Mac's Bourbon Whiskey Knock Off (BWKO) Discussion

[victorski]

Excellent thanks McStill :D

If i have a 60L wash and strip it in separate 30L batches and combine the low wines then continue this for 5 generations, approximately how much in low wines would I have accumulated and what sort of yield would I be looking at if I then do a spirit run?

I've installed one 2200w element into my keg, soon to install my second higher up! I need approximately 12 litres to cover the first element, so I wondering what happens if I have smaller batches which don't cover both the elements? Can I just add water to cover or will that affect my purity :(

Can I run a 30L wash in a 50L keg on a 2.5 pot still with just one element or do I need both? I haven't managed to put together a voltage controller yet so i was wondering how I can manage the power lol will I just have to wait till make a voltage controller?

Sorry for all the questions lol trying to get my head around it all :D

Cheers,
Victor

[MacStill]

I think most of what you're asking has been covered in this topic, "I think"

Just follow the recipe, keep both elements covered or remove one if you cant put wash in your boiler.

I wouldnt water anything down or you'll lose flavor, if you need to dilute low wines use some wash :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Cane Toad]

I'm probably just pissing in the wind here,but out of a 180l odd wash I strip about 40 odd litres of low wines through the bubbler,dunno if a pot still would produce more or not.
So,if my maffs is correct,and it prolly ain't,you should end up wiv about about 55l of low wines after 4 generations being stripped.This is where the dilemma comes in.
I've been doing 4 gens of stripping,and when I go to put the 5th down,I only do about half a batch,just so I can fit the low wines and wash in the boiler,I just reckon it tastes better if there is wash in with the LW when doing a spirit run
Just my 2c

[R-sole]

You will get about 1 litre per kilo of sugar when stripping down to 20% with a pot still. ;-)

So assuming you are using 10-11 kg of sugar in your wash, you'll end up with 50l of low wines from 5 gens. As Don said, break this into two runs of 25l each and water them down with 5l or so of wash rather than water to give you a 30l charge.

25l @ 40@ alc = 10l of total alc possible or 12.5 litres at 80%.

Best thing would be to cover your element well with wash first (and a bit extra) and then tip your low wines in, that way you know it will still be covered when you are finnished.

[victorski]

Excellent :-) Thanks for that guys, can I clarify on the 5th generation that I only strip half the the wash and use the other half of the wash with my two batches of low wines when doing my spirit run? (Great tip about covering elements with the wash first!!!)

Thanks! Yipeee

[R-sole]

You can do it however you please mate. There's no rules.

[victorski]

Sweet thanks :D I'm just about to put down a 60L batch in a 60L container. Do I need space for the krausen or is there not much foaming ? Just worried it'll overflow all over the place, I've got about 7cm space ontop lol

Cheers
Victor

[MacStill]

Just keep an eye on for a few hours, it should be ok :lol:

[victorski]

Fantastic :D thanks for the quick reply McStill :D Woohoo

[Cane Toad]

Na,it'll be right Vic,shouldn't foam up too much,it's a great brew you're putting down,I've been doing it since I started in this hobby/habit :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:
My main refreshment is/was Jim Beam Small Batch,I've now got Mac's knock off that bloody close to the commercial stuff you can't tell the difference,actually it's probably even better :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[victorski]

Awesome :D that's what I want to hear!! Now i might have made a silly mistake. Not sure that it'll affect it or not but I added all the ingredients and inverted the sugar, then like I would do with beer topped up to 60L, I did not take into consideration that i have nearly 10 kilos of grains which would then reduce my water by 10L lol :angry-banghead: what you recon, am I just being a worry wort ? Anyway, just waiting on her to cool down to 30 degrees so I can pitch the yeast then i'm ready spagetti! :teasing-tease:

[Cane Toad]

Na mate just let her rip when it gets to 30 degrees,pretty hard to fuck it up :handgestures-thumbupleft: it'll be right

[victorski]

Cheers mate, it's bubbling like mad :D Might throw an aquarium heater in to keep her at a constant 30 degrees, or can I just leave it ? I think shes at about 29 degrees now!

Cheers,
Victor

[MacStill]

Just leave the lid on it and let it do it's thing :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[Cane Toad]

Yeah just leave it,check the airlock every couple of days to make sure there is enough water in it,then forget about it,don't kill it with kindness :teasing-tease:

[victorski]

:D easy peasy, I don't have an airlock never used one when brewing beer haha I can't imagine it's any different for this mash! I just test the SG regularly after a week until it stays at the same reading :shifty: just waiting now on a pot still & boka from stubbydrainer :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[stubbydrainer]

I bet you'll have a smile on ya dial come friday Vic ;-)

[victorski]

Woo, she is done then I take it :-) ? This Friday? Yay!

[victorski]

I have a question ;-) If I run my UJSM through 15 generations and have enough spirits to fill my barrel + enough low wines for a spirit run, can I just pause the whole process? perhaps adding the backset back into the fermenter and sealing her shut till i'm ready to start collecting again or will it go funky ? I don't want to lose 10 generations and have to start from the beginning again :angry-banghead:

Cheers,
Victor

[Kimbo]

I dont know about others, but i keep my backset and lees in the fridge if im not going to run for a while. ;-)