What'd ya'll make today?

[higgins]

Did 2 spirit runs this past week. On Thursday I pot-stilled my Single malt low wines, and on Friday I pot-stilled a Bourbon.

The Single Malt (68 lbs/31 kg) was fairly typical, except that the crystal and chocolate malts came thru quite nicely. My SM feints are from peated whisky, and this one did not have any peat so I didn't use the feints. This will fill a badmo made from once-used bourbon barrel staves, with maybe a little white dog left.

So now I have another set of feints to save (I have bourbon, rum, rye, and peated SM feints saved up, and now non-peated SM feints, too)

---

The spirit run on the bourbon was also fairly typical. The mash was 52.5 lbs/23.8 kg (37.5 lb/17 kg cornmeal, 10 lb/4.5 kg rye, and 5 lb/2.3 kg pale malt). I had expected about 15 gal/57L of beer and 10 gal/37.9L of mash slurry - that is about what I normally get. But this time, even with 3+ weeks of settling, I got 10 gal/37.9L beer and 15 gal/57L slurry.

So I decided to do 2 strip runs ... load 5 gal/19L wash into my steamer (7.75 gal keg) and load 7.5 gal/28.4L slurry in my main boiler and run it like a thumper. I added about 55 oz/1.6L of bourbon low feints (18%) to the beer for each run. I ran each one until the ABV off the spout was under 5% and collected 7.1 gal/26.9L @ 34.5%. So then I added 80 oz/2.3L of 80% bourbon feints to the low wines for the spirit run.

I've not yet made the final cuts, but my estimated yield is close to 3 gal/11.3L of 62%. That will fill a Badmo (new AWO with a 1" wide raw cherry stave in the middle) plus another gallon+ for my faux solera bourbon system.

[PalCabral]

Happy workers' day, everybody! Here in Europe most countries have the day off and for me it's a perfect day for my hobby.

I ma doing a spirit run of my wheated Bourbon today, just entered the "Heads" fraction of the run. My better half, who is not the slightest impressed with my life choices of hobbies, said: "see you tomorrow". At least she didn't say "see you never", but I think that's not far away... Many hours remaining.

[Corn Cracker]

Happy workers day, seems your taking advantage of the day off
she sounds like my wife

[PalCabral]

Happy workers day, seems your taking advantage of the day off
she sounds like my wife

[SW_Shiner]

Put down two brews yesterday. A YLAY wheated whiskey, 10kg corn, 6kg wheat topped up to 60L. And a feijoa wash, 6.5kg feijoa topped, tailed and chopped and 4.5kg sugar topped up to 26L @ 1.075. As of this morning, the YLAY has blown all the water out of the airlock. What little water does remain makes enough of a sound to know its still working. The feijoa is fizzing away nicely.

[tombombadil]

Started a new run, first of two mashes:
50# Wapsi Valley corn
25# Rye Malt
Voss yeast

I made a small batch like this a while ago and liked it a lot so now I'm making enough to fill a 5g barrel.

I'm thinking about calling it "More Money Than Brains Bourbon", since the corn was silly expensive and probably doesn't make a big difference.

[PalCabral]

Today I am up early early to start double-mashing for a Bourbon. Early bird gets the worm, not sure what the equivalence is for brewers/distillers, a dram? Anyway, the mashing water is heating up so I can at least take a short break to get the first coffee of the day. Important that, to not do too much work so early in the morning without having a coffee.

Red Diamond Whiskey recipe:
3.8kg Torrefied Maize (51%)
2.3kg Malted Rye (31%)
0.8kg Malted Wheat (10%)
0.6kg Malted Barley (8%)
0.2kg Rice hulls
25L water with Epsom salts and CaCO3.

