Pot still design

[bt1]

Dam,

wish i could spell....

[cdbrown]

Dam, Damn,

wish i could spell....

Got a 3L square glass jar from reject shop, removed the orange rubber seal and poured all the low wines into it - filled it perfectly. Low wines is just under 40% - is that about right? Smell is a little more like vodka now (although not had vodka for many years). Have closed the lid with the clamp but it's not making a good seal without the rubber there, but hopefully it'll keep the bugs out.

Once I have done 5 stripping runs - I'll have 15L of low wines around 40%. Now I've read two options - run it all by itself, or run it all but add some wash.. Or maybe it was add some low wines to each wash strip run ... aagghh :angry-banghead:

One thing I've been wondering as I've ventured into the aging area is when people say they've aged it on oak sticks or chips - what vessel are they using? I see that people usually do it at around 65% so I'm guessing that is the result of combining all the hearts. Is it a matter of chucking in chips like these into a vessel which has a wide enough opening? Is the mouth of a demijohn wide enough? Or is it across a few different glass 3L jars? Not come across any pictures on the site showing spirit aging on oak.

Amount/weight of chips per L of spirit for bourbon whiskey. Is it needed for a UJSM wash?

Just trying to plan ahead so I'm not running around like mad at the last minute trying to find something to age it in.

[SBB]

Im sure there are many different ways of doing it. I make oak sticks from old barrel staves......cut them six inches long.....then split them about 1/2inch x 1/2 inch square, toast or char as you please. I use one stick to the Litre in a 5L demijohn. Not saying its the only way...just my way at the moment.

I see that people usually do it at around 65% so I'm guessing that is the result of combining all the hearts.

From my understanding its more because the right flavours are drawn from the oak at around that ABV. Higer and lower ABVs produce differnt flavours....and not always ones you want.

Is it needed for a UJSM wash?

To me UJ tastes of very little until its been oaked.

Low wines is just under 40% - is that about right?

Sounds spot on to me.

[cdbrown]

Thanks SBB.

[bt1]

reckon SBB is about spot on,

I think you'll get as many versions as there are ppl but there seems to few a constants...

Tried ageing at 70, 80 and result was a little nasty kind of sharp...
40 -55 kind of sickly with over wooded flavours and takes for ever.

I use 5lt jars for ageing for first 3 - 4 months at about the same rate 1 stick per 1.25lt roughly start at 68% cover wide mouth jars with coffee filters leave till it drops to 65% approx, stir once in a while takes about 4-6 weeks to get to 65%. The extra airing while optional tends to smooth it nicely and its better at a younger age compared to other methods used but heads down a very mellow path with more age.

After that reduce timber to two sticks close lid let sit for months, when i need the jars back then into long term SS keg for long term still with a few sticks per 20lt lots btw.

I think most would prefer a American white oak ex barrel or off cut pieces c/f to French oak...I can't say my taste buds can pick the differences btw.

char vs toast is the real tricky bit...most prefer a toast it produces a softer flavour and colour from several 1lt tests and reading. When u get a few lts spare run a few side by side tests to get what suits you...as they say 80% of the flavour comes from the timber so pays to one you like.

Personally i like the bigger flavours and rapid colour development of alligator char. A good sand of barrel stave to remove grot/sprays used in wineries etc, a quick 1 min boil for same reasons then done on ring burner to start then finished with propane gun....but quenched after to remove too much smoke flavour, dry in sun then seal up, use as required. You'll find the caramelised/burnt sugars come through nicely.

You must reduce timber with this method at about the 3 -4 month mark otherwise it's too strong and over powering.

btw if you've ever worked in a winery and see the crap they spray barrels with to prevent mold, general short life pest sprays and makem look and smell nice for open days you'd sandem down first as well. Their thinking...barrels last 1- 2 for whites longer for reds there's no risk of penetration in that time ..they done care!

cheers
bt1

[cdbrown]

Cheers bt1 and SBB - will aim for the tried and true 65% ish aging.

Haven't come across the 5L jars yet as they weren't in the reject shop I went to. Using a couple 5L jars instead of a 10L demi would allow for a bit of experimentation with oaking rates.

bt1 - have you replaced the rubber seals on the lids with anything? Without the rubber the lid doesn't provide an air tight seal so do you still leave the filter over the mouth with the lid closed?

Need to find yanky oak sticks.

Once I hit the 6th gen do I then get the low wines of the next 5 gens or could I do a smaller spirit run with only a couple of the low wines? Don't think it would be worth the hassle of running it with only 3L of low wines, but maybe worth it for 9L or so.

[bt1]

I discard the rubber seals. I'm in the glass for about 6 months in total. % loss would be less than (guess) 1%
It needs to breath a little

After that its into a spare 50Lt keg with a few oak strips per 20lt or more with a thin oak bung as a seal...shaken about once per week~ish for up to 2 years. Big air gap in the keg and it develops well.

on wines don't forget 40% needs to be watered or washed down so 9lt = 18lt for a run...best to get second opinion on watering rate as I single run and don't do this extra step (flavour killa)

cheers
bt1

[R-sole]

You need to keep an eye on it with the jars. A couple of months is enough. I have had spirit get down to 20-30% over a 6-12 month period from a 65% start.

[cdbrown]

2nd gen will be stripped tomorrow night after fermeting for 7 days at about 30-32c (past few days had to add heat). This wash has a lot stronger smell than the first wash and smells a little bit like wine/champagne maybe cidery. The smells I dread from beer. For beer its pretty easy to tell if somethings infected just by looking to see if there's any scum or weird bubbles on top. Is that the same for a wash? So far there's nothing on top except for spent grains (which there wasn't any on the 1st gen) and bubbles.

So for the second stripping run, should the low wines smell/taste any different to the 1st gen? I did taste a little bit of the low wines and it was very harsh with a strong hot alcohol flavour and aroma, not pleasant to my palate.

[bt1]

hello CD,

there's a notable difference in smells to about gen6 when my nose gives up on the job. Th washes do take on a stronger smell more sharp ,bitter,boozy i guess.

I doubt infection is an issue if there's still yeast activity and then it would have to sit for a weeks unsealed in this weather to show any signs. If sealed it will keep for ages except in 45+c weather. Long white bacterial strings is the visible give away although even at this stage all is not lost...simply skim the surface layers off and discard.

I understand the comment from a beer back ground but I seriously doubt there's an issue here.

Can't comment on low wines being a single runner to long ago to be distinctly accurate...Guys can you assist here?

There's also a few who prescribe to sodium bicarb as a clean up, +ve impact on Ph as well... but less is more especially as your wanting to develop your cuts experience imho

cheers
bt1

[cdbrown]

2nd gen stripped last night. Got about 16L of wash from the fermenter this time and ended up with just over 3.5L of low wines. Only took an hour from start to clean up so happy with that as it took about that long just to get the water heated for 42L of english bitter I brewed last night.

Now this stripping run was different to the first. After ditching 200ml of foreshots, the first litre of low wines came out clear, but after than is was cloudy. With the 1st gen the cloudy wines only came right at the end when it was about 20%. This time it was about 35% when it first got cloudy and continued to get more and more cloudy as the run continued (stopped at 20% again).

Pic of it below - right bottom 1st cut, right top 2nd cut and so on. All cuts are roughly 500ml. the top middle might look more cloudier than the others but that's just in the photo.


Is this normal? Should I be expecting this for future stripping runs as the generations of UJSM progress? It smelled the same as the 1st low wines and don't think I had it boiling any faster than the first time.