Neutral Grain Spirit

[Anavrin]

Hi Guys

Here's my plan for my next batch of neutral spirit, I've got a full sack of marris otter that I've done a couple of beers from, so I've decided I'm going to mash 6kg of grain in about 20lites of water for 90 mins, from this I want about 20 litres of sweet wort after a little sparge.

Then I'll use 5 litres per 25 litres wash plus a few bags of sugar to get it up 10% ABV potential, then I'm going to ferment at just 21°c with a bit of Amylglucoladase and bakers yeast.

Hopefully it won't need any additional neutriants, two chances I guess.

[Anavrin]

There's been tumble weeds blowing though this thread!

At least no ones picked any holes in my plan, either that or nobody cares lol

[Easydrinker]

Aye, a quiet spell on the boards at the moment.
Your idea sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
And I wish you well with it.
But lets face it, with your still you could ferment old school satchels and produce a decent neutral!

If I am going to try and point out holes, how do you keep your wort "sweet" until used up?
Wild yeasties may mess up your plan, unless you use it quickly.


Robert.

[Anavrin]

Hi Robert

I was thinking of the no chill cube method, if that's what it called, can't remember exactly.

But it involves boiling the wort after the mash for a few mins then transferring straight into an air tight container so it can't get infected or start to ferment.

[Anavrin]

Here's a link to some "no chill cube" info

http://beermapping.com/forum/index.php?topic=2144.0

I was thinking of using 5lt demijohns, but not sure if I should use 5lt plastic containers

[Easydrinker]

The method seems sound.
And at that level of ABV, so does the the use of HDPE for storage.
I have stopped worrying about storing alcohol in HDPE below 40'ish percent.
Above that %, I believe many other factors may come in to play with plastic bottles.
i.e. the various microscopic linings applied to the inside of bottles,especially PET ones.
The topic of alcohol and "Plastic" is a contentious one, that I once tried to get some serious thought given to here.
I put in many hours of Interweb time, trying to find some answers, to be shot down in flames by people more Luddite than myself.
More and more "duty free" spirit is sold in PET bottles, so maybe it is safe to assume that there is knowledge out there.
Sorry to seem to hijack your thread.
Please do let us know how this goes.

Robert.

[Mash]

Here's a link to some "no chill cube" info

http://beermapping.com/forum/index.php?topic=2144.0

I was thinking of using 5lt demijohns, but not sure if I should use 5lt plastic containers

This does work. I am a plastic fan for many purposes.
IMO this must be plastic and not glass.
Reason: the volume decreases as it cools. Plastic flexes glass may implode, or at very least such the bung in. 20l drums also come with thicker HDPE which reduces gas permeability.