Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I ended up dumping in another 6 jars of jam on day 3 as that's how many jars fit in my jar storage container neatly. As I added extra jars late I only have the calculated OG value at 1.102. It's been fermenting a week today, sill bubbling away slowly at 30c and 1.060.

I was hoping to use this fermenter in the next couple of days to do a corn flakes whiskey and try a side by side against my corn mash version, it looks like it wont be happening for a while.

Another update. 17days in the fermenter and it's still slowly bubbling away. It's sitting on 28c and down to 1.020. It taste really nice at the moment, I could easily drink it as it. I'm thinking of grabbing a couple of liters out and throwing it in the fridge to slow further activity while I consume it. I assume by the time it finishes fermenting the residual sweetness will be gone so may not be as nice as a lolly water style. I'm really looking forward to trying the final product. That's if it ever finishes fermenting, I'm not sure how low of a final gravity it will hit. ~x(

OzKev wrote: It taste really nice at the moment, I could easily drink it as it. I'm thinking of grabbing a couple of liters out and throwing it in the fridge to slow further activity while I consume it. (

a nice strawberry jam wine?

Andy wrote:

OzKev wrote: It taste really nice at the moment, I could easily drink it as it. I'm thinking of grabbing a couple of liters out and throwing it in the fridge to slow further activity while I consume it. (

a nice strawberry jam wine?

A wine background, but a bit of an alcopop up front.

Finally I'm back home and I've gotten back onto this Strawberry JamSky

It's been in the fermenter since 21-Jan (in a fermenting fridge), and looking pretty yummy. No signs or tastes of any infection. I never got around to bottling a couple whilst it still had sugar in it. Today I bottled 2 from midway of of the fermenter and filled up the purifier with the remainder of the wash. It tastes awesome, a lot dryer than before but still has some sweetness to it. Not sure how to comment on the taste, sherry pops to mind but it's been many years since I've had sherry, and I think sherry is possibly sweeter? BeerSmith calcs the alcohol at 16%. It was not planned that high, but I wanted a few more jars so added extra.

Looking forward to try the purified version.

The fermenter with all the fruit pectin at the top of the wash.


A couple of bottles ready for the weekend.

I thought you were going to distill it?

Urrazeb wrote:I thought you were going to distill it?

The purifier :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Only the above 2 bottles are getting kept aside for a sample.

I've read "Kiwistiller's Novice Guide to Cuts and Fractions" and plenty of other resources. Only have one question. Everyone says run it slow for a product run, how slow is slow?

50L pot still with a 2" head, I'm running just 1 x 2200w element currently at 110v (240v supply, with adjustable controller). What is deemed slow? I'm currently collecting at 350ml per 9mins, is that too slow?

2L per hour should see u right :handgestures-thumbupleft:

I wouldn't go much slower than that. Hate drips...

that's a long ferment. hopefully the product is nice. i imagine it will be

Andy wrote:that's a long ferment. hopefully the product is nice. i imagine it will be

Not sure why it took so long. It had visual signs of fermenting all the way through, just very slow. I'm not sure if it was because I stressed the yeast out with such a high gravity when I ended up adding the extra jars of jam, or it has something to do with the fruit pectin in the jam. Either way it kept slowly dropping in gravity points. I'm pretty happy with the way it tastes, and am confident there is no signs of infection in it; with my beer I can smell and taste an infection pretty easily before a lot of people can notice it.

even if there is an infection the still will clear it up, so dont worry about that

OzKev wrote:I've read "Kiwistiller's Novice Guide to Cuts and Fractions" and plenty of other resources. Only have one question. Everyone says run it slow for a product run, how slow is slow?

50L pot still with a 2" head, I'm running just 1 x 2200w element currently at 110v (240v supply, with adjustable controller). What is deemed slow? I'm currently collecting at 350ml per 9mins, is that too slow?

Yeah sounds pretty good, general rule is a toothpick size stream output :handgestures-thumbupleft:

You will know when you do your cuts if you ran it too hard as you will smear tails through a lot of the run :puke-huge:

Andy wrote:even if there is an infection the still will clear it up, so dont worry about that

:handgestures-thumbupleft: Good advice.. Don't chuck it till you've run it :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Had some good stuff come out of infections... :shock:

The run is done and the jars are now airing. I ended up with all 27 x 350ml jars full, and stopped the run. I was not worried about collecting too far into the tails as I didn't want any low wines from this batch as it is just a one off. Even as it came of the still I could smell the strawberry. I don't think there is any sign of an infection. Taste wise, it has a mild solvent smell in every jar but I'm hoping after a day or two airing that will dissipate.

In case anyone needs some jars, the Coles jam jars I used are 350ml to the shoulder.

Cool mate! Are you gonna oak some?

I would try french oak for this one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Urrazeb wrote:Cool mate! Are you gonna oak some?

I would try french oak for this one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't have any french oak on hand, I've got toasted or charred American oak. I'm thinking the toasted, at around 5g/L for 3 months.

PM me. I'll send you a few sticks :handgestures-thumbupleft:

OzKev wrote:

Urrazeb wrote:Cool mate! Are you gonna oak some?

I would try french oak for this one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't have any french oak on hand, I've got toasted or charred American oak. I'm thinking the toasted, at around 5g/L for 3 months.

So what become of the brandy? Surely you've had a taste :silent:
Mick

kickarum wrote:

OzKev wrote:

Urrazeb wrote:Cool mate! Are you gonna oak some?

I would try french oak for this one :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Don't have any french oak on hand, I've got toasted or charred American oak. I'm thinking the toasted, at around 5g/L for 3 months.

So what become of the brandy? Surely you've had a taste :silent:
Mick

I'd actually put it on the shelf and forgotten about it. :think:

I just pulled it out and poured some in a glass. So this is a 2 minute analysis without airing our the container.

Smell, very strawberry like a cocktail.
Oaking, still immature. oaky upfront with minimal oak aftertaste
Taste, mild strawberry towards the front of the pallet. It has the depth of taste like a decent spirit, it is surprisingly complex.
Finish, This is where it becomes strange. It's sweet, yet has a chemical finish which lets the product down.
Overall, Maybe a strawberry cocktail is not for me, I'll drink it but it will not be on the to do again list.