What'd ya'll make today?

[Bradster68]

My duh moment. Yes Bradster, i needed the enzymes like alpha-amylase and beta-amylase present in malted barley to break down starches into simpler sugars during the gelatinization phase.

Thanks for picking that up!

[MooseMan]

Put down another 30l batch of hedgerow wine, and racked the previous 2 off the pulp in to vessels with taps, that's where they will stay through the winter, until they are empty!

[6 Row Joe]

I found some 5 year old peach wine in the basement. It needed thrown out but instead I ran it through the air still a couple times. Pretty good juice white and the rest is aging with some toasted oak chips.

[SW_Shiner]

Put down another YLAY wash yesterday. Corn, wheat and oats. This morning the airlock was going off like a machine gun. Still surprises me with how quick the YLAY mashes take off.

[kiwi Bruce]

I have a Shady's Sugar Wash going but it's not finished yet. So I got some old bottles of red wine, old but not bad, and run them through my air still. After the spirit run I re-run it and made a gin. Not the best gin I've ever made...but it's very drinkable. Conclusion, I'm very pleased with the results from the air still!

[tombombadil]

I bottled a 5g barrel of rum.
It was the second fill, but it was in there for 2 years.
The first fill was a chocolate bourbon for 2 years.
It did mellow out a lot.
The molasses flavor is not as agressive.
I don't love it, it's fine.
Great for cocktails, but not a sipper.
Blends in with the other flavors more than it does when it's young.
Definitely still very "rummy", but not agressively molasses in your face.
I think that barrel is shot.
I was going to fill it again but have decided to order a new one instead.
I have a carboy full of blue corn wheated bourbon waiting for a barrel.

Something weird did happen.
The readings from my hydrometer and refractometer did not agree.
They were off by like 10%. One was reading 55 while the other was reading 65, after temperature correction.
Should i buy a third tool to measure the abv? Can anybody recommend a brand?

They were both calibrated for 60f, while the spirit was at 90f. I followed the charts provided to do the corrections.

So my spirit is somewhere between 55% and 65% I guess.

[NZChris]

Plymouth Gin. A simple herb bill that I found on the net a few years ago that made a nice gin for sipping. I don't waste it by making G&Ts with it. My first bottle was nearly empty.

[SW_Shiner]

Stripped another batch of my ylay wheated bourbon bringing me to a total of about 25L of low wines ready for spirit run next weekend.

[Rusty Ole Bucket]

Noob here mid first ferment, obsessed and bored. I have a couple of washes working to hopefully run this weekend, a sugar shine and a batch of Rad's All Bran. I'm really interested in brandy and fruit mashes so I had the idea to make a tiny fermenter to test with.

First mix is technically a wash since the product has added sugar. I wanted to try Jumex Peach Nectar and see what I get. Here's the recipe:

(1) pint Jumex Peach Nectar
(1/4) tsp nutritional yeast
(1) drop B complex liquid
3 or 4 grains of Epsom Salt
(1) tsp Fleischmann's dry active yeast

I washed and sterilized the tiny fermenter parts. I mixed everything together in the fermenter, then pitched the yeast, cold and dry. The juice was warm so I think that helped, but it's happily bubbling away after about 30 minutes. I figured I'd try to measure the abv and taste it once it stops fermenting. Kinda fun to play around with and what I made today.

Guess I have to build a one quart still now.


Rusty

[EricTheRed]

Mashed in another maize and oats.
Stripped the previous m&o
Spirit ran it.
10 litres at 65% in 13 litre glass carboy with a variety of new and used and recharred staves
And now we wait.

[Alzahra888]

Running a triple strip of grappa. trod 225kg grapes for brandy, (removed skins)— Stripped those yesterday. Now to the skins which were still full of juice, didnt squeeze them at all, but divided them between 6 30 liter containers, added about 20 liters water to each with a total of 10kg of sugar. At 1.000 gravity had too much going to let them run longer. Simply strained them as i am lazy and sent to the compost. Got a little over 110 liters out. Filled two 50 liter kegs and an airstill and they are off.

[Alzahra888]

The extra wort of a grape ferment is good sippin’. And i like indigenous beer recipes found in Stephen Buhner’s book which frequently underferment. The yeasty drinks taste different than beer, often light but yes do have a certain “sacred” and healthful aspect to them.

[Beerswimmer]

Double strip day of 2 stripped bourbon ferments, next will be a spirit run!

Again.

Again. Last strips of this.

[Photoguy-70]

Couple weeks ago made jimbo's wheated bourbon to see what that was like and liked it enough to get 50lbs bags of malted wheat and 2 row plus cracked corn and a batch of it works as i type. Ahhhhhh the smell coming up from my basement brewery is going to keep me awake tonight lol!

[NZChris]

Couple weeks ago made jimbo's wheated bourbon to see what that was like and liked it enough to get 50lbs bags of malted wheat and 2 row plus cracked corn and a batch of it works as i type. Ahhhhhh the smell coming up from my basement brewery is going to keep me awake tonight lol!

Be careful. Big ferments in unvented basements can accumulate enough CO2 to kill more than your pests and pets.

