scorching so that wasn't an issue) and was also using a SCR for the heating element to keep the run slow and steady.
Maybe being new to this craft - Im making the noob mistake of more=better where as maybe should go try something way easier and simple like Odins Easy Gin. I was really looking forward to trying something with a few more botanicals but seems like Ive gone in the total wrong direction here.
Any help or advise very much appreciated
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- Master of Distillation
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
Question... how do you know that you had, as stated, "a perfectly clean/tasteless neutral" ... and what cuts was made, plus what was the abv of the finished product after cuts..
To make a good gin from, one has to start with at least a neutral at 94 - 95% abv, with little heads and tails..
Mars
" I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, Obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my knowledge and understanding "
– Albert Einstein
– Albert Einstein
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Hi Mars,StillerBoy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:09 amQuestion... how do you know that you had, as stated, "a perfectly clean/tasteless neutral" ... and what cuts was made, plus what was the abv of the finished product after cuts..
To make a good gin from, one has to start with at least a neutral at 94 - 95% abv, with little heads and tails..
Mars
So the first run i did with the TPW was with the T500 reflux column, not pot head.
This produced a 94%abv neutral. From what I've read with the T500 in reflux mode apart from ditching fores there isn't really any cuts after that point, I always stop the run as soon as it slows and end up with approx 94%ABV
I diluted that down to 40%abv and tasted. It was plain apart from ethanol and concluded it was a fairly decent neutral (IMO)
I then used this "neutral" for the gin run in pot mode (after maceration)
The ABV of the finished gin after cuts in pot mode was approx 75%ABV - I was quite brutal with the tails in my head as i really dislike even a hint of the tails smell/taste.
Like i say complete novice so if im doing something wrong - Please let me know
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Here is part of the problem; there is no still which eliminates the need to make cuts, any other advice is marketing spin to be disregarded. A reflux still will compress the heads and tails much more than a pot still but not eliminate them. For making gin, you only want the most select, pure heart cut because you cannot do so when doing the gin run.Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:24 am So the first run i did with the TPW was with the T500 reflux column, not pot head.
This produced a 94%abv neutral. From what I've read with the T500 in reflux mode apart from ditching fores there isn't really any cuts after that point, I always stop the run as soon as it slows and end up with approx 94%ABV
I would also suggest starting with a tried and true recipe for Gin (Odin's Easy Gin) as its almost bullet proof and will help you to refine your process before you head off into the deep end. Following the recipe closely is a key element here. One important thing to note is that all gins need some rest before there they reach their best quality, in the OEG recipe it recommends 5 weeks, which in my own experience is just about perfect.
Hope that helps.
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Current boiler and pot head
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Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
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Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes helps loads thanks,Expat wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:35 amHere is part of the problem; there is no still which eliminates the need to make cuts, any other advice is marketing spin to be disregarded. A reflux still will compress the heads and tails much more than a pot still but not eliminate them. For making gin, you only want the most select, pure heart cut because you cannot do so when doing the gin run.Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:24 am So the first run i did with the TPW was with the T500 reflux column, not pot head.
This produced a 94%abv neutral. From what I've read with the T500 in reflux mode apart from ditching fores there isn't really any cuts after that point, I always stop the run as soon as it slows and end up with approx 94%ABV
I would also suggest starting with a tried and true recipe for Gin (Odin's Easy Gin) as its almost bullet proof and will help you to refine your process before you head off into the deep end. Following the recipe closely is a key element here. One important thing to note is that all gins need some rest before there they reach their best quality, in the OEG recipe it recommends 5 weeks, which in my own experience is just about perfect.
Hope that helps.
I didn't think about resting time at all. Doh.
Also will take your advise regarding being more brutal with the cuts on the neutral.
So in your experience i assume the spirit mellows a lot with that time? I may let it sit for 5 weeks and see how it goes, i think i can live with the cloudiness if it tastes ok.
In your opinion was the botanical bill reasonable or too much in regards to weights?
