Rum Recipe Discussion

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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby woodduck » Wed Mar 28, 2018 7:05 am

I have heard that the still spirits yeasts are ok. I used their whiskey yeast in my last batch of bwko. Not sure how it's gone yet as I haven't run it yet but it definitely doesn't smell or react like a turbo so you should be fine. I bought the still spirits accidentally while trying to buy safspirits, which I have heard good things about. So that might be another option.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Plumby » Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:38 pm

Hey guys :greetings-waveyellow:
Going to do my first spirit run of this tomorrow, I have 33 litres of 43% abv low wines that I topped up to 45 litres with leftover wash. My question is should I be concerned about puking during the spit run with wash incorporated or will it be diluted enough too not worry about? I have a 50 litre beer keg boiler and the strip runs never puked but I put a dollop of butter in with them.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby bluc » Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:59 pm

Doubt it will puke. I have done 1.5 runs(one lot stripped in with 25l wash) with rum and not ever had them puke :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Plumby » Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:06 pm

Thanks Bluc :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Plumby » Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:24 pm

Last spirit run I ended up with 7.5 litres at 62% on oak, it was 35 litres of low wines with 10 litres of wash added to make up a 45 litre spirit run. Tomorrow's spirit run will be 45 litres of low wines at 40%, I'm assuming that I'll get a larger hearts cut because of the higher abv in the boiler charge.
Is my assumption correct? I know everyone makes cuts differently but I'm just talking ballpark measures mainly.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby bluc » Sat Apr 07, 2018 7:33 pm

Bigger hearts cut because more low wines. Also the abv it will hold higher for longer. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Plumby » Sat Apr 07, 2018 8:50 pm

bluc wrote:Bigger hearts cut because more low wines. Also the abv it will hold higher for longer. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks Bluc, just the answer I wanted :handgestures-thumbupleft:
Last edited by Plumby on Sat Apr 07, 2018 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Ripas » Sat Apr 28, 2018 3:45 pm

I recently had a fourth gen 55 litre wash that wouldn't start fermenting. About 15litres dunder, 6kg sugar and 6kg molasses (same batch no changes). Temp maintained at 30C.

I had calcium carbonate powder on hand. I don't own a pH meter but assumed acidity was the cause I added about 1/4 cup three times. On the third attempt, so total of 3/4 cup calcium carbonate I repitched bakers yeast and success, fermented out in 3 days, let it sit for a day now I'm doing a stripping run. The distillate has a powdery, chalky aftertaste.

What should I do? Toss the fourth gen strip run and start again back to a gen 1? Or re strip the 4th gen a second time. I am not adding the 4th run low wines to the three previous generations low wines.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby JayTee » Thu Jun 28, 2018 9:18 pm

Hi - I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to re-using dunder and ph adjustment. I've got Zymurgy Bob's most excellent "Making Fine Spirits" book and his general comment about newbies avoiding changing ph have meant I've tried to make MacRum without adjusting ph. To be fair, this wasn't in the context of re-using dunder, so perhaps I do need to adjust ph?

I'm now on generation 3, so I've added 10L of dunder back into the ferment twice. My gen 1 (no dunder) fermented v slowly (nearly 2 weeks) so from the second and third ferments I also included DAP. I'm starting to wonder if the slow 1st fermentation was due to temp @ 26 degC (too low) rather than the lack of DAP. On my gen2 in addition to DAP, the temp was 34 to 36 degC and it was all fermented dry in 3 or 4 days.

On gen 3 I additionally started with a clean FV and re-added yeast, DAP, dunder etc (just because some reviews say that molasses may have preservatives which can stall a ferment). I've had this ferment going ok for 4 days (36 deg C) and it's now stopped. I didn't expect problems, but the hydrometer reading is 1.046 - this is high compared to the end of gen 1 - which was 1.010. I've tasted the wash and it's not sticky but is sweeter than I'm used to.

I bought a ph meter and this is reading 4.07. I've never taken readings before so I have nothing to compare with.

I'd be really grateful for any advice. I'm not sure 4.07 is particularly low given the end of fermentation? Presumably it was higher and dropped throughout the fermentation. If it's not ph, any ideas why it has stalled - presumably it has given the hydrometer reading?
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby JayTee » Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:13 am

Hi - Further update:

I added a heaped teaspoon of CaCO3 stirred into a glass of warm water and then stirred into the wash. Repeated this twice more over a 2 hour period. The ph has raised a little to 4.2. Still no sign of fermentation though. Think I'll abandon ph adjustment on this fermentation ...

I've been reading about the unfermentable sugars in dunder skewing the ph reading, so as this is my second wash (which includes 10L of dunder each), I'm wondering if 1.046 is a reasonable FG after all. I guess I'll let the wash clear for a day or so, then strip it to see what I get.

