Honey Bear Bourbon

[nhannath]

Thanks,

Just to clarify for the first 4 runs just run it on a 12" SS tube - no reflux. What kind of ABV should I be getting out for best results (flavor wise).

On the final run put 3 bubble , the small reflux condenser (at full water flow?) and then condense. What ABV should be coming out then?

I'm going to sound dumb I know, apologies but what do you mean by keep the feints - I know heads, hearts tails etc but I've heard the term but don't fully understand what it is ?

Thanks.

[TwoSheds]

Just to clarify for the first 4 runs just run it on a 12" SS tube - no reflux. What kind of ABV should I be getting out for best results (flavor wise).

You can use whatever combo of pipes gets you safely clear of your flame (if not electric) and to your collection jars, but no reflux or bubble plates. I would suggest stripping until your total low wines are in the 25-30% abv range, but if you go higher than 40 you'll want to water them down to 40 or below for the spirit run.

The ABV you get out is the ABV you get out. It will be a product of the ABV of what you're running and will decrease through your run. The best thing to do is to fraction your spirit run into 20-30 jars, then you can smell and taste to evaluate what to keep and what goes into feints at your leisure after. Some will let them sit open overnight even, but if I'm going to leave them for long I usually put a lid on them. Heads and tails are even more obvious in an enclosed spot.

On the final run put 3 bubble , the small reflux condenser (at full water flow?) and then condense. What ABV should be coming out then?

It will again depend on what you put in, but will be much higher than in pot still mode. Look up "liquid vapor phase diagram" and you can consider that roughly 3 changes, but it's never exact.

I'm going to sound dumb I know, apologies but what do you mean by keep the feints - I know heads, hearts tails etc but I've heard the term but don't fully understand what it is ?

Feints are whatever you don't put in your final product, so heads and tails that you don't think would improve the flavor of things. Though they have some negative flavors they will still have some good stuff too so re-running them with your next batch, or saving a bunch and running them together will yield some bonus good booze.

Keep asking and re-reading and trying stuff out. There is a lot to learn!

[Dougmatt]

Did a sugar head on my HBB grains last September using corn sugar and posted it here. Put it straight into an H3 badmo Just pulled a taste and I have to say, it’s pretty darn good. The HBB is excellent, but the sugar head is great too. Very easy to keep my hands off the HBB with this sugar head to drink.

It’s sitting next to a UJSSM of similar age, and I would say this is superior. Not sure if it’s due to using corn sugar or the grain bill….

Some experimentation is in my future, but I will definitely be doing a sugar head on my next HBB run.

[Bradster68]

Did a sugar head on my HBB grains last September using corn sugar and posted it here. Put it straight into an H3 badmo Just pulled a taste and I have to say, it’s pretty darn good. The HBB is excellent, but the sugar head is great too. Very easy to keep my hands off the HBB with this sugar head to drink.

It’s sitting next to a UJSSM of similar age, and I would say this is superior. Not sure if it’s due to using corn sugar or the grain bill….

Some experimentation is in my future, but I will definitely be doing a sugar head on my next HBB run.

I have a 18 month sugarhead. The bite is all but gone and very smooth at 48%.
I don't throw many grains away these days

[Almtngoat]

Made this last run with bloody butcher corn, totally smokes the feed store cracked corn and puts any top shelf store bought whiskey I've had to shame and my favorite is Knob Creek barrel reserve barrel proof so I know top shelf. I get about a gallon out of 10 and then add that to the next batch for a 1 1/2 run on the next batch to yield about 2 gallons of 120 proof for the barrel.

[Almtngoat]

I've used feed storec orn, flaked from a beer store, gloppy mess but good, and now this, folks, be willing to spend a bit to get whiskey far superior to what is on any shelf and still come out ahead.

[Yummyrum]

Made this last run with bloody butcher corn, totally smokes the feed store cracked corn and puts any top shelf store bought whiskey I've had to shame and my favorite is Knob Creek barrel reserve barrel proof so I know top shelf.

Thats a big claim Almtngoat. Putting up new-make against aged .

But getting your point . You only get out what you put in .

[BrewinBrian44]

My first 5 gallon barrel full of this stuff has been sitting in a half full carboy with a cork stopper resting on the top to encourage oxygen transfer. It’s almost 3 years old at this point. This additional aging technique seems to be working very well.

When I want a bottle of HBB, I just proof down one at a time. This stuff keeps getting better and better. The last bottle I made is truly amazing. So much bold flavor. When I drained my barrel at a year and three months, it had a bit too much oak flavor, but as time has ticked away, it’s transforming into more rich caramel and vanilla. It’s so good. I need to have this stuff on hand forever.

[Almtngoat]

Made this last run with bloody butcher corn, totally smokes the feed store cracked corn and puts any top shelf store bought whiskey I've had to shame and my favorite is Knob Creek barrel reserve barrel proof so I know top shelf.

Thats a big claim Almtngoat. Putting up new-make against aged .

But getting your point . You only get out what you put in .

Oh I have a barrel to put it in But the white is so smmooooth even at 110 I had to test it make sure it had alcohol in it. I use Uncle Jesse's sugarhead Sour mash method on the spent grains for something to sip on while the AG ages.

[NormandieStill]

I'm about to embark on another batch of HBB. Probably gonna break protocol and run it with YLAY as I'm a little short on spare time at the minute.

My question is: I'll be running everything through my feed grinder which takes it down to a course meal. So 5lbs or 7 for the corn? Given the YLAY I won't really know what I get for several weeks. I'm leaning towards 5lbs which puts the corn at about 52% of the grain bill.

[Deplorable]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

[jonnys_spirit]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

Desert and an HBB is a regular but I usually skip the desert.