Thanks for your advice
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
5 weeks takes the fire and citrus forward flavor out the gin and allows for the other botanicals to come forward. It won't fix cloudiness (louching), which is caused by essential oils come out of solution when the ABV drops. Given your recipe I don't think you've done anything wildly out of proportion, but your procedure is definitely off.Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:45 am So in your experience i assume the spirit mellows a lot with that time? I may let it sit for 5 weeks and see how it goes, i think i can live with the cloudiness if it tastes ok.
In your opinion was the botanical bill reasonable or too much in regards to weights?
Too large a heads cut, means you've likely lost a good deal of your juniper flavor which tends to come over in the first 20 mls. Because of this you likely wen't too deep into the "gin tails" where there earthier botanicals start to become overpowering. I would suggest proofing slightly higher to 45%, this will help with the louching. Speaking of which, to remove the cloudiness, take some *clean* neutral and proof it down to the desired target ABV of the product (say 45%); slowly add it to the new gin until the cloud lifts (i.e. the botanical oils go back into suspension).Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 10:45 am So the Run:
First 150ml discarded which were basically mainly heads (no real fores to speak of, as had been taken out already in the reflux run)
Collected about 300ml per jar - I made the rest of the cuts after waiting 24hrs. Chucked any tails to faints jar.
I then distilled some tap water to dilute spirit down to 40%abv which is similar to commercial grade strength here where I live, this is the final strength I'm aiming for in my gins.
_____________________
EXPAT
Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
EXPAT
Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Thanks so much Expat.
Great help and some awsome advice.
I'm also going to try a run of odins easy gin in the next few days then do a side by side in around 5 weeks.
Will post an update. I think I already know who the winner will be... lesson learned
Great help and some awsome advice.
I'm also going to try a run of odins easy gin in the next few days then do a side by side in around 5 weeks.
Will post an update. I think I already know who the winner will be... lesson learned
Re: Cloudy and not so great
I'm using the same kit as you and have done a very similar gin (see one of my other posts), I'm also pretty new to this, but have done 3 gins now. The biggest difference was that I went for vapour infusion with the Still Spirits basket that fits in the alembic. Seems to work well. Mine louches very very slightly, which I quite like, at about 44% abv.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
The botanical bill is slightly higher than mine, so I would expect it to be cloudy below 45% without diluting it with neutral.
To get rid of louche; viewtopic.php?t=48594&start=600#p7543415
To make a good quantity of decent neutral out of TPW with a T500, you need to strip first and then do proper cuts on the spirit run, using your senses rather than following the manufacturer's instructions. I suggest at least tripling the size of your ferment, so that you have a decent quantity of 40% abv Low Wines for the spirit run. Discard the first 150ml from each strip, then shut down when the collection vessel reaches 40% or if it smells really nasty at the spout. Put some copper pieces in the boiler to help get rid of the sulfides, don't use flat pieces as they might cause cavitation and scare the hell out of you.
If you cant get bitter almonds, try to find apricot kernals, or loquat seeds, as they taste about the same.
I use 3.6g/l of 43% and don't crush them to put in the steep overnight as that enables them to release their cyanide. I either use them whole, or lightly crack them and add them when I put the still together for the run.
To get rid of louche; viewtopic.php?t=48594&start=600#p7543415
To make a good quantity of decent neutral out of TPW with a T500, you need to strip first and then do proper cuts on the spirit run, using your senses rather than following the manufacturer's instructions. I suggest at least tripling the size of your ferment, so that you have a decent quantity of 40% abv Low Wines for the spirit run. Discard the first 150ml from each strip, then shut down when the collection vessel reaches 40% or if it smells really nasty at the spout. Put some copper pieces in the boiler to help get rid of the sulfides, don't use flat pieces as they might cause cavitation and scare the hell out of you.
If you cant get bitter almonds, try to find apricot kernals, or loquat seeds, as they taste about the same.
I use 3.6g/l of 43% and don't crush them to put in the steep overnight as that enables them to release their cyanide. I either use them whole, or lightly crack them and add them when I put the still together for the run.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Ahh great to know.Alcophile wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 12:57 pm I'm using the same kit as you and have done a very similar gin (see one of my other posts), I'm also pretty new to this, but have done 3 gins now. The biggest difference was that I went for vapour infusion with the Still Spirits basket that fits in the alembic. Seems to work well. Mine louches very very slightly, which I quite like, at about 44% abv.
I looked at the botanical basket but it seemed really small to me? (For the boiler size and quantities required) how do you find it? I also seen a review saying it caused puking when over filled as it can block the vapour outlet. Kind of put me off so would be good to get your first hand experience of using it.
Yes I think I was over zealous with the dilution. I was hellbent on 40% - crazy I know.
Also your not going to believe but I diluted in an opaque 3l jug in a oner after calculating the dilution factor with the proper noob head saying:
"Oh il be fine I'm using distilled water"
Agghh live and learn! What a donkey... I've seen weaker looking milk ha ha ...
It's crazy how much oils etc is held in suspension as it was crystal clear before water...
Flavour wise i'll let it sit and see how it goes after 5 weeks as per suggestion, but I'm not holding out much hope at this point tbh, unless it drastically calms down in its taste profile.
I collected 4 x 750ml bottles total, and am really thinking about stripping 3 of them back in the reflux column to somewhere near neutral and saving just the 1 to see how it turns out. I assume that failed experiments can be restripped via reflux (to an extent)?
Il check out your posts. Good to know you have the same equipment, we can maybe share recipes once I get some under my belt. Sounds like your a bit in front of me, ive been using neutral and these still spirits base flavours up til now but it's definitely time to venture more into the proper recipes.
Feel free to PM me and we can keep in touch more about the t500 stuff.
- Yummyrum
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
Loci , that recipe sounds like Stubbys Gin recipe . I’ve done it several times and it always tastes awesome .
I agree with Expat , you took too much heads cut and wasted the Juniper . I take barely 50mls and have been spanked fir taking so much . Some say son’r even bother with a heads cut .
I suspect you went too far into tails end . Collect less in more jars next time .
I agree with Expat , you took too much heads cut and wasted the Juniper . I take barely 50mls and have been spanked fir taking so much . Some say son’r even bother with a heads cut .
I suspect you went too far into tails end . Collect less in more jars next time .
My recommended goto .
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.ph ... ion_Theory
https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.ph ... ion_Theory
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Hi Chris,NZChris wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:10 pm The botanical bill is slightly higher than mine, so I would expect it to be cloudy below 45% without diluting it with neutral.
To get rid of louche; viewtopic.php?t=48594&start=600#p7543415
To make a good quantity of decent neutral out of TPW with a T500, you need to strip first and then do proper cuts on the spirit run, using your senses rather than following the manufacturer's instructions. I suggest at least tripling the size of your ferment, so that you have a decent quantity of 40% abv Low Wines for the spirit run. Discard the first 150ml from each strip, then shut down when the collection vessel reaches 40% or if it smells really nasty at the spout. Put some copper pieces in the boiler to help get rid of the sulfides, don't use flat pieces as they might cause cavitation and scare the hell out of you.
If you cant get bitter almonds, try to find apricot kernals, or loquat seeds, as they taste about the same.
I use 3.6g/l of 43% and don't crush them to put in the steep overnight as that enables them to release their cyanide. I either use them whole, or lightly crack them and add them when I put the still together for the run.
Thanks for the info. Some of these may seem like ridiculous questions to you but I'm genuinely unsure so bare with me.
1) when your on about stripping the TPW with the t500 are you meaning with the alembic pot? FYI I was using the reflux column head and it wasnt really a fast stripping run. I was doing a spirit run in reflux mode for other projects and just decided to use some of that diluted neutral for a gin run on the alembic at a later date.
2) How much copper would you suggest? Is this over and above the copper already in the alembic dome and condenser?
Thanks,
Loc.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes I think you are absolutely right.Yummyrum wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:34 pm Loci , that recipe sounds like Stubbys Gin recipe . I’ve done it several times and it always tastes awesome .
I agree with Expat , you took too much heads cut and wasted the Juniper . I take barely 50mls and have been spanked fir taking so much . Some say son’r even bother with a heads cut .
I suspect you went too far into tails end . Collect less in more jars next time .
