StillSmart

Hi Guys

Just been to my local hbs and he gave me a recipe for chase vodka, but on the recipe it says use a vodka yeast has anybody tried the chase vodka and what yeast did you use.

I would be interested to see what the recipe / method you have been given?

If I recall Chase Vodka is a potato based product put through a 42 plate still?

From my experience Potatoes are a PITA, and I would have to knock a hole in two floors and the roof to use a still that high.

Maybe your recipe can point me in another direction that is a bit more practical -I hope so.

YBH

I will copy it for you and post it on the site, it may be tomorrow now.

Chase vodka is an excellent premium vodka made from potatoes. A snip at £35 a bottle
Unless the recipe you have is mainly potato, and has little or no sugar, I doubt it will taste anything chase.
But I'm interested to find out more on your recipe.

Sorry about the wait but here it is got all my ingredients and the yeast the hbs suggested is alcotec vodka star.


With 5kg potatoes: Will produce a smooth potato vodka identical to the award winning Chase Vodka.

Chase vodka is one of the world’s most expensive and renowned commercial vodka’s having won many acclaimed awards. It is made from potatoes with EXACTLY the same ingredients as this vodka Distillery yeast and Still Spirits Turbo Carbon.

Instructions
1. Slice 4kg potatoes (after peeling!) cover with water and bring to the boil. Add contents of the Still Spirits 4g amylase sachet (do not use standard brewers amylase because it won’t be temperature tolerant) and gently simmer for 30 mins stirring frequently. Remove from the heat then add 4.5kg dextrose, stir to dissolve and allow to cool to between 50-60C.

2. Transfer the entire contents into a fermentation bucket ( no need to strain) then top up to 25 Litres with cold water, stir to mix and allow to cool to below 25C.
3. Add Turbo Carbon – this is important to absorb impurities produced by the yeast during fermentation.

4. Add the Vodka Yeast and leave to ferment for 7 days at ideally 18 – 22C. Lower temperature are fine down to 15C but will double fermentation time. Higher temperatures should be avoided if possible because will increase off-flavour and aroma production of the yeast. Using any starch source will create excessive foaming so place somewhere appropriate and don’t use an airlock (just rest fermentation lid loosely on the bucket). During fermentation the AG enzyme (already contained within the Vodka Yeast sachet) will finish the job of converting the starch into fermentable sugars to maximise your yield.

5. After fermentation, add Turbo Clear to remove >99% of the solids (spent carbon / yeast cells and other fermentation solids). Don’t worry if the wash remains hazy after treatment with Turbo Clear – it’s more important that the wash doesn’t sit on the spent yeast and solids for >24hrs rather than trying to remove the last 1% solids… so go ahead and distil the wash 1 day after adding Turbo Clear even if still hazy.

6. Distil the clear wash after siphoning off the sediment. For potato vodka the perfect still will produce alcohol at between 84% and 88%abv – the Turbo 500 still can be used but should be run for only 2 and a half to 3 hours to achieve this lower alcoholic strength. (Operating temperature will be about 65 degrees).

7. Once you’ve collected your distillate, dilute to 50%abv with good quality water then hold for three days in a 10l bucket adding one further sachet of Turbo Carbon. Stir twice daily then allow the activated carbon to settle on day 3 before fine filtering. Do not pass through activated carbon column filter as this will remove too much of the character from your vodka.

8. Dilute to 40%abv with good quality water, bottle and leave to smooth for at least 1 month.

Thanks for posting.

Here is a link to the original recipe / method.

http://www.chasedistillery.co.uk/

I would never pay 35 pounds for a bottle of Vodka and I have never tasted the HBS "copy" so I cannot compare or give an informed opinion but I feel that there would be no comparison. It could well be that the HBS version is better but I doubt whether they could ever be called "identical"

I have tried (and failed) to make an all potato vodka, perhaps this flavoured sugar-head is the way to go.

I cannot try it at the moment due to real life commitments, anyone else up for a go?

I'm going for it over the weekend, will post the results as and when.

Peter

fatlad,without wishing to "knock" your trial,the method posted does read as a shopping list for expensive ingredients to me..And VS containing AG enzyme is news to me,but I'll accept until proved otherwise.
You are being advised to pour carbon into the product twice,and this is using a T500?
I'm a pot-stiller and wouldn't do it once,but what do I know?
I really do wish you well with it,and if it works I will rush to copy you.#
Robert.

Hi Robert

I'm still learning and to be honest the two lads at the HBS have been very helpful since I've started, even though they have not tried it themselves they think it will work.

At the end of the day I've got all the ingredient and reading a lot of posts on the forum sometimes you've got to give it a go.

Thanks for the advise.

Oh yes,sometimes you just have to go for something.
It is how we make progress.
Sometimes it's good.sometimes it's bad.
Without trying,we never know.
Some of my experiments have been daft,to say the least.
Wishing luck with yours.
Robert

I'm watching this with interest, fatlad, so hope you can keep us advised. There're some ingredients in there I don't care for but if it works what more can I say; I have one of those 'just have to give it a go' washes happening presently. And actually performing which is pretty much a first for me.
Peter

Hi Guys
Just a quick update only started the wash yesterday because the amylase the HBS gave me was the wrong stuff it needed to be high temperature amylase. Just looked at the wash tonight and its lifting the lid of the bucket so I think it s started fermenting, hope it does not start fermenting out of the bucket onto the carpet my wife will go ape-shit.
Peter

I'd put something waterproof under it...

I've had to move it to the bathroom where its a tile floor because this morning its come over the and running on the tile floor.

Think I should of used a bigger bucket.

......and the wife is still going ape-shit?