Teddysad wrote:Thought I would chime in here with a few points.
1 Temperature
This time of year my shed is ambient temperature 15 to 17C.
I keep my fermenters warm via either a heat pad underneath or a heat belt around the fermenter.
I then wrap them with a car sunscreen blanket thingy - the silver coated stuff designed to go inside the front windscreen. It does a great job of insulation and they are cheap as chips to buy.
This means the ferment temp inside the barrel is around 25C.
2 Speed
To achieve the speed, keep the sugar to the recipe's level. Pushing it up will add to the time.
I found that a slightly lower finished ABV is not a problem and the speed allows for more runs is a given time.
3 Bran
On purchase I transfer the bran to a sealed airtight bucket. As a result I don't get the weavils/moths. That supermarket stuff is also a good way to go for smaller packs - if concerned it can be kept in the fridge.
An interesting observation.
I have been away on a 7 week trip and left several fermented barrels under airlock while I was away.
On my return the wash was extremely clear, almost transparent, with just a slight yellow tinge.
Racking, stripping and a spirit run gave me a really great result with I believe (as did the Gardener) the best I have produced so far.
The extra time spent sitting can add to the end result - if one can be patient of has a spare fermenter to dedicate to this.
Thanks Ted, it's always great to get the good oil straight from the horses mouth (so to speak).
Since my 23 day ferment appears to be somewhat of a record (at least when unintentional) I thought I would just point out that I have followed the recipe as closely as I possibly could especially the quantity of sugar, and my results are almost identical with the theoretical (~11%).
I think that pretty much leaves it with the temperature as the culprit and over the next few days I will be implementing what I hope to be a solution for that. I am determined to get a fast ferment if it is the last thing I ever do - not because I need to, or even should do, but because I want to! LOL.
With the bran, I immediately filled an air tight container with around a kilo or so - to be honest, mainly for convenience.
When I came to get the second lot of 250g I noticed a grown moth on the inside of the lid and a few of the little beasties darting around in the bran - it did not surprise me all that much as I already knew that the larvae can come in with the produce itself - most old fashioned house wives know that.
The cost of this bran is so low that even if I lost 80% of it to the little blighters it wouldn't unduly phase me - as long as they don't escape and get into my pantry. I have had pantry moths (in another house) in the past and it's not fun.
I will definitely try the clearing tip as I have found I need to filter the wash to date even with drastic cutting.
Thanks again.