Where I am today

[Easydrinker]

So having spent a fair amount of time this week milking sheep, to bottle feed or tube feed lambs that otherwise would have died, can I try to explain how smelly it makes your hands?
That mix of udder cream, milk, urine and Lanoline takes a lot of washing off, and as the Verve once sang, the Gloves don't work!

Robert.

[gaza the instructor]

A bit like teaching 17 year olds to drive then ED.
It doesn't make my hands smell or involve Milk
but they still have to be spoon fed.

[Easydrinker]

Today I mixed the hearts cuts from my last sack of Malt, whisky spirit runs.
Not too shoddy, 12.5 litres @ 65%, which is 25+ bottles at 40%.
I couldn't resist nuking some.

I acquired some staves of a defunct barrel from an Islay distillery, and today planed and torched them.
I was far more gentle than the last hooper, as the charcoal layer on the inner face was almost 3mm!
A modest amount of wood coloured the spirit mightily.
I have been sitting here "testing it".
It is certainly easy to drink.
I need to postpone deciding how good it is for another occasion. but the next sack of malt is getting underfoot, so prolly next week then.

Robert.

[Mash]

today I are mainly making beer.

I have been perfecting an over night beer - really pleased. Kick it off in the evening - ready to boil when you wake....mucho quickly.

[Srb57]

Got 4 litres of last years apple wine that I am going to put in the airstill, see what comes out?

Also got 10 kilos sugar from £stretcher yesterday do they need to be made into a couple of 25 litre mashes

Oh, missus just told me it is my turn to cook dinner (again)

[gaza the instructor]

5kg sugar is good. I find any more and you need a turbo or
vodka star yeast and I think bread yeast is better and cheaper.
Easier to do 2 or 3 washes .

[phantom]

5kg sugar is good. I find any more and you need a turbo or
vodka star yeast and I think bread yeast is better and cheaper.
(snippage)

Not sure about bread yeast being "better". Cheaper, likely.

Generally, turbo's like vodka star etc, are tolerant to 14% ABV. People often wonder/worry about using bread yeast as it's not like it's been tested and details published.

From the mead world, the times when you see mentions of bread yeast is with the JAOM recipe. Now it's not strictly a good method/technique, but it seems like it was developed for nOOb's, so that they can pretty much get all the ingredients from a grocery place/supermarket.

If you looked it up, you'd see Joes admonishing comments in the recipe about no need to take gravity readings etc, but also about using bread yeast (specifically Fleischmans - but that's not available here, it's a US brand). There's plenty of people who have done just that.

While it's a make and forget method, many have actually taken gravity readings - using all the basic number it's IRO 1.125 before yeast pitch and finishes at about 1.035-1.025 so that's sort of 12 to 13.5% ABV - from bread yeast (I've done this recipe with Allinsons, Hovis and Co-Op own brand).

Hence I'm thinking that there should be no reason why it shouldn't work fine with 5kg of sugar per batch of wash.

I'm also very lazy when it comes to being original about this sort of stuff, so I just get my vodka star in bulk quantities (free shipping or money off list sort of thing). Plus it's been a long time since I meddled with TPW, Kale, etc which is why I'm typing this (and not trolling Gaza's comment). It's "thinking aloud" so I can remember..........

Oh and for those who didn't know, when bread production changed from being all "sour dough" to yeast based in the mid-19th century, the yeast used was from a brewery source (I'm sure it's been more tweaked/refined for better CO2 production for rising/proving the bread before it's baked). Just that the very fact that it was brewers yeast that was used suggests a little of why it can be used successfully to make wort/wash without hideous flavour issues..........

[gaza the instructor]

Phantom, cant remember where I read it but there was a trial done.
It may have been Modern Distiller, but DADY, bread and Wine Yeast
were all trialled on identical washes of 5kg sugar, so sugar-heads as
they call them. No big differences in volume or surprisingly taste.
Bread yeast was best value, no surprise there .
Have used VS and still do sometimes, it produces good neutral,
just do not like the Turbo's I can taste it in the final product.

