Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Molasses seems to be getting harder to find.
I went hunting on Saturday around my SEQ area, nothing in Redlands, Capalaba and the guy in Wynnum wanted $2 a litre but couldnt fill my 20lt bucket.
So the hunt continues.

Few places up this way still have some. Long way to drive I know but if you cant get any close it might be an option.

I’ll give it a week or 2 before I start to panic :wtf:

Bloody hell if Qlders are finding it hard to source we mexicans have no chance

I have 5-6 produce places near me and I'm down brissy way pretty often, anyone feel free to pm me if you want me to try up here, would be good to meet some fellow nutters :)

I have read that um can be a bit of hit and miss sometimes. I get my stuff form Beerbelly in Adelaide. Never had an issue until my last 20L batch. Just would not get going, tried everything. Took it back and they told me others had issues and they have now sourced a new supplier. I'm still waiting though... :cry:

http://bundabergrumshowcase.com.au/manu ... bundy.html
Was surfing the net about clarifying molasses and found this.
Not sure if its been posted here before but worth a read if anybody is trying too emulate that Bundy style. :wtf:

Had my first ever stall wash today, never took off :crying-blue:

Nothing out of the ordinary, fresh Qld molasses. Made my starter and added it when wash was at 35degrees. 2 hours later nothing :handgestures-thumbdown:
sprinkled some lowans finest on the top, hour later....wooshka

Dont have a PH meter so no idea, dont matter now the shed is smelling great :banana-dance:

Perhaps the first lot of yeasties got a bit warm at 35 degs... anyway happy days now!!
Lowans is pretty forgiving! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

dans.brew wrote:Perhaps the first lot of yeasties got a bit warm at 35 degs... anyway happy days now!!
Lowans is pretty forgiving! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1:

dans.brew wrote:Perhaps the first lot of yeasties got a bit warm at 35 degs... anyway happy days now!!
Lowans is pretty forgiving! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Forgiving alright, ive pitched at 40 before when ive had shit to do.
must have been gremlins in this batch

I'm having a few issues with my current run of rum. I'm midway through a spirit run on a big bunch of various low wines and feints collected over time.

Setup is boiler-> inline thumper that drains back to boiler but holds 7L of liquid before doing so -> 3 plates on top of that-> deflag -> PC -> parrot.

There is roughly 25L of combined low wines @ 52% watered down to less than 40%. 5 liters of this was placed into the thumper pre run the remaining 20L into the boiler along with 10L of dunder and water to ensure elements wont run dry towards end of run.

I've run it for 30 mins in full reflux before bleeding off 250mls of fores and then slowly taking heads before ramping up to 2-2.5L/hr for hearts. This is coming off at 93% abv once temp adjusted and slowly creeping towards 92% now after 4 hours. Output temp is at 22C.

The low wines I placed in were full of banana, rummy flavour and various delicious smells.... however my hearts is smelling very neutrally. Which I'm not too keen on.

I've tried playing around with the settings on my still, lowering my power input and cooling water to suit so that they are providing less energy input but maintain the same L/hr output. Thinking behind this being, less energy input less refluxing, more mixing of fractions should carry over more flavour. Initially I was sitting at 3000W power input but am now down to 2550W.

I am currently hitting a bit of a mind blank and possibly over thinking everything.

Ideally I would like my output abv to be around 86-88% and hopefully carry over a little more flavour but not dirty tails. Is the best way to achieve this removing 1 plate? Do I need to try drop the power input further?

Kinda lost at the moment.

Run it harder or with less reflux(run rc hotter) for more flavour. You would be amazed at flavours that develop on oak. My first bubbler rum finished afted cuts at 92% watered to 65% then oak added. Its heaps cleaner no manky rum tails taste. Was very neutral going onto oak. But normal rum flavours are developing as usual. Keep it as is put it on oak and try in 6mnths. Then run a batch hotter 80-83% abv after cuts and age then compare. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

bluc wrote:Run it harder or with less reflux(run rc hotter) for more flavour. You would be amazed at flavours that develop on oak. My first bubbler rum finished afted cuts at 92% watered to 65% then oak added. Its heaps cleaner no manky rum tails taste. Was very neutral going onto oak. But normal rum flavours are developing as usual. Keep it as is put it on oak and try in 6mnths. Then run a batch hotter 80-83% abv after cuts and age then compare. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I've cranked the power up and now collecting the remaining spirit at 3.5L/hr too see what she turns out like, going to do a side by side oaking comparison with the 2.5L/hr and 3.5L/hr to see how it turns out. Will also oak some neutral to provide a control.

Most of my rum oaking so far has ended up with a wood forward taste profile, I don't believe it to be over oaked, just a more woodier flavour than rum flavour (hoping I haven't killed my taste buds). Which whilst okay is not what I was expecting.

It's a hard thing to have to wait 6 months to find out the result of an experiment.

Someone help a slightly intoxicated bloke out whos having a brain fart,

Working out wash calc with 20ltr molasses thats 50% sugar,
molasses weighs 1.5kg a litre so my drum is 30kg and 15kg worth of sugar as far as the calculator is concerned??? ~x(

so you want a 20l rum wash thats ferentables are 1/2 sugar 1/2 molasses? mac does 3l molasses 3kg sugar in 25 to 30l total volme.
so take it as 2 thirds the recipe 2l mollasses 2kg sugar 20l total volume..
or if you want to use all 20l mollasses in one wash add 20l mollasses 20 kg sugar in multiple of 2 of each per 20l. 2 into 20 is 10 gives ou 200l total volume..if you then o generations(sour mash it) you will end up with something similar to wat macs rum reipe is..clear as mud?

lol yeah pretty much, all 20 litres in a wash.
i usually dont bother with wash calculators because i use the same recipe. 20ltr molasses, 20kg sugar made up to 200ltr for first gen.
Had a major brain fart last friday when i put a wash down so it seems, just burning some rubbish from the shed and the
sugar packets are 1kg when i thought they were 2kg, so i only used 10kg sugar and 20ltr molasses, trying to figure wash percentage. fuck all by the sounds of it

Mate Im keen to try a run ferment in my olive drums, what else do you use besides 20 litres of molasses and 20 kgs or (raw?) sugar?

Matt_Pl wrote:Mate Im keen to try a run ferment in my olive drums, what else do you use besides 20 litres of molasses and 20 kgs or (raw?) sugar?

thats all for first gen mate, ph usually pretty good. i use raw but thats just me, make a yeast starter and use lowans

Can add DAP or epsom salt if you have it

I just crush a couple vitamin tablets in my starter with some honey

astro would prob lose about 1/3rd volume.. good mollasses is about 50% fermentble sugar.