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MichiganCornhusker wrote:You using any nutrient, Rager?
My first batch stalled after a great start and then took off again after I added some neuts.
Then again maybe that's just how rice rolls.

i ended up getting the temp up, dropped in a small palm full of DAP. took off like a rocket and finished under 1.0.

did a spirit run , pulled just over a gallon of 80p ( and a couple qts of fients) after cutting with water. not bad for 20 bucks worth of rice

gonna throw a qt on some oak just to see what happens..... who knows. anyone oak rice spirits before?

Running a batch of Irish whiskey tonight. 25% 6-row, 25% 2-row, 40% barley, 10% oats. I'll run this 3 times and collect 5 gallons to a barrel and age 2 or 3 years.

50 pounds corn, 18 pounds 6 row, 6pounds rye and 5 pounds honey malt. Milled everything but the corn together and gave 9 pounds of mixture the malliard treatment. Threw it all together used enzymes for conversion. Got right at 9% potential alcohol. Smells like heaven

Ran off 10 gallons of Sweet Feed 4th gen. today. Have collected about 5 gallons of low wines from 1-4 generations. Started 18 gallons of 5th generation today also. Trying to reach the point that I can gather enough low wines from one generation and keep it segregated through stripping to spirit runs. Using a 44 gallon Brute for primary fermenter. Might have to upsize that. The sweet feed itself takes up volume. Anyway, the product has been excellent. I am oaking in gallon jugs in sunlight for a few days then into fridge for a few days. I just sample when it starts to color up and let it age until it suits me. I like the heavy oak taste and drink it mixed with Coke so I just mix it at cask strength of about 125 Proof. Have not gotten to the point of catching small jars, blending for taste and then altering proof to drink neat or just over ice. Haven't aged any over 3 months. It is still a pretty smooth drop. Doesn't take much to get you tore up from the floor up. Hopefully this winter I will finish my 8 gallon pot, 2' copper column with electric element and controller. Still have honey and agave to ferment and run. Then on to an AG attempt.

I admire you folks that can age for 2-3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also my batch of blueberry wine came out to what I would call award winning taste. I am not much of a wine drinker but this stuff is the shiznit......I mean GOOD!!!! Perfectly clear. Fermented it down to 1.005 and it is the perfect blend of tart beginning and sweet finish.

Down_Home52 wrote:I admire you folks that can age for 2-3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can = brew more If you brew more than you drink, then it starts to accumulate Scaling up is easier than brewing more often.

Yup. I consider aging the most significant aspect of making booze. That is if you get everything moderately right. My plan for quite awhile is to make double what I drink or give away. That way it's pretty simple to have really old stuff on hand all the time. The attic is quite a sight. Wife worries about fire.

thumper123 wrote:The attic is quite a sight. Wife worries about fire.

ha, yes, that notion has crossed Jimbo's mind more 'oft than once whilst perusing the aging cellar. 62% burns real nice.

Jimbo wrote:can = brew more

I have quite a bit aging...

I tend to do large batches with the idea that if I ever have anything turn out really well I will at least have several bottles to enjoy.
Trouble is that I do a LOT of different recipes, so I have a lot of bottles aging away.
A little bit of it is pretty great, some is fairly good, and much is just better than store bought.
A very few bottles might get dumped out, but nothing comes to mind.

But at the beginning of EVERY batch, there is always the hope that this one will be special.
And tonight it is Jimbo's (heavily) Wheated Bourbon by way of Booner's mash protocol with Pint's liquid 'zymes. A blessed trinity.
50# shelled corn, 25# white wheat malt, 15# malted barley.
Hit the finely ground corn with boiling water and Sebstar HTL tonight, will mash tomorrow.

Steam mashing 100 lbs southern strutter sweet feed. Plan on adding 10 lbs of rye at the end. Found broosy? Rye at a different feed store today, way more selections than the store near town.

Nothing for a change. Feels so good to say and do that, popped a bottle of my alder smoked single malt and sipping some, really good right now

OVZ

This week I've done more mashing and did the first strip of my beechwood smoked whiskey attempt.

masonsjax wrote:This week I've done more mashing and did the first strip of my beechwood smoked whiskey attempt.

How do you like that beechwood so far? I've use beechwood smoke for potato shine before and I think it worked very well.

MichiganCornhusker wrote: How do you like that beechwood so far? I've use beechwood smoke for potato shine before and I think it worked very well.

I've used it in a lot of beers and love it. It tastes like bacon, how can you go wrong?

I'll let you guess...lol

I have a batch of for lack of a better name fruit rum fermenting. I mix 50 pounds black-strap molasses with 70 pounds pears and mangoes in light syrup with enough water to make 45 gallons, I have 3 barrels like this fermenting now and just finished distilling 3 barrels.
I age it on toasted oak sticks in gallon jugs after distilling, the first batch has a remarkably good taste and I hope this batch turns out as well.

Finishing up 18 gallons of birdwatchers wash.

GG - I can't open your picture but if I were to guess, you'd be a pirate!

Redgreen2002-----arrrrrrrhhh.....

Grappa-Gringo wrote:Redgreen2002-----arrrrrrrhhh.....

Oh no....not Red Green.....

last night I started some apple brandy...

4 gallons of hansens apple cider I bought it for the nice glass jugs.
1/2 gallon generic apple juice (it was on the shelf)
5 can of apple juice concentrate
2.5# honey
SG of 1.078 (about 10% abv potential, a little highter than I expected)

added some dap. and peptic enzyme and used ec1118.

its bubbling away... hope its good!!

Just finished spirit run on 3rd and 4th gen SF low wines. Started with about 4.5 gallons of low wines and cut with finished SF wash to 35% abv. Got 12 quarts of product from 160 proof down to 105 proof and only the last 1/2 quart had any cloudiness to it. The 110 quart was A++++ right out of the parrot. Good whiskey. Will age on oak stiicks I toasted and charred the sides and left ends uncharred. Ran this on simple pot still with packed column. The 35% abv really comes to a boil quick!!

Mashing pears. This time only doughy ripe fruits get into the fermenter. I startet today with 8l only and hope, that the other pears ripen fast. So I can I add a few more to the mash every day.

32lbs cracked corn, 8lbs oats, 8 lbs malt barley, 8 lbs malt rye. Steep cooked the ground cracked corn and oats, added alpha. I used Sebstar enzymes. Added the gluco and malt barley at 153f. 24 gallons of water total. It all went into a 32 gallon Brute trash can. Racked it off yesterday.

I put all the rum together in a barrel today(except a gallon or two for medicinal purposes) There is about 20 gallons in the barrel now, adding more oak and bringing the proof up a bit by double distilling some, the barrel should be full by next weekend. Ill forget about it a few months and then I'll start flavoring a gallon at a time by soaking various fruits, that's the plan.

akdaltron wrote:last night I started some apple brandy...

4 gallons of hansens apple cider I bought it for the nice glass jugs.
1/2 gallon generic apple juice (it was on the shelf)
5 can of apple juice concentrate
2.5# honey
SG of 1.078 (about 10% abv potential, a little highter than I expected)

added some dap. and peptic enzyme and used ec1118.

its bubbling away... hope its good!!

You are making me thirsty for some apple wine, that used to be my favorite thing to make.

Thursday I took stock and found 25# white sugar 24#brown sugar and a half gallon of molasses.chucked all in a fermented with four tablespoons and water to s.g.1.060 about 30 gallons...and a cup of oyster shells. Its fermenting nicely with bakers yeast.
Figure it will make decent apple pie. I normally use brown sugar rum to make apple pie anyway so this'll work.

I've been making rye and adding it to a 5 gallon carboy for several years now - sort of solera effort.

Today I will be mashing 3kg of unmalted rye, 2kg of malted rye, and fermenting it with Burton Ale from white labs.

What I've been doing is varying between additions of 1-2% roasted rye from batch to batch. In my most recent one I roasted about 50g of unmalted rye flour to a deep tan color. You better bet that it completely changed the aroma of the mash, and came over in the distillate.

Now I play the waiting game for it to mellow.

Today, I have a 55, 25, 20 corn, barley, oat in the fermenter. A birdwatchers is dry for Mrs. Hank, and will be run in 2 days...

I am wanting to try some wheat in the next round.

It's finally cooling down here, so I've been running my UJSSM out in the stillhouse. I just did a stripping run yesterday. The hearts are so smooth!

Most of this batch will be Christmas gifts for the relatives. They've already been asking for my stuff! I just pitched the yeast for my next batch tonight.

Made bacon, hams, sausage, scrapple, liverwurst, and cracklins. 4 times over. Love butcherin day.

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