Now, breakfast is a different story AND the "most important meal of the day", so.....

Cheers,
j

[Bradster68]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

Desert and an HBB is a regular but I usually skip the desert.

Now, breakfast is a different story AND the "most important meal of the day", so.....

You guys are a bad influence on me. But I'm ok with that.

[Stump Lake]

HBB
Homemade Breakfast Burbon

[sadie33]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

You're making me drool Deplorable!! Now I want some HBB AND caramel pecan cheesecake! How long did you age yours?

[Bradster68]

HBB
Homemade Breakfast Burbon

[Deplorable]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

You're making me drool Deplorable!! Now I want some HBB AND caramel pecan cheesecake! How long did you age yours?

Well, the current bottle I pinched from the barrel at about 15 months. This barrel will become a Solara, I've got a couple gallons jugs aging to replenish what I pinch, but those still have a few months left before they're old enough to put into the barrel.

[Deplorable]

If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.

Desert and an HBB is a regular but I usually skip the desert.

Now, breakfast is a different story AND the "most important meal of the day", so.....

Cheers,
j

I'm never against pie for breakfast...

[Bradster68]

I just ground my grains for my first HBB. Iv got about 10lbs of the honey malt to use up.
Not sure why I haven't made this yet. The reviews are of the chart.
I'm doing 15 gallon ferments till the honey malt gone.

[Deplorable]

I just ground my grains for my first HBB. Iv got about 10lbs of the honey malt to use up.
Not sure why I haven't made this yet. The reviews are of the chart.
I'm doing 15 gallon ferments till the honey malt gone.

Its a great sipper. I've got a 5G barrel of it I've been slowly pulling from since it turned 18 months old. next month, I've got 1.5 gallons I've been aging for a year in glass to add to the barrel to top it off. However, I made a batch of this replacing the Honey malt with Caramel, and I like it too, its just a little more bold.
What I haven't done yet is blend the two together to see what that would taste like.

[Bradster68]

I just ground my grains for my first HBB. Iv got about 10lbs of the honey malt to use up.
Not sure why I haven't made this yet. The reviews are of the chart.
I'm doing 15 gallon ferments till the honey malt gone.

Its a great sipper. I've got a 5G barrel of it I've been slowly pulling from since it turned 18 months old. next month, I've got 1.5 gallons I've been aging for a year in glass to add to the barrel to top it off. However, I made a batch of this replacing the Honey malt with Caramel, and I like it too, its just a little more bold.
What I haven't done yet is blend the two together to see what that would taste like.

Iv got various things to sip on,so.... hopefully I can stay out of this till it reaches a nice age like that

[Stags]

Be glad I didn't write it with Vienna malt. I got on a kick of that shortly after. You would have had to serve Honey Bear with a side of insulin

All/ SCD, I’m reading through this in prep (on page 22) and didn’t see anyone circle back to this since page 20- any chance we can elaborate on what the Vienna malt does?

[rubberduck71]

Iv got various things to sip on,so.... hopefully I can stay out of this till it reaches a nice age like that

That's what sugarheads are for!!! I'm sipping on my 6 month old S.H. HBB & it's fantastic. Meanwhile the A/G sits undisturbed...

[Bradster68]

Iv got various things to sip on,so.... hopefully I can stay out of this till it reaches a nice age like that

That's what sugarheads are for!!! I'm sipping on my 6 month old S.H. HBB & it's fantastic. Meanwhile the A/G sits undisturbed...

Agreed. It's what's been keeping me outta the good stuff too

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Be glad I didn't write it with Vienna malt. I got on a kick of that shortly after. You would have had to serve Honey Bear with a side of insulin

All/ SCD, I’m reading through this in prep (on page 22) and didn’t see anyone circle back to this since page 20- any chance we can elaborate on what the Vienna malt does?

Vienna is just another toast level of grain. Might even be a good substitute for the honey malt. It's got a sweeter, dare I say buttery, flavor to it. Although it's been a while since I have used it. Did an all grain Vienna bourbon once, but that became the only barrel I ever had to kick over, cause I messed up and added Mrs. T canning salt instead of the lime (if you've seen the packaging). I may revisit it sometime in the future when I have time to get back to the shed.

[Bradster68]

Be glad I didn't write it with Vienna malt. I got on a kick of that shortly after. You would have had to serve Honey Bear with a side of insulin

All/ SCD, I’m reading through this in prep (on page 22) and didn’t see anyone circle back to this since page 20- any chance we can elaborate on what the Vienna malt does?

Vienna is just another toast level of grain. Might even be a good substitute for the honey malt. It's got a sweeter, dare I say buttery, flavor to it. Although it's been a while since I have used it. Did an all grain Vienna bourbon once, but that became the only barrel I ever had to kick over, cause I messed up and added Mrs. T canning salt instead of the lime (if you've seen the packaging). I may revisit it sometime in the future when I have time to get back to the shed.
[/quote]

Dam. A whole barrel. .
I haven't even filled one yet,and your kicking em over. I better pay attention to the packaging.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Barrel of mash, not liquor, lol.

[Bradster68]

Barrel of mash, not liquor, lol.

Baaaahaaa.

[Halfbaked]

Deplorable wrote: ↑
If you haven't tried pairing this bourbon with desert yet. You are missing out.
HBB and a slice of caramel pecan cheesecake is devine. The richness of the cheesecake, the ghramcracker crust, the toasted pecans and caramel. Really are a perfect paring for this bourbon after appropriate aging on oak.


I thought this desert was desert!!!!!!

[Bradster68]

Jusdid 2, 15 gallon batches of the HBB. ,I think I got enough honey malt for 3 more 15s.
Can't wait to give this a try.
I'm saving low wines till I got a big Ole batch to run.