What'd ya'll make today?

[NZChris]

Disgorged the remainder of this year's red wine bubbly and topped up the bottles with this year's oaked, nuked, brandy.

I put some of this year's grappa on toasted, charred, dominoes from its own vine a few days ago. The color is impressive compared to the oak and peach dominoes that were prepared with them and are soaking in their brandy and peach schnapps.

[Beerbrewer]

Two stripping runs for some Birdwatchers which I intend to turn into Odin's gin and some other botanical spirits. Got about 4.15ltrs from about 18ltrs of wash at 10.1%.

[corene1]

Haven't done anything in a while so I did a really nice All Grain today. Corn, wheat, barley, oats and some rye. Almost forgot how good a nice fermenting AG smells like.

[Jimbo]

Haven't done anything in a while so I did a really nice All Grain today. Corn, wheat, barley, oats and some rye. Almost forgot how good a nice fermenting AG smells like.

Yum. Thats how I do the 5 grain I sent you And triple distilled (Irish style) to clean it up just a touch more. Pot still smears like a dog so there's still plenty flavor.

Cheers

[NB01]

Just started a 5 gal mash of an adapted Gerber wash. I found Strawberry/Banana Gerber baby cereal and figured it couldn't hurt to try. It has strawberry flavored corn meal, along with dried banana flakes so who knows what kind of flavor will come through. I run everything through my pot still nice and slow usually only once so I hope some of those fruity flavors come through. If not, oh well, another good drinkin Gerber wash! You can't go wrong with that receipe!

[corene1]

Haven't done anything in a while so I did a really nice All Grain today. Corn, wheat, barley, oats and some rye. Almost forgot how good a nice fermenting AG smells like.

Yum. Thats how I do the 5 grain I sent you And triple distilled (Irish style) to clean it up just a touch more. Pot still smears like a dog so there's still plenty flavor.

Cheers

Wish you could taste it now. It's been on used sherry oak for a while and has a wood lid so it can breath. It is really starting to develop a lot of subtle flavors. Just had a little taste.

[T-Pee]

Running Gen 8 UJ as we speak.

tp

[ron71157]

10 gallons of WPOSW...a crappy ferment..think i used too much sugar anyway tried out my new CM/VM hybrid

CM-VM Hybrid

was able to achieve full reflux just using the condenser (double helix) at the top

The coil

harvested 48 ozs@ 8ozs every 10 minutes; hearts came out at 95.5 %

Pretty good stuff

Since i like thermometers.....temperature variance from the boiler and the coil was 28% F

top of the column

Some kinda fun..Larupin fun

[Beerbrewer]

Final run of Odin's Gin, an all feints run and I kegged 25ltrs of pale ale, all in all, not a bad day.

[MyUncleMo]

Just spiced up a tester quart of 128 proof Hook Rum that has been in a new oak barrel a short time. It picked up nice color and spice in the new barrel. Now Ive got a used barrel

If it works out I will add some Dunder saved from the spirit run to darken it up a bit. Then make a larger batch with the remainder of the run that will still be in the barrel.

The last spiced batch was with my single distilled Hook - and needed to make a few adjustments. No Cardimum this time. The wife did not care for it and I felt it overpowered the drink. It was still a real tasty smooth drink neat.

Even though I already oaked it in the barrel - I added a black swan barrel insert - charred oak.

1 - charred oak honeycomb stick
1 vanilla bean
4 allspice berries
4 small chunks of cacao nibs
2 small chunks of crystallized ginger.
5 peppercorns assorted color
2 cloves
1 short cinnamon stick

The rums all have a nice deep molassas smell to it. It gets smoother each time I sample it.

[jedneck]

Started a wheated Bourbon. 13 lbs corn, 4 lbs hard white spring wheat and 6 lbs mallted red wheat. Gonna ferment in my 16 gallon fermenter on the grain. Gonna run a sugar head on the grain when its done fermenting.

[Jimbo]

I spent a few hours today going through the stashes, pulling several things off oak, rotating a batch of apple brandy out of the barrel from 2012 and putting 2013's batch in there with some fresh char'd oak sticks. Found 3 differnet batches of stuff aging on oak in quarts that were done, pulled out the oak, mix and waterdown to 45% in a big stainless pot. I like this stage cause they go in gallon jugs now at 45% all ready to fill the fifths off of.

Reminder to all, if you got stuff in jars with oak, check it every few months to make sure you dont over oak.

[Beerbrewer]

Sorted out a third generation cornflake Whiskey, will probably change up and start making rum after this one is out of the way since I have some dunder saved from a previous run that has a nice flora over it.

Also need to think about whether I want to make some elderflower champagne or leave it and make something out of elderberries instead

[Drunken Unicorn]

Just cut some rum. 2/3 Molasses, 1/3 Panela and some aged dunder. It's pretty nice.

