Next batch

[cdbrown]

With the slow ferment of 3rd gen McStill version of UJSM and 5Star pointing out I should just put another batch on I thought rather than doing the same I'd move away from the corn mash and go for malt.

So for a 25L wash -
3kg sugar
1.7L flaked barley
0.8L wheat
0.8L cracked malted pale malt
1/4 teaspoon citri acid

Boil up water, dissolve sugar and dump in grains. Leave for a few hours to cool. Dump the lot in fermenter and top up to 25L. Add 1/3rd tub of yeast. Let her rip. Does this look about right for a scotch whiskey? More or less of each ingredient?

Once fermented do I strip it, use some backset to dissolve new sugar and replace a portion of the grains to make 2nd gen? Or is it best to start fresh each time?

[R-sole]

Looks good to me.
I've been doing the same as a ujsm style with backset for years and it's all my girls cronie will drink now and she's a cheap scotch and coke addict.
I use raw sugar with a similar grain bill.

[bt1]

Ah the pursuit of happiness...experimentation.

It's going to come down to taste prefs i guess.

The hard edge that corn/rye only gives is definitely soften with a more varied grain bill. The current is a corn/wheat, pale ale malt and the newy, malted rye instead of plain cracked. way too early to say for gen4 as it's <4 weeks old but it has a much softer nose, almost earhty has coloured well.

Guess if we record the details then when it comes to tasties time we have a ref point to tweak the future grain bills with.

Wish i could forcast what a more whisky focused grain bill tastes like at 1 year old

cheers
bt1

[cdbrown]

So I'm going to strip this tonight or tomorrow

I'll try for 4L backset with 4kg of sugar and then replace about 1/2L of grains - does this sound about right? That way I should get about 9.5%abv from the wash instead of 7.5% with 3kg sugar.

Does the wheat, barley and malted barley add anything in terms of fermentables or is it all just flavouring? Thinking of taking out 1/2L of spent grains and just replacing it with pale malt - or stick to the blend?

[Kimbo]

Hi CD,
with your grains, you might get a partial conversion with your malt. Most of it is there for flavour.
so it comes down to what suits you in regards to flavour ;-)

[Cane Toad]

Hi CD,if this is the 1st gen,I wouldn't worry about replacing any grains,just use whatever back set you're gunna use to disolve the sugar and replace the grains next go round,just my 2 bobs worth :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[bt1]

If I'm reading it right this will be gen4 ??

Around the 10% change of grain per wash is about the most commonly discussed, unless as per Cupcake it's another starter and it don't matter a whole lot.

Yeh 4kg sugar sounds closer to the mark 25lt-grains (est4lt) =21lt should be close to 11% I reckon.

Remain anoyed we can't id exact cause of this syphoning issue really would like to nail this one....any chance of talking to orginal owner?..reckon SBB had the right idea re huffing. be keen to follow this...more for future ref for other new members really.

bt1

[cdbrown]

This is actually the 1st gen of the grain batch. I'm onto the 4th gen of the corn batch in the other fermenter!

Will let you know about the huffing etc as I'll be stripping this batch in a few hours. Will make sure to get right up close to try and hear anything.

Right will just do 4kg sugar in 4L backset and that's it.

Cheers guys!

[cdbrown]

When I was setting up the rig I noticed that both the inlet and outlet pipe of the condensor had a dip in it so I straightened them out and made sure there was a slope. This seemed to have fixed the surging problem. I collected about 2.5L out of about 20L wash I managed to get out. Didn't take long once it was up and running, had to turn it down as it was quick to produce mucky wash. Cleared up once the temp dropped and settled, but began getting mucky again as it neared the end of the run. 4L backset and 4kg of sugar so next run I'll be able to get more low wines.

[R-sole]

Sometimes it's a slow process learning to drive these things. Some people seem more instinctive than others and some equipment is easier to get a handle on too.

[cdbrown]

I stripped the 2nd gen of this wash yesterday and am starting to get a better handle on the process. When I pump too much heat after stripping the first 1L of wines it goes cloudy and the abv drops, as soon as I knock the heat down, the flow slows, clears and abv increases. I'd only stripped about 2L when the alcometer was showing 20%, but when I slowed it down it went back up to 35% and I kept running. Got a bit over 3L half cloudy, half clear, but should all run clear in the spirit run as I'll have to run it slow.