This is new territory for me so if anyone has advice around the expected FG when using dunder, it would be much appreciated. :-)

This has left me wondering if the full dose of DAP on this ferment and last, really made much of a difference ...
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby woodduck » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:47 am

Not sure what the go is there but sounds like you may have used a bit too much dundar in that wash? Ph is a bit low. Try this thread it might help out
http://aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic ... 57&t=11307

Rum will give a higher fg but that does seem a bit high. Did you take a sg? If so use the calculator in the newbies corner to calculate the % of the wash and if it's around 8-10% then it will be fine to run. Keep your rums warm 35-40deg the love the heat.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby JayTee » Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:04 am

Useful thread - thanks Woodduck :-)

I'll halve the dunder I use going forward until I get a better idea of the whole process. I based this on Mac's original recipe. I'm not sure why some folks ferments seem to work straight off, but others have issues with stalling. I've just ordered a refractometer, so I'll go back to first principles!
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby woodduck » Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:20 am

There's alot of variables that can effect a wash. Molasses, water quality, yeast, temp. Its a matter of fudging the recipe to suit your circumstances. :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby JayTee » Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:20 am

Hi - Just to conclude the story (in case this is useful to others), I decided to strip the wash. Much to my surprise, I got about 5L out (after foreshots removed). Not quite as much as usual, but not the disaster I was expecting. I got a bit of puking (presumably because of the higher sugar in the wash?) but remedied by reducing input power. So, I've now moved on to generation 4 and decided that for all new ferments involving dunder, I'll correct ph at the start, before adding the yeast. Also, I used a yeast bomb for the first time and the brew is chugging along nicely :D
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Maximus_Moonshine » Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:01 am

Having achieved marvelous results from TPW, with great neutral even just on the stripping runs, I took the next step and tried making the first generation of MacRum. I used the Fremantle Molasses, which I note others on the forum use with good results. Recipe and method exactly as in Tried & Proven with the following exceptions;

1/. I added 2tsp DAP and 1/2tsp Citric Acid, as I noted others do in the comments here.
2/. I mixed the yeast up in luke warm water and then added it (should I have sprinkled it on the surface and then stirred it in? I didn't think this would make much difference, but am prepared to be corrected)
3/. I didn't have a temp controlling system at the time and where I live gets very cold overnight, so it is hard to keep the wash warm. The wash dropped to around 20 overnight, before warming up again during the day to around 26 most days.

It fizzed away well enough first few days but no real krausen developed to speak of. Smelt OK. Nice and molassey. I left it for two weeks until I was sure the ferment had stopped and hopefully the sediment had settled (impossible to see for sure in that inky blackness). I'm pretty sure all the fermentable sugar was gone judging by touch and taste.

Stripped it yesterday in a Turbo 500 kettle with the alembic pot head on it. Reasonably hard run - I have a voltage controller, but only tweaked it back a little once product started. Water flat out throughout (very cold water here). Coolant water was exiting at around 30 degrees or less (estimated by touch). First drips came out when the top of condenser temp was around 45 degrees. Threw out 200ml Foreshots. Once a continuous flow of product was achieved, the temp at the top of condenser moved from around 80 degrees to about 90 degrees over a couple of hours. Collected 4.5 litres in total - starting at around 60ABV and ending at a little over 20. Whole lot measures 45ABV mixed together.

Second generation now on (this time with temp controller at 30 degrees and two heat belts, which it is holding nicely) but the ferment still seems slow. After overnight, I have put the lid on and getting a bloop though the airlock every 2 seconds. Haven't measured pH - must get something to do that!

Result of first gen strip: Raw off the still - wouldn't drink it as is. Has a kind of strong yeasty / burnt molasses odour. I note it has improved significantly overnight, but still not as rummy as I would like and these other tones, while not entirely awful, are not desirable to my taste. Am I expecting too much straight up for a raw 1st gen without aging on wood? I read other's results and they describe much better. Was my ferment too cool and slow? Thought I'd see how the 2nd gen goes and if it's not very good, I might start again.

Appreciate any and all advice (and yes, I already know I should get a bubbler).
Cheers
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby bluc » Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:05 am

I dont like raw rum off a pot still but awesome taste after 3months on oak :handgestures-thumbupleft:
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Nathan02 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:45 pm

Rum off the still taste like shit. Three months on French oak and its sweet sweet nectar. Needs ageing mate
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Maximus_Moonshine » Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:11 pm

Thanks guys. Was hoping that was the case. I'll go through the process of the 5 gens and oak it up. Looking forward to the results!
Cheers.
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Nathan02 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:29 pm

You'll be very happy mate. I have faith your on the right track. Rum is a weird beast...
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Re: Rum Recipe Discussion

Postby Rush006 » Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:53 pm

Ive been making rum almost exclusively for 4 to 5 years and find I always have trouble making a good rum in winter. I use heater pads for my mash but its never as good as when i distill in summer. Anyone else have the same findings?
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