StillSmart

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-19T05:54:09+00:00

Blue_Duck wrote:
Meanwhile iv'e got the beer bug back, dusted off some of my old beer gear,
IPA's here we go.

cheers B_D

I am with you there. I have dusted off the BM. Just run "old Bernard" and my fave cascade summer ale. I have just weighed out an American IPA with juniper just waiting for some sunshine to run it.

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Thu May 19, 2016 5:54 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-19T03:18:27+00:00

"I spy with my little eye, someone with a sense of taste"

Excellent mate.
Peated single malts are my personal weakness,and so anyone trying to produce one instantly becomes my best friend
And best of luck with some good beers for the summer.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Thu May 19, 2016 3:18 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-18T21:50:45+00:00

As anticipated all went to plan, dividing the feints jar between the 3 wash's
resulted in 21 ltrs @ 35%. 2 or 3 ltrs of filtered water and iv'e got a 24 ltr
charge for the s/run. This will be let down and put on charred b/staves to age.

I'm going to draw a line under this recipe for a while. it was a success for me
anyways.

I think iv'e done enough experiments to conclude.. toasted/charred b/staves for
the a/g. and s/d blocks for the s/head, for short term aging (everyday stuff).

Iv'e only got a limited amount of space and glassware and i need to recycle the
the shop bought chips and the j/d chip stuff i made, as i consider it to be a
failure.

I call this a bourbin-ish whisky, because that's what it is. But with my new
found equipment i'm working on a method to utilise a recipe that i can call a
true bourbon whisky. But that wont happen till the end of the year.

I'm going to crack on with a peated S/malt for a while, i'll prob. continue
to post results in one of the peated whisky threads, seems appropriate.

Meanwhile iv'e got the beer bug back, dusted off some of my old beer gear,
IPA's here we go.

cheers B_D

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Wed May 18, 2016 9:50 pm

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-12T11:38:29+00:00

I hear you Robert, each to there own and all that. I toast, roast and maybe not
fry my staves to get the ''supposed'' sweetness and colour for a bourbon style
whisky. However i wouldn't do it for a single malt scotch whisky, for example
i'll use clean heartwood from the staves for this project.

I'm going to have a busy couple days ahead.

cheers B_D

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Thu May 12, 2016 11:38 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-11T22:48:55+00:00

Blue_Duck wrote:
Grab a beer guy's.
Well been playing with the g/father, much better result with my bourbon recipe.
managed 1060 s/g instead of the 1050 s/g i was getting with my basic equipment.
The first mash was a bit of a faff. in my haste to get on with things, i ignored
my pre-mash notes. I put the f/maize [it's what i decided on] in the malt tube
first. It slowed the recirc. down badly. But turning the pump on every 10 mins.
for a couple of mins. done the task. Second mash was a doddle, put maize in last
and the recirc. worked like a leaking football fan at a tyne & wear derby.

My school of thought is flaked maize is already cooked, so there's no need to cook
first, a 90 min mash @ 63%c was enough to get the starch and flavour out, and it did.

Only thing iv'e done different this time, i used single strain whisky yeast with added
amylaze, i had a few packs that are nearing the use by date, and they seem to be doing
what there supposed to. 4 days and well below the 1010 s/g and theres still activity
going on. I'm hoping with my 5 ltr feints jar i'll only need 3 wash's for a run.

A sack of chateaux p/malt awaits attention, then some ale for the bbq season, when it
arrives.

cheers B_D

ps. why the problem Mash? wrap in foil,a few holes and cook.
I do mine in the unwanted halogen oven, it works a treat, 2 hours wrapped
then 1 hour unwrapped all @ 200%c and i find they are to my liking.

BD, you seem to have a game plan,I wish you well with it.

We are all different, and I would not ask for it any other way.
I do not toast, roast or fry my ex whisky barrel matchsticks.
I plane them to clean wood, cut and chip them.
Then use them.
It works for me.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Wed May 11, 2016 10:48 pm

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-11T06:23:13+00:00

Wrapped up in town foil is a good idea. I had trouble doing dominoes open on trays.
On the regularly used kitchen stove this caused a whole different problem

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Wed May 11, 2016 6:23 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-11T00:04:41+00:00

Grab a beer guy's.
Well been playing with the g/father, much better result with my bourbon recipe.
managed 1060 s/g instead of the 1050 s/g i was getting with my basic equipment.
The first mash was a bit of a faff. in my haste to get on with things, i ignored
my pre-mash notes. I put the f/maize [it's what i decided on] in the malt tube
first. It slowed the recirc. down badly. But turning the pump on every 10 mins.
for a couple of mins. done the task. Second mash was a doddle, put maize in last
and the recirc. worked like a leaking football fan at a tyne & wear derby.