[Redneck4life]

I been taking a long break from making anything. got back into it today with an apple brandy. just pitched the yeast... ec1118, 15 lbs of apples and a bit of sugar to make a 9%, 6 gallon wash.

What yall been making?

Just made a burban whisky today turned out great

[Deplorable]

Stripping Gen 1 of SBBs all Molasses rum, and started Gen2. The Fruit Flies are having a hay-day at the spout as the 2nd boiler charge heats up.

[Bradster68]

Stripping Gen 1 of SBBs all Molasses rum, and started Gen2. The Fruit Flies are having a hay-day at the spout as the 2nd boiler charge heats up.

You won't be disappointed. I'm about due for another batch myself.

[tombombadil]

I started some strawberry panty dropper.
2 quarts of 95% feints vodka,
4#s frozen strawberries,
2 split and scraped vanilla beans,
Not sure how much sugar I'll end up using...
And I need to pick up a lemon.

[Beerswimmer]

Stripping Gen 1 of SBBs all Molasses rum, and started Gen2. The Fruit Flies are having a hay-day at the spout as the 2nd boiler charge heats up.

You can use fores & heads instead of vinegar in traps

[Photoguy-70]

Strained jimbo's wheated bourbon mash and used the leftover grains for sugar head. Bubbling away as I type.

[Deplorable]

Spirit run on gen 1 of SBBs all molasses rum. In the hearts now and its definitely full of molasses flavor off the spout.

[Photoguy-70]

Couple weeks ago made jimbo's wheated bourbon to see what that was like and liked it enough to get 50lbs bags of malted wheat and 2 row plus cracked corn and a batch of it works as i type. Ahhhhhh the smell coming up from my basement brewery is going to keep me awake tonight lol!

Be careful. Big ferments in unvented basements can accumulate enough CO2 to kill more than your pests and pets.

Sorry I missed it. I did not mean I mixed ALL the grains in one barrel lol! I like small batches as that gives me more time to play-enjoy the process.

[tombombadil]

I pressed out some zinfandel grapes yesterday, after a two week fermentation.

3x36# cases of grapes ended up with about 10 gallons of "wine".

Started a sugar wash on the grape skins, will use that for a fake grappa. I did the same thing last year but really screwed up the cuts and ended putting it in to the vodka container. I'll be more careful this year.

I also made a sauvignon blanc pyment. Around 6 gallons of juice plus a gallon of honey was 1.14 sg, fermented with d47 down to 1.02.

Finally, new barrel showed up, filled it with some blue corn bourbon.

Its about time to get some ingredients together for another run. I havent decided if I'll make a 100% rye or a high rye bourbon.

[SW_Shiner]

Did a spirit run on my YLAY Corn/Oats/Wheat whiskey on sunday, then did the cuts yesterday to end up around 9L to put on oak. Then put down a 50l wash for some vodka.

[Dougmatt]

Made a couple of gallons of apple pie. Recipe below. Tried it with ujssm, aged HBB, sugar head off HBB grains aged in a barrel, white whiskey (crow) and rum.

Sugar head off HBB grains tasted the best which blew me away.

Did this while doing my spirit run of the YLAY HBB batch.

Recipe:

Combine
- 1 gallon apple cider
- 1/2 gallon apple juice
- 1 can apple Juice concentrate
- 8 cinnamon sticks
- 8 cloves
- 1 heaping tsp nutmeg

Heat almost to boil
- add 2 cups light brown sugar
- add 1 cup sugar

Dissolve and simmer for 20-30 minutes
Remove cinnamon and cloves

Cool to below 100F and then add liquor to taste / proof
I went down to 18% to protect people like to drink too much of it and I add more liquor to my individual drinks!

[Alzahra888]

What’d i make today, i dont know yet. A little help. I took tails and heads left after Strip+spirit on pressed grape juice (hearts from that are now on oak), and added it to the low wines from a sugarhead made on the grape skins. Spirit ran this to get 3 liters heads, 6 liters hearts and 6 liters tails. Now to decide what to do with this hearts cut, dilute to 60 and oak or keep the 80s and macerate? Of course the heart cut from the juice was significantly subtler than this of the skins*sugar. So what to make i dont know yet. Was planning a grappa but now am thinking macerating something, anything. Also, what to do with these heads and tails, combine or keep separate, save or macerate+run again? Aaah so many possibilities. Open to suggestion.

[Twisted Brick]

What’d i make today, i dont know yet. A little help.

Also, what to do with these heads and tails, combine or keep separate, save or macerate+run again? Open to suggestion.

You will get better responses if you post your inquiries to the appropriate section. This thread provides an opportunity for members to share the satisfaction of their latest achievements and the direction their hobby is taking them.

Try searching 'maceration', 'grappa recipe and process' and 're-running heads'. Any answers on these threads would be easily retrieved by the next inquiring member.

[Alzahra888]

Will do. Feel free to delete…

[Yonder]

Happily, today was the end of my season. Last batch of UJ/rye. I put up 5 gal of rum and around 6 or 7 of various whiskys on oak, all at 62abv. Time to clean it up and pack it away. SWMBO gets her garage back. On a sad note, the American IPA I made 2 weeks back caught a cold has to be dumped. The Tallow tree mead was a big success, tho’.
Y’all enjoy. I know I will.