Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Whiskyaugogo

Are you sure you wash was finished? Did you take S&F gravity readings? Low alcohol wash :think:

And did you clamp down nice and tight ? Might have a leak :think:

Yeah I did two runs in a row with really low yield, then dismantled and cleaned the still and all good.

Some crystals had formed on the seals causing it not to seat properly and I was losing vapour to the atmosphere :crying-blue:

At first I thought it was bad conversion

AG is too much work to just give straight to the angels :violence-smack:

AG is too much work to just give straight to the angels

How true, even those that pop round on 2 legs and no wings... :handgestures-thumbupleft:

bt1

SG was around 1.06 and I didn't check the FG as I was following the "run it before the 90 hour mark", fermenter had the lid losely on top and I checked all still seals. It's really got me beat. There must of been a vapour leek, it's all that makes sense :think:

I have had a similar issue and found that a 1/2 to 3/4 turn on the wing nut after finger tight did the trick.

Thanks 1 2, will give that a 1/4 turn try :handgestures-thumbupleft:

1 2many wrote:I have had a similar issue and found that a 1/2 to 3/4 turn on the wing nut after finger tight did the trick.

I tried that a few times :laughing-rolling: but then I realised that it was the PH adjusted wash I'd previously ran that was the issue... Bicarb can do some nasty work and forming those little blue crystals is one downfall..

Brendan:

I wanted to reply concerning your comment on not mashing on the burner due to sediment burning.

A Kentucky distiller and consultant, Pintoshine, has a good instructional video on "Mashing 100% Corn with Enzymes on an Open Flame" which is done on a open burner with sufficient drill agitation.

Artisan Distiller thread:
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8516&sid=91ac1489d36764acea7660ef796bf98d

Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtnboJ3Kxeo

The video is the same in both locations, the thread has more explanation (obviously) and discussion.

He starts from cold water soaking the grain so it'd lend itself to your step/rest investigation. He uses two Enzymes that he sells on his site.

I offer this in case you had not seen it. He's a real pro with real information.

Brendan wrote:RECIPE/GRAIN BILL

but some common figures are 70% for corn, and 50% for malted barley and wheat

How do you get these % can you work them out from a ppg value if so how?

have you seen this page

http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8359#p144460

Thanks thats a help but would still like to work out how to do the math so if I buy feedbarn grain then I can work out sugar content of it. :handgestures-thumbupleft: I know to do the ppg reading by adding water up to i gallon onto 1 pound of grain, being able to convert this to a sugar percentage would be handy for working out grain bills.

Taken from stack exchange
"PPG & Potential
Sugars like malt extracts have a "points per pound per gallon" (ppg) rating. PPG is calculated by combining one pound of extract and enough pure water to make one gallon. The extract's rating is then the specific gravity of this solution. Usually, the supplier of a malt extract will list its ppg.

For example, suppose you have a pound of honey and you want to calculate its ppg. Mix the honey and enough water to make a one gallon solution. A hydrometer reading a SG of 1.026 means the honey's ppg is 26.†† Sometimes, this is written as a "potential" of 1.026.

Note you can not add a pound of honey to a gallon of water. The honey takes up volume by itself. The total solution must be one gallon for a correct measurement of potential."

Wow, seems unnecessarily complicated.

I guess it'll give you more control over you ferment and final product?!? What made you seek out this In-depth calculations?
Don't take that as criticism! In genuinely curious, but it seems more complicated than it needs to be...

Find out the sugar content of the grain so I can get grain bill accurate so once i find what i like i can reproduce it like clockwork :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Buying from beer supply place this info should be readily available. But from a stockfeed place i doubt they would know any of this info.

bluc wrote:Find out the sugar content of the grain so I can get grain bill accurate so once i find what i like i can reproduce it like clockwork :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Buying from beer supply place this info should be readily available. But from a stockfeed place i doubt they would know any of this info.

Well, when you get the understanding, please feel free to share. Hopefully by then I would have made more than just expensive degreaser :laughing-rolling:

And maybe I can actually use the info ... :think:

Will do :handgestures-thumbupleft:

bluc wrote:Thanks thats a help but would still like to work out how to do the math so if I buy feedbarn grain then I can work out sugar content of it. :handgestures-thumbupleft: I know to do the ppg reading by adding water up to i gallon onto 1 pound of grain, being able to convert this to a sugar percentage would be handy for working out grain bills.

Taken from stack exchange
"PPG & Potential
Sugars like malt extracts have a "points per pound per gallon" (ppg) rating. PPG is calculated by combining one pound of extract and enough pure water to make one gallon. The extract's rating is then the specific gravity of this solution. Usually, the supplier of a malt extract will list its ppg.

For example, suppose you have a pound of honey and you want to calculate its ppg. Mix the honey and enough water to make a one gallon solution. A hydrometer reading a SG of 1.026 means the honey's ppg is 26.†† Sometimes, this is written as a "potential" of 1.026.

Note you can not add a pound of honey to a gallon of water. The honey takes up volume by itself. The total solution must be one gallon for a correct measurement of potential."

Mashed corn has a potential of 1.037, aka 80% yield

Yep got that from second post but what about rye/rye malt, different types of malt barley things like honey etc would be useful to know how to calculate the amount of sugar in a %

bluc wrote:Yep got that from second post but what about rye/rye malt, different types of malt barley things like honey etc would be useful to know how to calculate the amount of sugar in a %

Get some brew software, I use Beersmith (no affiliation), has the main ingredients in it.

btw, I use a higher % potential than the 2nd post.

also rye malt is 1.029 / 63%

Just bought beersmith 2 mobile couple weeks ago and still getting my head around it...

Hey Brendan,
Great tutorial mate. As I run a herms system in my AG brewery I was keen to use it on your recipe but seeing the porridge you made I don't thinks so!

Have you tried using a bazooka (if I knew how to insert a picture I would...) to strain your mash? If so , does it work since you posted this a few years ago? If this works will save a lot of hassle at the end.