Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I didnt think it was ever gunna end have never kept anything below 65 before..

bluc wrote:Next jar started at 50 and dropped to 39 over the150ml collected. Well and truly tails. Seems like a great run :handgestures-thumbupleft:

What was your final collected volume on the spirit run? average ABV%?

I will be blending it later today I will measure it for ya then :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Kept 2.3 at 70abv watered back to 60 1l feints 3.3l total collected :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Lot 2
peated scotch
10kg pale ale
4kg peated 2 row bairds
85.3c transferred to mash tun
Bought Temp to 69c had to use bit tap water
Added grain gave it a good stir added 2l cold water drop temp to 64. Lid on. After hour and half gave it a stir took gravity reading 1.069. After another 45mins gravity 1.078 further hour stable at 1.084og for 45mins. Started to sparge. Sparge temp 63. stopped sparge 1.032 Final volume 45l at 1.064. 67% efficiency. :-B

What size mash tun do you use bluc?

60l total internal volume..

Nice. Our esky was full to the brim with grain and 38l of water. It would be great to have a bit more space to to play with.

I am actually regretting my purchase. I can do 17kg grain at 2.4 thickness. I would like to be doubling that amount. But like everything a bigger tun means more storage space access to more water dumping more spent grain etc..

Wow! That’s a whole lotta mash. :shock:

I honestly reckon you would be better off targeting lower numbers. 67 perecnt effeciency is pretty poor. 80 to 85 would be better. Fermenters are cheap. And stripping runs are quick on a pot. So just ferment more mash and do more stripping runs. I bet you could push 85 percent effeciency at 1060 or 1065.

Thinner mash 3l/kg is next to compare. Besides thinner mash anyway to increase effeciency. I would rather not go low abv and more stripping if i can avoid it..

Are you circulating your wort? That will get you some points pretty quick.

No. Do i need a rims tube or can i just circulate?

So did a quick read seems you need an external heat source to circulate. While this is my end goal to setup a herms system. I have more important things to spend money on atm. Like buildi g my bubbler..so will have to put up with low effeciency. Was also reading about high gravity brewing and 67% effeciency on a 8% mash is not completly awful..

We got about 75% on our first Ag mash, and that was by mashing with as close to full wort volume as we could fit in the cooler for an hour. It held rock solid at 63°c for the whole hour and we only stored every 15 min. Maybe it is a temp thing bluc, and as far as recirculating is concerned, if you keep the hose as short as possible and insulate them, it shouldn’t lose too much temp in the process I wouldn’t think. Particularly if the flow Re-enters below the surface and isn’t exposed to the air to cool.
That’s what I am going to try anyway.

Yea paterpiper thinner mash=more effecient mash. But thicker mash =higher % and more grain in my tun. Just watching a video a bloke is using his wort chiller in a kettle full of water. I could use my t500 boiler and buy a watch chiller. Maybe buy a pid temp controller..

67% for not long starting out is good. As long as your happy with the end product, make small adjustments here and there practice and in time hopefully your efficiency will improve which is a bonus.
My first dozen AG brews were dismal. I’m still shit but better than when I started ;-)

I did my blending of the first batch yesterday. I went further into tails then i normally would. I tried some white and dam the amount and quality of flavour, compared to a sugarhead is amazing..

Good to hear bluc. Found that myself with my vast history of one sugarhead and one at! :laughing-rolling: