Anavrin's Lazy Rum Wash

[gaza the instructor]

It ain't what ya got, its the way that
you use it.

[Curmudgeon]

I'm just doing a bit of a semi-illegitimate child of this while bored and wanting to tidy the brew cupboard but not bored enough to go shopping.

I only have a 10 litre fermenter free, so ...

2 x holland and barrett mollasses
1 x kilo demerara sugar
1 x kilo granulated sugar
dunder from a cachaca strip run
water
allinsons yeast

edit : I might leave the granulated sugar out, for a day or two at least

Just sipping at this for the first. I added a small amount of oak chips, few drops of vanilla and a dribble of glycerin a week or so ago and am very pleased with how mellow it is already.

It's far and away the most expensive stilling I've done as holland and barrett didn't have an offer on, so has come out and maybe £7 a bottle, but I'm very satisfied with it.

Thanks Anavrin.

edit : 4.30am. Damn this is good!

[Easydrinker]

That does sound expensive, but making your own is not just about cost, but also quality.
And if what you make costs £7 a bottle and tastes good, then it is still a bargain

Robert.

[Curmudgeon]

If doing 25 litre+ wash, a better still and better cuts, I'm sure it would have been more like £4 a bottle, but I've paid £15 in a shop for much rougher stuff and will be making this again.

Edit, having spent most of the night reading up on this, the key is very likely in using more dunder and blending the wash to taste before ever distilling. At a guess I want about the amount of molasses Anavrin suggests, demerara sugar and use all dunder from previous run wiki says 35% max of new wash from dunder.

[guest5234]

Spot on I can't remember the last time I sterilised anything.

I rinse with water and store with a splash of alcohol. When I want them I just drain and use.

People forget that fermentation is a natural way of cleansing.

All that said I have been a bit manic lately about temps.... I think having a temp gun causes that.

You still have to steralise everything for the wash, this is the point when it is most prone to infection as it is at very low alcohol content.

[Anavrin]

Hi Guest5234

I bet I can guess your PIN number lol

On a more serious note, it's hard to get your head around coming from a home brew background but the need to sterilise everything is not so important with washes, after all, your not actually going to drink anything you ferment.

Took me a long time to get my head around but now it doesn't bother me so much, I just make sure everything is visibly clean and rinsed out, and I've not had any problems.

Sterilising fermenters is like an insurance policy against anything going wrong, and like most insurance policy's, at the end of the day if nothing went wrong, you feel like you wasted your time and money.

[Icefever]

Hi Guest5234

I bet I can guess your PIN number lol

On a more serious note, it's hard to get your head around coming from a home brew background but the need to sterilise everything is not so important with washes, after all, your not actually going to drink anything you ferment.

Took me a long time to get my head around but now it doesn't bother me so much, I just make sure everything is visibly clean and rinsed out, and I've not had any problems.

Sterilising fermenters is like an insurance policy against anything going wrong, and like most insurance policy's, at the end of the day, if nothing went wrong, you feel like you wasted your time and money.

+1 A..in a nutshell as usual

[Mash]

I use waste alcohol as a cleaner and wipe down. When I wash my fermenter out, I seal it up with a splash inside and then just drain before use.