Mashing schedule:
Mash in 40C.
Beta glucan rest 43C - 30min
Protein rest 50C - 15min
Saccharification rest 67C - 90min or for as long as it takes
Sparge, cool and repeat for second mash.
Add Gluco amylase at 65C. after second mashing and leave mash to cool au naturell for 60 min.
Then cool to pitching temp. Add nutrients (DAP, dead yeast, and Wyeast nutrients).
Aerate the crap out of the wort, add USW-6 and mussel shells. Seal fermenter with empty yeast lock.

Edit: Done with mashing. Long day. Dont you just love when you transfer the wort from the madh tun to the fermenter?

[higgins]

Made Badmo clones #16 & 17 today. The one on the left has a cherry center, but only the oak was toasted & charred. A single malt will go in that one, and a bourbon in the other

Leak free in 2 hours, so good to go.

[PalCabral]

Love your barrels, Higgins.

I am doing my first run after my scorching experience two weeks ago. Striiping run of my high rye Bourbon, same recipe that I ran last time. Been heating up on 50% power this time and what usually takes 40 minutes to get the first drops is now taking 1 hour longer. Shoot me. If I scorch now I drink the remaining washes as is.

Patience has never been a virtue of mine.

[SW_Shiner]

Managed to get two runs done this weekend. A spirit run of feijoa, hopefully will get round to doing cuts tonight or tomorrow. And a strip of my COW (Corn, oats, wheat) bourbon. Next weekend ill put down another bourbon mash which should net me around 50L lowines at around 30%.

[EricTheRed]

Gin base from feints
31L at 42%
Ran at 94.5 to 95 all day
Looks like I'll get just on 6L at 95%

[NZChris]

Gin base from feints
31L at 42%
Ran at 94.5 to 95 all day
Looks like I'll get just on 6L at 95%

Nice. Having enough gin base to last for many months of experimenting without having to worry about running out is always a good feeling.

[NZChris]

Feijoacello using the peel from the last fruit from my trees and a Feijoa spirit made earlier. The first experiment was very nice, so this batch won't be much different.

[MooseMan]

Gin base from feints
31L at 42%
Ran at 94.5 to 95 all day
Looks like I'll get just on 6L at 95%

Funny enough, I stripped a sugar head today for my neutral low wines stock, as I'm down to my last demi of gin base.

While stripping I used the hot water from the PC to set up what will probably be my last grain ferment of this year. (Going to try to concentrate on learning brandy)
Today was a 2 vessel split, 25kgs flaked maize and 12kgs crimped oats in approx 120l water, YLAY ferment.

[OtisT]

Doing a spirit run today on a rye bourbon. 11 gallons at 28%. I think I just pulled my first keeper jar.

[Alzahra888]

Today I am mashing for Vodka/Gin

Vodka & Gin Grain Bill (82L Total Volume)
Target OG 1.065 (≈8.5% potential ABV)
|
Malted Wheat 10kg
Raw Wheat 1.5kg
Raw Oats 1.5kg
Raw Barley 1.5kg

Total Grain: 14.5kg
Water: 58L (4:1 water-to-grain ratio).


Gelatinization (in25L Pot)

4.5kg raw grains + 13L water boiled in 25L pot

1. grind raw wheat, oats, barley (1.5kg each)
2. Boil in 13 liters water + 2 tsp alpha-amylase at 85–90°C (185–194°F) for 30 mins
3. Cool to 65°C (149°F)

Saccharification (110L Barrel)
1. Transfer gelatinized grains to barrel.
2. Add 10kg malted wheat + 38L hot water (70°C)
3. Mix in 2 tsp glucoamylase
4. Hold at 63–65°C (145–149°F) for 90 mins
5. Adjust pH to 5.0–5.2 with citric acid

Fermentation

Edit: 1. Cool to 35°C (95°F)
2. Rehydrate 30g Yellow Label yeast in 150mL water (15 mins).
3. Add nutrients
- 2 tsp DAP
- 1.5 tsp Epsom salts
- 2 crushed multivitamin tablets

Final mash volume: ~82L (110L barrel, 25% headspace).

[PalCabral]

Stripping the first of three batches of molasses rum.