Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

i have 50 litres of mac rum recipe in fermenter,
re distilling -original recipe used pot still but changed over the years to recommending 4 plate bubbler.
questions -
is 4 plates still way to go?
how long in reflux before collecting?
any packing in 500mm packed section?

also,is it ok to age in glass storage jar with plastic lid?
i could put foil under the lid?

answer may be in the 113 pages of this thread but i couldnt find using the search feature,
thanks in advance for any insight

Dont use packed section with any brown spirit if you want flavour. I use 4 plates on all rum whiskey :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You dont want plastic anywhere near your drinking spirit aluminium apparently not great either..try get a cork or a better ageing vessel
.

thanks bluc,
does the amount of time in reflux influence how much flavour ends up in the distillate?
having trouble sourcing storage glass with non plastic lids or sealing rings.

I find it effects abv more than flavour.. but really only run long full reflux when doing neutral..

thanks again,
will go with 20 mins reflux
FWIW fermentation was flat out for 48 hrs-continuous stream of bubbles through airlock,now stopped and no sweetness to wash at all.
alcometer in wash reads negative 5%alcohol so guess same issue as trying to read spec grav with a dense solution.

Can’t use an alcometer in the wash.

I run 4 plates, no packing (as Bluc said), reflux for 30 mins. I age in glass containers (I buy the ones with a swing top lid from Cheap as Chips, take the plastic sealing bit out. This allows the lid to close to keep the bugs out but lets the rum breathe. I also use the large Moccona coffee jars, same thing, take the plastic bit off the lid. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Four plates, no packed section. I tend to leave it in full reflux for 10-15 mins before slowly reducing RC water flow.

I like to age in 5L demijohns, but sometimes the oak dominoes don't fit down the neck!

southern45 wrote:Four plates, no packed section. I tend to leave it in full reflux for 10-15 mins before slowly reducing RC water flow.

I like to age in 5L demijohns, but sometimes the oak dominoes don't fit down the neck!

You can always split the dominoes down lengthways to make them thinner without exposing any end grain :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sam. wrote:You can always split the dominoes down lengthways to make them thinner without exposing any end grain :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thanks! Will do that for sure!

Got 4L @ 65% sitting in a demi from the last run. Still undecided on how I'm going to age this batch!

:think:

As a newcomer, I've attempting Mac rum and have Just started my 3rd generation ferment today. I noticed that when running the first two, the distillate was faintly cloudy on the tails jars from approx 39% down to 20%. I've not mixed these in with the rest of the low wines yet. Could someone please confirm that I should keep them or not?
They don't taste or smell bad, although given my experience I couldn't begin to describe them.
Not looking forward to doing cuts for real on the spirit run!
Cheers.

They're cloudy because of the low solubility of heavier alcohols and other molecules that come across at that abv and temperature. When you strip you can collect down to 20% because there's still plenty of alcohol (ethanol) at that percentage. You most likely won't want to include anything this low in your spirit run.

I always strip rum down to 20%, there's plenty of good booze and flavour in those deep tails, you just need to clean them up...

db1979 wrote:You most likely won't want to include anything this low in your spirit run.

I should have said you most likely won't want to include anything that low in your final cuts FROM your spirit run.

Zak, db1979, thanks for your reassurance.
^:)^

So I put my first gen of MacRum down on Sunday arvo. It wasnt exactly to recipe, but reasonably close...

3.2Kg White sugar
4.26Kg Feed grade molasses (Freemantle brand)
1/4 teaspoon epsom salts
80g Lowans yeast
Made up to 25L.

It started with an SG of 1.096 which I thought would be OK. I've had an aquarium heater in it and the temp has been stable at 31C. I've been measuring the SG and pH each day and these are the results I got...

Day 0 - SG=1.096, pH=4.9
Day 1 - SG=1.059, pH=4.6
Day 2 - SG=1.045, pH=4.6

My issue is that it seems to have finished already?!? There's barely any fizzing, the taste is like a sour beer (not vinegar), with no sweetness at all. Does that sound right? I thought I might have got around 9-10%, but as it is I've only got 6.7%.

I've not tried that recipe, however the usual yeast questions come to mind...

How fresh was the yeast, what temp was it pitched at and did you re-hydrate it first?

Tesla101 wrote:I've not tried that recipe, however the usual yeast questions come to mind...

How fresh was the yeast, what temp was it pitched at and did you re-hydrate it first?

As far as yeast goes, I followed the instructions this post originates from -> viewtopic.php?f=32&t=30

The yeast was Lowans bakers yeast and has an expiry of Oct 2020. It is stored in the freezer. I used this yeast on a batch of malt whisky only the week before and it was fine. Pitch temp was 36C ans was not hydrated. The fermentation got off to a great start within the hour of adding the yeast and was bubbing very well the following day. Only this morning and now has it slowed/stopped.

Nevermind - I'm a dumbass. I'm using a refractometer, so using https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/ I get an FG of 1.017, or thereabouts. That gives me ~10% which is what I was expecting.

Oh cool, so all good then? What's that old saying? "Measure twice, pitch once" :laughing-rolling:

But still, 2 days to ferment? Gotta try that recipe then... :think: