Cachaca - cane spirit

[Mr Four Square]

Great Pirate Chief of the Cachaca thread I wondered when you show up... There's the market opening you have been looking for. Make a decent GS for China

[RumJohn]

@ Mr. 4 Square. Thanks for the suggestion. But starting a new enterprise in China holds no interest. Tough as hell to get anything going here and if you do, the buggers will try and take it off you.

Having said that: I am in the states at the moment, but when I get back in a couple of weeks am going to try my hand at bacon. Cant get good bacon down my way. I hear its easy. Might be a bit of a market.

[Mr Four Square]

Rum and bacon !

I'm ready to make my Cachaca wash. Do you guys use any buffers or nutrients apart from the boiled yeast and the crushed B tablet ?

[Mash]

I had trouble with bacon. Got there on the end. Dry cure and a vaccy packer. Ended up at butchery class.

Happy to share of you want a 2nd opinion.

[RumJohn]

@Mr 4 Square: L&T GS needs some nutrition. I cant speak for Chelsea - but wouldn't hurt.

Cachaca is the only wash I add nutrition to. All others I make not necessary.


@Mashy: Thanks for the offer of help. Let me see what shakes. I will keep it simple and do not have the facilities to smoke it.

[Mr Four Square]

Cheers Here's what I'm planning to go with.
What do you think?

6 kgs of Golden Syrup
Water up to 23 liters
Adjust to SG 1.080
75gms bakers yeast
1 crushed vitamin b tab
Ferment at 25-28 degrees

What about PH ? What do you aim for? Do you add anything to manage it ?

[RumJohn]

@ Mr, Four Square: Have never adjusted ph in my life. Sounds too complicated and I work with the water I have.

[Mr Four Square]

I got a tip from a couple of rum regulars to throw a couple of plain white sea shells in so I did that. The wash scavenges the calcium carbonate from the shell.

Anyone use DAP?

In all this I'm led by RJ saying he doesn't add anything extra other than dead yeast and some Vitamin B tablets.

[Mr Four Square]

3 days on the go and the airlock is slow on one barrel and silent on the other. When I lift the lid there's just a few bubbles on the surface but when I give it a good sniff .... Whoa ! there's plenty of gas coming off .

I added 2 x high potency B vitamins per wash.
Leave well enough alone or chuck some DAP in ?

[Easydrinker]

Sea shells is new to me.
I use a little more yeast than you state.
RJ possibly doesn't have access to DAP,You don't seem to have included dead yeast.
If you are going to add DAP,do it soon,the wash should be fizzing well by now.
I don't use airlocks,a loose fitting lid and fast ferment works for my brews.
I would worry at so little action in the wash at this stage,and check PH and possibly add DAP and more yeast.
Not saying that is right,just saying.
Wishing you well with it.

Robert.

[Mash]

No more additives yet.

Shake it. Whisk it. But get some air in there.

.... imo its either that or a bad pitch.

[Mr Four Square]

Not sure if anything is wrong with it yet. Just a little surprised at the lack of action. I'm used to doing fruit or grain washes with plenty of material in the wash. So it could just be my lack of experience with rum and sugar washes.

What would you expect to see on day four? A head? Plenty of foam?

Yes I put some boiled yeast (10gms per wash) in as well as the 2 B tabs.

I gave it a good aerate with the paint mixer on a drill when I pitched it.

Hydrated the yeast for 15 m then gave it a Tbsp of wash and let it foam up before pitching.

There is no head on the wash but a foot away from the surface there's plenty of gas coming off and a few small bubbles on the surface.

Using strips just now the PH looks to be 5 maybe 6

Just checked the SG before sending this and its dropped from 1.08 to a little over 1.01.

Can I call that working just fine ?

[RumJohn]

@ Mr 4 Square: Its too late to be stirring and adding more nutrition. Your wash has already gone from an aerobic phase to an anaerobic phase. You say it is working, but slowly. GS is not the most active of washes. That is why I use some nutrition.

Stand back, be patient and leave it alone - if there is some activity.

Have never used DAP.

[Mr Four Square]

Happy with that instruction RJ.

"Don't do something ! Just sit there"

What sort of FG am I looking for?

Really looking forward to stilling this one.

[Mash]

Sounds like it is working. You wont get a foamy head - there is not the proteins like you get with grains.