My school of thought is flaked maize is already cooked, so there's no need to cook
first, a 90 min mash @ 63%c was enough to get the starch and flavour out, and it did.

Only thing iv'e done different this time, i used single strain whisky yeast with added
amylaze, i had a few packs that are nearing the use by date, and they seem to be doing
what there supposed to. 4 days and well below the 1010 s/g and theres still activity
going on. I'm hoping with my 5 ltr feints jar i'll only need 3 wash's for a run.

A sack of chateaux p/malt awaits attention, then some ale for the bbq season, when it
arrives.

cheers B_D

ps. why the problem Mash? wrap in foil,a few holes and cook.
I do mine in the unwanted halogen oven, it works a treat, 2 hours wrapped
then 1 hour unwrapped all @ 200%c and i find they are to my liking.

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Wed May 11, 2016 12:04 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-02T16:19:25+00:00

I found toasting then consistently a problem.

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Mon May 02, 2016 4:19 pm

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-05-02T12:59:04+00:00

Well to continue this thread, iv'e come to the conclusion
that the ex-barrel staves win out-right on long term aging,
for me anyway.

J/d chips and B/b chunks didn't quite do it for me.
I can still taste a hint of stale wood after nearly 2 years.

D/doms uk. verdicts still out at the moment.

Me-thinks they might be better suited to A/G scotch whisky
as there's not the sweetness you would expect from bourbon
style whisky. They could be usefull in the upcoming peated
s/malt endeavour, maybe stick them in the S/heads from this
run, and see what they turn out like, and if there any good
i might consider using them on the good stuff.

S/d oak. I liked the results from such a short aging process,
i didn't buy any, i was gifted a trial pack from a buddy who
obviously made a purchase. It had the bourbon taste akin to
a certain cheaper brand that i obtain when stocks are low. it
gives me a few empty bottles to fill and store.It makes a very
drinkable product. So I'm not Going to dismissS s/d oak from
the equation yet, as i halvn't tried them all.

But the hacked up staves on the long term are going to be my
long term aging as they give the taste i'm after, when there
toasted and charred.

well toasted and heavy char seems to be my taste profile, if
anyone is reading or taking any notice, i hope you find it a
bit helpful.

cheers B_D

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Mon May 02, 2016 12:59 pm

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-04T03:36:23+00:00

I will agree that wooding a whiskey is not easy.
More, not every whiskey spirit made is the same.
No wonder a small time producer has a problem or two.
Makes it all seem worthwhile in the end!

Robert

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Fri Mar 04, 2016 3:36 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-03T23:22:27+00:00

Know what you mean Mash,oaking has been a bugbear to me ever since
i started this hobby. Done it with nuetral, hated that experience.
Even with my cereal flavoured wash's, some were ok at a pinch.
But i set myself a goal once i learned how to make a decent mash,
don't know why i was so intimidated by it all, i use to make a/g
beer many moons ago.

As you say consistency is difficult, thats what iv'e been working
on for the last 18 months, so i'll be hanging in there, one more
wood to try and in 2 or 3 months or so i'll find out where i want
to be.

cheers B_D

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:22 pm

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-03T07:19:33+00:00

Excellent news. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Consistency with Oaking is v difficult. Different oak and different toastings will produce an enormous amount of variation. Hang in there it's worth it.

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Thu Mar 03, 2016 7:19 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-03T06:47:55+00:00

Job well done there matey....

Statistics: Posted by Icefever — Thu Mar 03, 2016 6:47 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-03T00:06:34+00:00

Loving it dude, takes a read or two, but you seem happy with the product.
And who can resist?
I want to try a new tipple as soon as I can.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:06 am

Re: Blue-ducks bourbonish/whisky

2016-03-02T23:22:06+00:00

Well i couldn't keep my mitts out for long, had to try it, as
you do. For comparison purposes only, and iv'e got to say this
''could'' be my long term go-to top shelf tipple, but i'll hold
myself back for the time being.

I'm almost done running this again, but i had to do sugarhead
with the spent grain on this brew, Nuked sugarhead does a decent
job. iv'e got a bit of a taste for this now, as a go-to.

I like how this ones maturing, the woodyness (is that a word)
is mellowing out better than my previous tests.

1st.brew was done with j/d chips.
2nd.was done with shop bought bourbon chips.
3rd. was with dist/domino staves(uk)
this one my AWO barrel staves, as posted.
this run i'm going to try the S/D oak, halvn't tried these things
yet, need to decide what ones.

I'm keeping notes on the progress, i knew it was long term project.
There's a certain flavour i'm after (oaking wise) iv'e got my base
product where i want it, but this oaking malarky has had me baffled
for a while, maybe the old shiners were right, drink it white.

cheers B_D

Statistics: Posted by Blue_Duck — Wed Mar 02, 2016 11:22 pm