Early Spring

[Capt-Cudellez]

Isn't this weather marvellous! Puts a real spring in your step - after a mild winter of doing rum indoors - I'm back fermenting in the garage - so got 110L wash for neutral down last night, and its dropped 15 points already.
Got 20l of 100% potato wash ready to still to see what that is like.

The troosers is taking our wee one down to grannies for a week, and I have the weekend to myself - going to turn 12L of 65% into gin tomorrow- the first real run using my new controller that's only boiled water until now.

sitting in the sun with a cold beer as we speak - good times.

[YHB]

Yes life is a lot better with a little sunshine, and it is perfect with a nice drink in your hand and the company of good friends.

But your note managed to send shivers through me.

"110L wash for neutral down last night" - "20l of 100% potato wash" "going to turn 12L of 65% into gin tomorrow"

These quantities scare me - I will need a bigger shed.

[Capt-Cudellez]

Well Brian, a 60 ltr drum takes up a similar footprint as a 33lt fermenting bin. With my neutral wash I can fill up to 55ltrs as it hardly foams any. I only shoot for about 10% to 11% ABV.
These 2 barrels will make me about 9 ltrs of very good 60% neutral - and a little less than the same again of faints to be rerun later, but it will take a few hours over 2 evenings, and most of a day on the spirit run to get to that, so the investment in time is considerable.

the potato wash is going to be low alcohol (I guess) that's just a wee experiment.

I've decided to only run 8ltrs for the gin, and will hold on to some of the neutral for macerations - this is a tweek to a gin recipe I last ran in Dec, needs a little more citrus to it- I only have 2 bottles left one I'll drink and compare this to, the other one will stay in storage to be looked back on in a few years - I'm trying to put a little away of anything I think is good now to see what I think of it when I'm a better 'stiller.

[chill]

I'd like to hear more about this potato wash. It sounds like an interesting experiment.

Cheers!
Chuck

[Capt-Cudellez]

I was following this process....
http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5983


CC

[chill]

Cheers! I may give that a try this fall when the potato crop comes in. I do like the taste of baked potato skins. Looks to be an awful mess though.

Chuck

[Admiral Toad]

Well C'ptn you certainly put the Kibosh on the weather with that posting !!!
Hope you've wrapped up the wash in the garage well, and given it a hot water bottle mate ! Brrrr >:D

[Capt-Cudellez]

heheh - its stone dead - just found out my elements must be burned out - probably internal from being out in the cold all winter. The wee light is on, but cold to the touch.

should start up again when I can warm it up again.

[mozr]

Thanks for the soothsaying captain.

It's so cold that my testicles are currently hiding in my small colon.

Next time, wait till it's freezing, and say 'isn't this cold snap brill?' and we can await the heat.

[Capt-Cudellez]

The ski runs are open again, in APRIL! isn't this cold snap brill.

[Almanac]

Hey! it worked, the Sun's splittin' the stones over here - in Ireland!

Saw your Piste on Sky News last night - nice snow!

AM

[mozr]

It worked here too!

Well done cap'n.

Can you predict that I won't win the lottery on Friday please?

[Capt-Cudellez]

Well I had that potato wash sitting in the garage for months - so I eventually ran it. I was worried about scorching as it was really thick, but had no issues in the end.
I think I got around 12% from the mash which was a nice surprise.

I stripped and ran yesterday and the result was a really nice vodka - I say vodka as it is not neutral - there is a slight flavour to it, nothing I can place but its damm good- I though "bananas" yesterday, but today I don't get that at all. Really smooth and one I'll be happy to get a couple of bottles to put away in the freezer for the occasional sip.

The amount of processing means I'll never be able to do this in any great volume unless I have a brain wave - but its nice to make something for keeping for "special" now and again.

[Almanac]

I was wondering what had happened to that one but when it wasn't mentioned I thought it best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Ref the thickness, did the enzymes not take care of that?

12% Wash! that was a nice surprise.

I was thinking of trying a different approach with spuds. What I thought of was 'juicing' a batch of spuds and pressing the pulp to extract max starch then boiling and adding high temp enzymes or maybe some malted barley at the right temp, of course, and see what I can get on the refractometer in terms of potential alcohol!

I'll let you know - provided it's not a complete washout in which case I'll probably keep my mouth shut

AM

[Capt-Cudellez]

Good stuff, keep me updated on that. The emzymes turned it from mashed potato to a semi solid liquid - there was a good 6lts of liquid that floated to the top at the end of fermentation but the rest was still very thick, a bit like watery porage, I think it worked really well, just glad I had an open top boiler for clean up, as the strip made a fair mess of the inside.