As a novice (or maybe just me) I think I was overly concerned about fores, and have probably ended up with too much tails.
Just to be clear to everyone, there is prob nothing wrong with the recipe, it will definately be me screwing it up.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Strip with a pot still, spirit run with reflux, unless you don't mind your neutral being a bit iffy.
I have no idea how much copper you need, but some is better than none.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 0450.x/pdf
I have no idea how much copper you need, but some is better than none.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 0450.x/pdf
- Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
Like Yummy I know that recipe well and always use it to make my gin, have done for years.Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 9:50 am I got the below recipe as a Bombay clone from another website, it was getting rave reviews by everyone that tried it, so decided to give it a try. I'm kind of regretting this now and am thinking about chucking it back through the reflux column to strip - As its not turned out great at all, very disappointing.
It gets those reviews because it makes a very nice Gin , so you need to stop blaming the recipe ....or Birdwatches Wash to begin with.
If you had made proper neutral to begin with , which you wont do by following the still manufacturers instructions. Had made proper cuts on the reflux run you wouldn't have had to take a heads cut from the gin run. There would have been no heads to take, that would have already been done. Its no wonder that your gin tastes like crap, you threw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. Most of the juniper went out with that heads cut.
You need to start again.......learn how to run your still properly making small cuts in jars as you go, sort and make good cuts a few days later after they have aired. When you have learned to make decent Neutral, how to cut fores , heads and tails from your product and the product smells good and can be drunk that way, then you will be ready to try that recipe again.
Using the pot still attachment you have to "strip" your washes before running them through the reflux will help a lot in getting a cleaner product as well.
For the record heads are a product of the fermentation process, not distilling........you need to remove heads from any distillate run on any still. The people who sold you the still didn't tell you that because they wanted it to seem easy. Distilling isn't rocket science , but there is a lot more to know than they or the instruction manual will tell you.
Heads I would say.
From what Ive read you've done about as much wrong as you could to get the result you ended up with.
No need for that with this recipe Chris, the Almond Essence works fine.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes so I think I've done the right thing, maybe even gone OTT.NZChris wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 2:32 pm Strip with a pot still, spirit run with reflux, unless you don't mind your neutral being a bit iffy.
I have no idea how much copper you need, but some is better than none.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 0450.x/pdf
I didn't strip the TPW first as I wasnt really needing to reduce quantity, (I was making some neutral spirit for the Mrs to flavour with coconut ) I just loaded my boiler 2 runs (weeks apart) of 25l of the TP wash and went for slow and steady neutral spirit run's using the reflux column, to give a neutral for her to mess about with flavourings.
It was that neutral (after she got a couple bottles) I then macerated for the second gin spirit run. Only difference being I used the pot head for the second gin run.
I know in theory I've done 2 spirit runs as a pose to doing one strip and one spirit run, but it was purely down to having some excess neutral lying around, so figured it would be good for the gin experiment.
Now my question that leads from that conversation is:
Are you not better in terms of quality doing it the way I have?
Ie the way I've read is a stripping run is fast with very little in cuts purely to reduce volumes and take away some fores, so as we can load a boiler more efficiently in a future run, so surely the better way (although more tedious) is doing a reflux spirit run followed by another pot spirit run?
Or am I speaking garbage?
Remember I'm only on my 3rd attempt so I'm not by any stretch of the imagination trying to be funny, I'm just going on what I've read and watched on youtube and trying to make some educated guesses of the back of all that info.
For the amount of alcohol myself and mrs drink I can barely see myself ever doing a stripping run as tbh I can never see myself having to run the still to that kind of output volumes. A 25l TPW gives us more than enough neutral to last us for a long time (well over a month) Maybe we need to drink more. Ha ha
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Wow man easy... That was a bit salty.Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 2:39 pmLike Yummy I know that recipe well and always use it to make my gin, have done for years.Locini1 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 9:50 am I got the below recipe as a Bombay clone from another website, it was getting rave reviews by everyone that tried it, so decided to give it a try. I'm kind of regretting this now and am thinking about chucking it back through the reflux column to strip - As its not turned out great at all, very disappointing.