[Grappa-Gringo]

yesterday: 3 pounds of crushed rye
2 pounds of Munich malt
6 pounds sugar--- inverted
5 gallons water
tablespoon yeast.... bubbling away very nicely today....

[planethax]

Made up 26 gallons of "Planet's Frosted Flakes" last night lol .
Eager to make another run.

[midwest shinner]

I've been really into cider lately(and mead, its really been distracting me from stilling lately) and i just started a batch I'm super stoked on. Its an Apple cyser bochet, which is an apple cider with burnt honey. The process for burning the honey came from a bochet(burnt honey mead) recipe from the 1500's. God i freaking love honey! Other recent recipes are a cherry melomel(cherry mead) and a black and blue(berry) apple cider and planning to start a Graff(hopped cider with malt added)in the next few days. I also have a neutral batch fermenting(based off Rads All bran) that i will eventually use to make some gin. I have a few batches of low wines waiting for spirit runs too, man I'm such a freakin slacker

[Jimbo]

Sweet Midwest. Been wondering where you been hiding

[Jimbo]

Hey speakin of cider, Midwest, how did the cider and brandy turn out from our apple picking extravaganza last fall?

[midwest shinner]

It was a good learning experience but i didn't keep any for cider. and on my spirit run i was too tight with cuts, so I've got 2 gals of "feints" (i use quotes cuz they definitely aren't all feints)to rerun which I'm sure will yield quite a bit of drinkable spirit. I'm definitely ready for next year with the knowledge I've got now, and i even talked my parents into letting me plant a small orchard on their property. Really it will probably only be maybe 4-6trees, not sure which fruits ill pick yet, maybe cherries and apples...

[Jimbo]

By too tight you mean you tried to keep too much and arent happy wih the flavor? Run it again, or bring it over and we'll run it together.

Cherries are very productive. My one tree gives me 150+ lbs a year. Its a Montmorency variety. Gotta get soem peaches in too. THere is NOTHING like a tree ripened home grown peach that drips down your shirt on first bite. That sawdusty bullshit they pick green in Cali and pawn off on us in teh grocery is criminal. They shouldnt even call them shit bricks peaches. Asian pears are delicious and easy to grow too. Pretty immune to bugs (I dont spray my trees, my bee's have a hard enough time with the neonicitinoid super sprays Bayer and others are pumping out for farm fields).

[T-Pee]

Set up a fresh BW wash...something to add my feints to for a high proof reflux run.

Oh. And a pot of coffee.

tp

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

Scooped out the flesh of 2.5kg of feijoas i picked up off the ground under my tree today to put in the freezer to start my collection for a brandy.

[T-Pee]

Scooped out the flesh of 2.5kg of feijoas i picked up off the ground under my tree today to put in the freezer to start my collection for a brandy.

Had to look that one up, Tok. Sounds pretty good though.
From the California Rare Fruit Growers website:

The fruits range from 3/4 to 3-1/2 inches long and vary in shape from round to elongated pear shape, with the persistent calyx segments adhering to the apex. The waxy skin is dull blue-green to blue or grayish green, sometimes with a red or orange blush. Skin texture varies from smooth to rough and pebbly and is 3/16 to 5/8 inch thick. The fruit emits a strong long-lasting perfume, even before it is fully ripe. The thick, white, granular, watery flesh and the translucent central pulp enclosing the seeds are sweet or subacid, suggesting a combination of pineapple and guava or pineapple and strawberry, often with overtones of winter green or spearmint. There are usually 20 - 40, occasionally more, very small, oblong seeds hardly noticeable when the fruit is eaten.

tp

[Tokoroa_Shiner]

Yea I remember reading a thread saying they weren't very common outside of NZ. I'll be doing more once they ripen

[JFlipz]

Oh. And a pot of coffee.
tp

That's all I've made so far today!

[jedneck]

Afte im done running wire to the cave for power to the boiler so i aint gotta fight the soh for the dryer outlet. Im gonna make a corn, oat and red wheat malt whisky. Not sure on the ratio yet. Gonna use backset from a wheated Bourbon.

[NZChris]

Jeropiga, using some of the end of season grapes still clinging to the vine and this season's grappa. It's only a small sample because I hadn't even heard of it before today and there are bugger all grapes left. If my family likes it, there could be a lot more next year.

First impression is very good even though the grappa is a year too young. Silly bugger. I have some of last year's grappa and never thought to use it.

[Beerbrewer]

Yet another Birdwatchers for a herbal type drink with ingredients from my garden.

[MoonBreath]

Did a whole run of peach, emptied pot, put the whole run that was collected back into the pot ..
Topped off with fresh peach wash and ran it again ..Sure smells good ..
Angels gettn their share as we speak ..