Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

:scared-eek:

That sux ezi tasting looks like it was a big batch to :angry-banghead:

Yip, 200l!

So we can't use it?

2 qestions (after the one above):
1) why/how did it happen?
2) how can I prevent it?

I ran one that looked like that and got a lt of primo whisky vinegar :laughing-rolling:

:think:

How was it :))

Thinking back to the old days of salt and vinegar chips, wonder how whisky vinegar would go :laughing-rolling:

Should have bottled it, expensive vinegar :laughing-rolling:

EziTasting wrote:Yip, 200l!

So we can't use it?

2 qestions (after the one above):
1) why/how did it happen?
2) how can I prevent it?

Bit hard when doing 200 but have read boiling after mashing helps stop vinegar bacteria taking hold...

bluc wrote:

EziTasting wrote:Yip, 200l!

So we can't use it?

2 qestions (after the one above):
1) why/how did it happen?
2) how can I prevent it?

Bit hard when doing 200 but have read boiling after mashing helps stop vinegar bacteria taking hold...

Prob not a bad idea, maybe use a immersion chiller to get the 200L temp down faster after boiling

Yer, that and being a Newbie that keeps opening the lid!! :violence-smack:
Getting a sign the days:"No touching!" And then a grumpy face!

Currently stripping it then doing a spirit run next weekend...

Future improvements include:
Using our boiler keg to boils larger qty of water to mash the corn with; insulating the barrel to keep the temp up a little longer to really jelatinise the corn before adding the barley (@ around 60-650 C) and then cool to it down as quickly as possible to pitch the yeast... Followed by the "No touching!" Until it's ready...

Is this bacteria airbourn or on the grain?

looks like a lactic acid bacteria infection Ezi. Will turn your wash to vinegar eventually, but if it's just started and you run it you will probably be ok, might even enhance the flavour :think:

more info here

Kal wrote:looks like a lactic acid bacteria infection Ezi. Will turn your wash to vinegar eventually, but if it's just started and you run it you will probably be ok, might even enhance the flavour :think:

more info here

Thank you Kal, was able to follow most of that... :D good to see the brain hasn't totally fallen asleep!

UPDATE:

We double distilled this (strip & spirit), keeping in mind we're noobs, we got just over 6L of hearts @ 70ABV. Doesn't sound like a good windfall to me but that'll end up being around 12L on or near 40%...

So put 2L on medium Oak, 2L on dark Oak and kept the rest 'raw' as a control. After a month, there's light colour in the medium, darkish colour in the dark (what a surprise!! :o ) and no colour in the control... Probably because we keep tasting it... But the oaked lot is no longer tasting/smelling like fuel and has developed some decent flavour! If it keeps improving it'll be very nice!

NB: don't use this as neutral! Tastes like poop!!! :puke-huge:

It should be a pretty mild flavour un-oaked :think: at least my mcwhiskey and bwko were..

bluc wrote:It should be a pretty mild flavour un-oaked :think: at least my mcwhiskey and bwko were..

yeah the sugarheads won't be the same as this recipe bud.

Ahhh ok cheers.

Yer, sorry, not sure how to describe it - almost Vodka like (as in bought Vodka) but not ... Very Teenager-lingwitch, I know...

To Sugar or Not to Sugar ?

After my first attempt to get a wash going in my 100 litre Bunnings rain water tank ended up all over the garage floor, I am a bit conflicted. I have just read through the comments and am unsure whether to use sugar? Being in Canberra, it is middle of winter and cold, so will have a pad heater under the wash and wrapping a towel around the fermenter seems to help keep the heat in. But some have used sugar and others haven't. My OG was a low 1.10 when my last attempt started, but then the wash was a bit on the thick side, so maybe the reading wasn't correct. Bottom line for me is that the recipe recommends not to use sugar unless in hot conditions, so will not add sugar.

Happy to see other suggestions or comments.

G'day Roger,
Having had only one go so far myself I can only share my opinion.
I added sugar because it also said that that will increase your ABV... But we didn't add the full amount!

Do you know if the thickness related to the weather conditions or was it because the corn gelatinised?
If it was the later, did you get the starches to be converted (do an iodine test?) by the malted Barley?

Hi EzyTasting,

Yes I saw the comments about sugar and ABV, but it also mentioned that sugar will decrease the flavour.

The thickness was not the weather, so can only guess it's what was happening to my wash.

I am about to run a 60 litre wash this weekend but don't have enough experience with grain washes to determine if there will be enough ABV to brew out! All my washes to date have had sugar added.

cheers

If ya don't have a go, you'll never know!

we have enough materials now to do 3 more runs. Thinking we repeat what we did last time (sugar wise) and compare the first to the next; then do one without sugar to see how that improves/ detracts from flavour and/ or ABV and then make a decision what we like best for the last run...

Perhaps, we'll do it again in future (once we've learned all the things we don't know we don't know) or we concentrate on some other recipe we like better!!! :D

Keep us in the loop.

Where did you get the Rye meal from?