It gets those reviews because it makes a very nice Gin , so you need to stop blaming the recipe ....or Birdwatches Wash to begin with.If you had made proper neutral to begin with , which you wont do by following the still manufacturers instructions. Had made proper cuts on the reflux run you wouldn't have had to take a heads cut from the gin run. There would have been no heads to take, that would have already been done. Its no wonder that your gin tastes like crap, you threw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. Most of the juniper went out with that heads cut.
You need to start again.......learn how to run your still properly making small cuts in jars as you go, sort and make good cuts a few days later after they have aired. When you have learned to make decent Neutral, how to cut fores , heads and tails from your product and the product smells good and can be drunk that way, then you will be ready to try that recipe again.
Using the pot still attachment you have to "strip" your washes before running them through the reflux will help a lot in getting a cleaner product as well.
For the record heads are a product of the fermentation process, not distilling........you need to remove heads from any distillate run on any still. The people who sold you the still didn't tell you that because they wanted it to seem easy. Distilling isn't rocket science , but there is a lot more to know than they or the instruction manual will tell you.Heads I would say.
From what Ive read you've done about as much wrong as you could to get the result you ended up with.No need for that with this recipe Chris, the Almond Essence works fine.
I said 2 posts before it's me not the recipe, I'm not blaming the recipe at all. I know I'm a noob and have openly admitted it several times in my posts... We all have to start somewhere, and I know I've made loads of mistakes, and still got tonnes to learn, and prob even more mistakes than I care to think about to make in the future.
Thanks for your advice I will take it all on board and learn from my mistakes, surely that is the main thing
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes we all began somewhere and learned as we went, sorry if it came across that way, it wasn't meant to.
I was just trying to point out where I think you have gone wrong.
There are other things, but that is the basics of your problems.
Crux is concentrate on getting your reflux / neutral method right before attempting that recipe again.
I was just trying to point out where I think you have gone wrong.
There are other things, but that is the basics of your problems.
Crux is concentrate on getting your reflux / neutral method right before attempting that recipe again.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes I most definately will, and also focus on your other points as well as everyone elses tips.Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2020 3:39 pm Yes we all began somewhere and learned as we went, sorry if it came across that way, it wasn't meant to.
I was just trying to point out where I think you have gone wrong.
There are other things, but that is the basics of your problems.
Crux is concentrate on getting your reflux / neutral method right before attempting that recipe again.
I am gutted I've made such a mess of this one, but I guess like a few I've read forums and watched online vids been a bit overly confident and probably tried to run before walking.
Will get there - at least I can only improve from here
Thanks again for your advice its appreciated greatly. The snippets from this whole thread have given me vast amounts of learning to take forward, so I really do appreciate everyone's time to reply and help me.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Exactly, you're gonna fall while you learn, no harm done though. Make another batch!
No more YouTube though!
_____________________
EXPAT
Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
EXPAT
Current boiler and pot head
Cross flow condenser
Modular 3" Boka - pics tbd
___________________
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Fresh day - Fresh learning
I just rechecked the recipe and it definitely does say to chuck out the first 100ml
This has somewhat confused me as it does contradict all your suggestions/criticism of needing to go a lot less due to loosing the juniper flavours
Yes i did overshoot this first cut of 100ml by about 40-50ml - My bad - lesson learned
So without being accused of blaming the recipe, or not listening to you guys.
Should the first 100ml be chucked as per the recipe or not?
For reference this was what I was following:
http://forum.moderndistiller.com/viewto ... f=22&t=519
So a little update today:
With fresh eyes, taste buds and a fresh nose today I've gone back to the gin i made yesterday. Its not nearly as bad as i remember yesterday. The smell has mellowed out lots already and its tasting, much better also.
Must say i have better hopes if this much improvement has happened already only in 24hrs... Maybe Ive just expected waaay to much from a fresh run...
Now Im going to tackle the louche -
Im looking forward to seeing if this will calm the overpowering flavours further.
I just rechecked the recipe and it definitely does say to chuck out the first 100ml
This has somewhat confused me as it does contradict all your suggestions/criticism of needing to go a lot less due to loosing the juniper flavours
Yes i did overshoot this first cut of 100ml by about 40-50ml - My bad - lesson learned
So without being accused of blaming the recipe, or not listening to you guys.
