StillSmart

Get ready for lots of silly question, I've just ordered an AirStill!
Currently ploughing through the best practice thread trying to get my head in gear!

Theres no silly questions
Just a matter of reading and re reading airstill guide by mozr and aidanmac

Vodka star and an alcoholometer now on their way too
Where do you guys buy your essences from?

Good work. You will not be disputation...... Wow where did that come from

Excuse Mash,
He sometimes speaks without breathing,we have learned to make allowances,not everyone bothers to read before submitting.
We are mostly a friendly bunch here,and if you cannot find the answer to any question in our history annals,then someone will be be sure to offer their version of an answer, should you wish to ask.
Without checking your location,if you don't have a local brew shop of easy access,and are in the UK, Ellie Claire on the whatsit site is as good a place as any for essences.
Equally,when you may wish to bulk purchase, that other site that pays little UK tax can be a good source of Gert Strands products.

We are here,trying to help.

If you are reading old posts,in search of information, then you may be confused by Aidanmac recently changing his name to Almanac.
This does make some posts confusing to read.


Robert.

Ok so I meant disappointed.
We like to talk in code here it seems.

Some other translation for you..

"Whatsit site" means Ebay
"other site that pays little UK tax" means amazon.



Have a go with some turbo's, they are easy and quick. They will get you some stock. Then when you have some time.... experiment and refine things

If you have done beer or wine, the fermentation knowledge we come in handy.

Thanks Mash and Easy, I wondered what that reply meant
Once I get the first batch on Ill start looking at the benefits
of tomato paste and lentil washes and using bakers yeast etc.

How long would you guys say finished low wines would last just kept in
a fermentation bin?

Low wines are what you get after your first pass through the still, and generally are about 30% alcohol by volume - so will keep indefinitely. I keep mine in glass demijohns - folk here will recommend avoiding contact between plastic and higher strength spirit as the alcohol leaches nasties out of the plastic.

A finished wash will keep a reasonable while provided you minimise contact with air. Essentially it's a wine, so can go off like any other wine will if exposed to air. As this is only around 10 to 15% depending on how you've made it, 2L pop bottles work well for storing. In practice though I've found 24 litres will last in the fermentation bucket without any problems for the up to six days it can take to process through the still.

Good luck!

Cheers

Hampk

That is a good response from hampk, I agree with all he stated.
The thing that I would add, and is unusual,but to me happens, is that washes that finish fermenting with a significant amount of sugar still unused, for me anything from 1.000 and up, are liable to grow a horrible white surface yeast (I guess it's yeast).
On the two occasions this has happened to me, I simply skimmed it off and carried on.
Other than that, I am happy to leave washes sitting around for a lot longer than hampk.
HTH.

Robert.

Yup. Spot on it's called yeast bloom. And is just a surface infection.

Okay thanks for the quick replies.
I've got three different essences ordered now for the first batch (Jamaican rum, dry gin and amaretto) just waiting for everything to arrive now

That might be Kahm Yeast you are getting http://www.culturesforhealth.com/white- ... ables-mold Take a look at the pictures.

A word or caution (or is it encouragement?) on the essences. Some are OK, some are good, some are dreadful. Letting them sit for a week after mixing seems to help. If you drink your spirits neat, then you may be disappointed. I almost gave up distilling after tasting several of them. But there are some decent ones and it is pretty easy to make your own real spirits (gin in particular) that are far better than any essence. If at first you do not succeed, do not give up, you can make a very nice drop.

Don't worry I'm not expecting miracles
I drink my rum with coke and the gin my Mrs will have with tonic,
a friend of mine made an amaretto and it turned out nice so we'll
see what happens but yes I'll start looking into gin recipes if you
think they are fairly simple.

Oh,this is all a learning curve and subjective.
Some here are happy with a good neutral and essences,(and some of these are better than others), while others go down a more organic route.
I maintain that there is no "one true way", and if it works for you ,and you are happy, then do it.
May I recommend that you try whatever takes your fancy, and make your own decisions?
Someone elses recommendations may not suit you.


Robert.