What I Did Today

[Voddy]

I've been meaning to look into betel nuts but as soon as I remember, I've forgotten it again!

I got gifted 10 x 20litre buckets recently - and with all this bad weather, I've been cleaning and sterilising them for my next batch of brews. Happy Days!

[chill]

Went the office Christmas party last night. Open bar and well stocked with high end bottles. Please Mr Fawlty, please. I die here. I'd forgotten what happens when you drink commercial alcohol. Pray for my swift and merciful death. I am.

[Easydrinker]

I'm sorry for you chill,but struggle to understand the ill effects you and others suffer.
I believe that I was once hungover,I think it was 1981, it was Chinese New Year and I drank a very lot for several days.
Oh, I can get drunk, given enough, it is the after effects that I seem to escape.
If I drink a lot, I may sing songs about pixies,dance in an embarrassing fashion,and want to give the whole world a hug, but after a sleep I wake up like any other day.
Smug bar steward aren't I?
Merry Crimbo to one and all!

Robert.

[chill]

I don't think that I envy you that, Robert. Had I not had that to act as a brake, I probably would have drank myself to death in my younger years. Good sense was in rather short supply. Come to think of it, it still is. When I first discovered the almost hang over free aspect of clean alcohol, I had to learn some internal self control.

Chuck

[KerryW]

We had a great Christmas, and her indoors was very kind to me, so now i have to try to run a T500 in the future, i am very pleased,,,

[Easydrinker]

Nice one mate!
Well pleased for you.

Robert.

[Mash]

Today I built a sputnik.

And have seen the future.

It is a time traveler to many future places of taste and wonder.

[KerryW]

people look at me funny when i tell them how booze is made,, and why i dont drink it, but I can see some apple pie and rum being made soon

[Phantom]

people look at me funny when i tell them how booze is made,, and why i dont drink it, but I can see some apple pie and rum being made soon

Here, it seems that because spirits are expensive, peeps seem to presume they're hard/complicated to make.

I often get looks of disbelief when you try and explain that it's just a filtering/purifying process, that they were taught about during secondary school chemistry lessons........

Hey ho. I suppose it's up to the individual eh !

Good luck with yer rums and AP..........

[Benoit]

Today I fixed a leak on my shotgun & added a little tube into the collection cup to stop it huffing. Now I just need to clean the bugger again, I swear I'll give up polishing copper when it stops looking so purdy! Also chopped through some pipe to add some more ferrules so it breaks down into smaller sections, want it to all fit inside a blue barrel

Benoit

[KerryW]

contemplating how to get the T500 to run better, thinking on adding a holding tank and aquarium pump to sort the water pressure out,, but did 2 stripping runs this weekend and got some exercise running up and down stairs to watch the water temp rise and fall.

[Phantom]

contemplating how to get the T500 to run better, thinking on adding a holding tank and aquarium pump to sort the water pressure out,, but did 2 stripping runs this weekend and got some exercise running up and down stairs to watch the water temp rise and fall.

If you got it straight onto mains, a camping/caravan valve widget smooths the pressure in and makes the needle valve less sensitive and more easily adjustable to keep temp more steady.......

[Benoit]

Today I tried some traditional Romanian tuica.
To be honest I was a little wary of a spirit made by who knows passed to me in a plastic water bottle but it's not too bad, smells better than it tastes unfortunately but I appreciated the gift & a chance to try something new.
I'm assured the guys grandpa has been making it for decades & is quite healthy! A quick test on the hydrometer showed it to be a little strong at about 55% but I thought "when with Romanians, do as the Romanians do" and tried it as it was. I watered the next one down a touch & it was definitely easier on the tongue.
I'm not sure on the flavour personally, it reminds me of a brandy which I'm not too big on...I'm a whiskey man through & through! It smells nice, very fruity...I just can't put my finger on the flavour. I know it's made from plums but there seems to be more of the bitterness from the skins / stones than the fruitiness of the flesh which is a shame considering how it smells

Back to the auchentoshan for me, I'll put this is a glass bottle & save it for the next time anyone says "let's do shots"

Benoit

[Mash]

This sounds a lot like slivovitz I was given.
Very rustic plum brandy.

I ran it, cut the hearts hard and filtered.
Ended up with a passable base spirit to use as screen wash

[Benoit]

Apparently everything that way is made from plums! I remember a thread on the HD forum about something called palinka that was also plums, I'm sure there must be subtle differences but screenwash isn't a bad idea. Copper cleaner might be another idea?
If I liked it he was going to bring me a few litres back from an upcoming trip, I will graciously decline!

Benoit