Should the first 100ml be chucked as per the recipe or not?
For reference this was what I was following:
http://forum.moderndistiller.com/viewto ... f=22&t=519
So a little update today:
With fresh eyes, taste buds and a fresh nose today I've gone back to the gin i made yesterday. Its not nearly as bad as i remember yesterday. The smell has mellowed out lots already and its tasting, much better also.
Must say i have better hopes if this much improvement has happened already only in 24hrs... Maybe Ive just expected waaay to much from a fresh run...
Now Im going to tackle the louche -
Im looking forward to seeing if this will calm the overpowering flavours further.
- Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
There are two ways that you can tackle the louche with that recipe.
Add more high proof Neutral till it clears, or to quote the recipe that I'm looking at, I'm presuming your looking at Stubbys recipe from CCSC.
"dilute it down to 43%abv. bottle it , and sit on a shelf until it clears ( it can get a cloudyness to it when first broken down ) this can take up to 3 weeks ".
Same recipe says to "chuck out the first 50-75" if your doing a 2 Liter run. So yes if you doubled the recipe that is 100-150ml.
In my experience that small cut right at the beginning stops it louching as badly as it will if its not taken, there are a lot of oils in that bit.
Regardless of all else , you still didn't make a heads cut when making the neutral from what I see......that in its self will make for an inferior end result. Heads are also what will give you a headache/ hangover.
If you haven't all ready found it , here is a guide to making cuts, viewtopic.php?t=11640 start out using small jars and making small cuts, let the jars breath a day or two before smelling and tasting, dilute small samples to 40-45% abv before sampling. 1 teaspoon water to one spirit works. The sooner you learn to make good cuts the sooner you will make good booze in general ...and good gin.
Add more high proof Neutral till it clears, or to quote the recipe that I'm looking at, I'm presuming your looking at Stubbys recipe from CCSC.
"dilute it down to 43%abv. bottle it , and sit on a shelf until it clears ( it can get a cloudyness to it when first broken down ) this can take up to 3 weeks ".
Same recipe says to "chuck out the first 50-75" if your doing a 2 Liter run. So yes if you doubled the recipe that is 100-150ml.
In my experience that small cut right at the beginning stops it louching as badly as it will if its not taken, there are a lot of oils in that bit.
Regardless of all else , you still didn't make a heads cut when making the neutral from what I see......that in its self will make for an inferior end result. Heads are also what will give you a headache/ hangover.
If you haven't all ready found it , here is a guide to making cuts, viewtopic.php?t=11640 start out using small jars and making small cuts, let the jars breath a day or two before smelling and tasting, dilute small samples to 40-45% abv before sampling. 1 teaspoon water to one spirit works. The sooner you learn to make good cuts the sooner you will make good booze in general ...and good gin.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Yes I did make a fairly large heads cut when running the 25l of TPW through the reflux to make the neutral which ended up being used for this gin run.Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:47 am Regardless of all else , you still didn't make a heads cut when making the neutral from what I see......that in its self will make for an inferior end result. Heads are also what will give you a headache/ hangover.
If you haven't all ready found it , here is a guide to making cuts, viewtopic.php?t=11640 start out using small jars and making small cuts, let the jars breath a day or two before smelling and tasting, dilute small samples to 40-45% abv before sampling. 1 teaspoon water to one spirit works. The sooner you learn to make good cuts the sooner you will make good booze in general ...and good gin.
I do have lots to learn when making cuts, as I've only done a couple runs so far, so trying to hone these senses. I think I need more jars too as only used about 10 and collected too much in each one.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
You don't have to put the whole run into individual jars. I start with jars, then once I'm confident I'm into hearts, it goes into a demijohn until I suspect it's getting close to tails. So, even though I might be collecting twenty jars worth, I usually use less than ten. In practice, my first jar worth goes straight into my feints collection as it will never be chosen anyway, so that's one less jar needed already.
- Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
That's all well and good for someone with heaps of experience Chris.......but small jars for a learner is a better way and will teach a lot faster.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
So little update and another further question - sorry
I re-ran this batch minus 1 bottle, as I think it was actually more down to personal taste that i wasn't keen on, as a pose to anything wrong with the gin itself.
Anyway - Went for a Odins easy gin batch - Fantastic outcome - I really like the taste...
One question i have though - I followed Odin's recipe to the exact letter and when finished i proofed to 45% ABV using some distilled water. This turned out perfectly clear (I did a test on a few mil first this time - Im learning... ) so i bottled and was really chuffed with both the taste and look of the spirit -
I did a 4l maceration batch of Odins and output wise I ended up with 3 x full 750ml bottles and 1 left over that was about 50% full - After dilution and bottling I put them into my kitchen larder (A coolish cupboard prob about 15 deg c)
So after about 4-5 days of resting i noticed something: The 3 x bottles that were full have turned hazy, the 1 bottle that was right next to them in the larder that was around 50% full was still perfectly clear.
Any ideas on whats going on?
Im not keen on touching them as far as with more neutral as the taste is just right for me, but just wanting to understand why the full ones have hazed over where as the half full one has not. (Same batch, same dilution as was diluted with the rest in a jug, and same resting place, temp etc, same type of bottle)
So literally apart from head space/oxygen in the bottle that is only difference,
Could the oxygen / oxidisation be keeping the half full bottle clear?
Any advice on clearing without touching with any neutral as i feel its right on the cusp, and im not keen on adjusting flavour - Would a temperature increase help, could i try and air, could it turn back to clear with time etc etc.
Thanks again,
I re-ran this batch minus 1 bottle, as I think it was actually more down to personal taste that i wasn't keen on, as a pose to anything wrong with the gin itself.
Anyway - Went for a Odins easy gin batch - Fantastic outcome - I really like the taste...
One question i have though - I followed Odin's recipe to the exact letter and when finished i proofed to 45% ABV using some distilled water. This turned out perfectly clear (I did a test on a few mil first this time - Im learning... ) so i bottled and was really chuffed with both the taste and look of the spirit -
I did a 4l maceration batch of Odins and output wise I ended up with 3 x full 750ml bottles and 1 left over that was about 50% full - After dilution and bottling I put them into my kitchen larder (A coolish cupboard prob about 15 deg c)
So after about 4-5 days of resting i noticed something: The 3 x bottles that were full have turned hazy, the 1 bottle that was right next to them in the larder that was around 50% full was still perfectly clear.
Any ideas on whats going on?
Im not keen on touching them as far as with more neutral as the taste is just right for me, but just wanting to understand why the full ones have hazed over where as the half full one has not. (Same batch, same dilution as was diluted with the rest in a jug, and same resting place, temp etc, same type of bottle)
So literally apart from head space/oxygen in the bottle that is only difference,
Could the oxygen / oxidisation be keeping the half full bottle clear?
Any advice on clearing without touching with any neutral as i feel its right on the cusp, and im not keen on adjusting flavour - Would a temperature increase help, could i try and air, could it turn back to clear with time etc etc.
Thanks again,
Re: Cloudy and not so great
Many of my most flavorsome, yummy, gins that our family likes are cloudy on a cold day, some of them are cloudy on a hot day. All of them louche in a G&T. None of us mind, as we all prefer the intensity of flavor compared to the flavors of commercial gins.
This is my Sunset Gin.
The layers are different ABVs.
It stayed the same, with very little mixing, for several months until it was shaken before use.
Louches appeared and disappeared with the temperature.
Color is Saffron.
This is my Sunset Gin.
The layers are different ABVs.
It stayed the same, with very little mixing, for several months until it was shaken before use.
Louches appeared and disappeared with the temperature.
Color is Saffron.
Re: Cloudy and not so great
That is super cool NZChris.
- Saltbush Bill
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Re: Cloudy and not so great
Locini i have no idea what causes that to happen.....ive had it happen to me once.
Two bottles from same gin batch.....one cloudy and one clear......only ever happened the once.
Two bottles from same gin batch.....one cloudy and one clear......only ever happened the once.