I took out just under 1L of grains and instead of using flaked barley I cracked about 600ml malted barley and 200ml malted wheat and with 3.8kg sugar in 4L backset. After topping up the fermenter the OG was 1.072. Should I be aiming for a bit more than that? The UJSM on it's 5th gen was 1.081 after the 4th gen strip run on Saturday. Both washes are bubbling away nicely at 28C. Ordered some 5L wide mouth jars in preparation for the eventual spirit run which I guess will be in 2 or so weeks time.

[bt1]

good temp for a winter wash bloke...

SG well I'm no fan of stressing yeast out with >250g/lt unless it's a specialist yeast so about on the mark for mine. (The new lallemand maxdistilla likes >325g/lt...wow!)

btw how much and min order qty for the 5lt jars...good mob that and happy to do smaller qtys I've found.

How's the pot head progressing? be nice to see u on your own running flat chat on a 2" head.


cheers
bt1

[Cane Toad]

That's the beauty of this hobby mate,you can experiment :handgestures-thumbupleft:
I cracked a keg of corn whiskey yesty that had been aging on oak for 5 months,well I say corn whiskey,coz I ran outta fucking wheat and barley didn't I :angry-banghead: I had 3 mates over yesty arvo and they loved it :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:
Too bad I went back to the standard UJ recepie on the next stripping run,and of I remember correctly I ran that. Batch a bit harder when doing a spirit run
The smallest variables can make a BIG difference,that's why they say make notes,but I'm too bloody lazy :laughing-rolling:

[cdbrown]

I got one of those heat belts hooked up to a STC-1000 temp controller so keeping both fermenters nice and cosy in these cold nights.

With the OG thing - I usually get between 3-4L of low wines from the UJSM and that's from an pot charge of say 16L. Where for the malt I charge the still with nearer 20L and struggle to get 3L low wines. Both washes are 25L volumes, but the amount of volume taken up by the grains in the UJSM is considerably more than the malt batch. I only tested the OG for the first time and noticed that it was 10 points difference purely through more water being added into the malt wash. Was just interested in what people usually get. 1.080 - 0.990 is 12% so the bread yeast should do that.

Sorry to disappoint you bt1 but I've achieved nothing in getting my own still. I contacted a bloke last week for a keg but every time I try to arrange to collect something goes wrong his end (leaves phone at work, doesn't reply). Definitely want to get my own 2" pot still and hopefully not have to worry about controlling the heat on the stripping run to avoid murky low wines.

I got the jars from www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au - no minimum order, $15 per jar. Orders over $100 and it's free shipping. Wife got some to preserve some lemons and I was able to snatch a few of them, but wasn't enough so ordered 10 more. 50L storage capacity for aging spirits should be enough for the time being.

Cupcake - what keg are you using? a 50L jobby or a corny keg? Have you done anything with the rubber seals?

[Cane Toad]

Just a Carlton jobbie that I pulled the gutz outta and used a silicon o ring on top with a 2" disc that I cut outta some plate I had and a tri clamp,pretty damn easy. Welded a 1/2" nipple on the bottom and 1/2" gate valve and hey presto :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:
I also use these to store low wines in as well :handgestures-thumbupleft: Where abouts do you live,I may have a few spare ones :laughing-rolling:
Check out bottom shelf in the background

[cdbrown]

I'm currently storing the low wines in a 19L corny keg but not touched the seals on it. I'm in Guildford WA (as per the location listed on the right side of the page :teasing-neener: )

A guy in midland is selling kegs for $40 on gumtree and he reckons he has a few of them.

[Cane Toad]

:laughing-rolling: Yeah I didn't look there,also try the scrap yards,often seen em there too

[cdbrown]

Well it's about that time again to pull the still out of the shed and do some more stripping runs. Both the UJSM and the grain wash finished bubbling a few days back after sitting nice and warm under a blanket with a heat belt at 28C. The heat has been removed so they've begun to chill in the cold perth air. Hopefully will strip the 5th gen UJSM and 3rd gen grain tomorrow.

I've seen a few posts where people have marbles or copper fittings inside the pot - what does this do and do you think it's worth me trying it? I've got various copper fittings (solder joints etc) which I could put in the boiler if it could help. Maybe help with the murky low wines I get if it's boiling too hard?

[cdbrown]

Well bt1 you'll be pleased to know the pot head is now progressing. Well at least it will once McStill cuts the copper :dance: Came to the realisation that I'm very time poor and it would take a long time to actually build anything. So McStill is going to knock one up for me in time for the McStill UJSM spirit run (stripped the 5th gen on the weekend, 6th fermenting now). Will be good to return this still I've got and use something a bit more straight forward. Happy days.

[Cane Toad]

Good on ya Browny :handgestures-thumbupleft: good to see things moving ahead for ya :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft: You won't be disappointed