[Srb57]

Mine is done mainly on cost and availability, tomato paste is always in store and does not go off if not used and only needs half a tube so cost is about 20p per wash. Bought 2kg (4 x 500gm) vacuum packed fermipan yeast, (have used a lot of this one whilst a chef and still use it for the breadmaker) cant remember the price but must of been good value, so each package make 10 washes. Sugar is either 49p or 50p depends which £ shop I use. At this rate each eash cost me about £3 and I can get 4.5 - 5 litres at 40% abv. I do find this gives a good neutral with minimum effort and cost. I spend more on the botanicals to convert this into "Gins" and other fruit based flavours.

[gaza the instructor]

Agreed on the bots Srb57, but good quality bots make good quality
Gin, it's my drink. Have you tried the Orange Gin yet it's MEGA!!!

[Easydrinker]

I like Mashs idea of overnight beer, mine today, took most of the afternoon, off and on.

Robert.

[Mash]

I am aiming for ready to boil 0630.

Tbh I think your klatterstein would be a dream to set up. Fill it in the evening. Leave everything at room temp. Set the temps, turn the pump on, Run it for 1 min to check and then use a simple plug in timer to delay the action. Bingo.

[Easydrinker]

I feel that I still need time to play with my new toy, and discover it's secrets.
The whisky washes seem easy, the beer is a little harder.
Hops and boils and so on.
Had a very early pre-taste of my first AG beeer over the weekend.
It was prettty good, shows good promise.
I am a wirgin with AG in a grown-up machine.
Everyday is a schoolday.

Robert.

[Mash]

Gotcha. There are a few tricks but I am sure you wont be disappointed.

Did is come with a hop basket...they do help keep the shite level down.

PS like you boil a beer, I do think it would be 20-30 mins well spent doing that for a wash. The protein break (snotty bit) after about 10 mins would stop it bunging up your still.

[Easydrinker]

I appreciate your come back here.
I am sure there is much that you know, that I don't with beer.
But you also know that I am a stubborn B'stard, that prefers to make his own mistakes, and hopefully learn.
No hop basket with the purchase, and after a low cost purchase of one, not even used, I bought a good one.
Which works fine.
I also filter the mash to the fermenter, very little rubbish gets through.
I had not considered re-pitching yeast when I started on the beer route, the current wash is almost done on 3rd gen.
I don't think that I will go further with this one.
There was only one beer that interested me, Hobgoblin, tonight we tried Belgian Tongerlo.
It has to be attempted.

I bulk bought 1/2Kg Nottingham dry yeast, which then had me buy a vaccumn packer to keep the residual yeast viable.
If anyone is looking for a vac packer, can I reccomend this one?
It seems to do it well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vitinni-Food ... 2749.l2649
I may be moving on to sous vide cooking soon.

I am resisting boiling whisky washes, never had a problem before.
I will start on the next sack of whisky grain this week.
I hope and expect to get through it without recourse to boiling

LL&P

Robert.

[Mash]

A vacuum packer and a fridge are a wonderful combination. Yeast is one thing. Hops next. Cheese,, meat.... The list is endless.

I normally buy yeast 500 g at a time where did you get Nottingham?

[Easydrinker]

Mash,
Geterbrewed, my usual online brewshop.
With a decent price for distillling malt.


Robert.

[Mash]

Blimey £44 but for 45-50 brews not bad. It's about £3 per sachet.

I might try Leathermans whiskey yeast in a beer. For me floculation is the reason to buy. Safale almost paints itself on the bottom of the bottle.

[Easydrinker]

Lallmande Nottingham also sticks like shit to a blanket, does it for me.
Eats the sugars,and sinks like a stone.
Leathermans whisky yeast is amazing, in whisky and neutral. Not tried it in beer yet.
But it also flocculates well.
It is a Youngs yeast,and they recently bought out Lallmande.
And I have bought Leathermans remaining supply.
Another reason for a vac packer.
Years of yeasties.


Robert.

[Mr Mac]

I visited this place yesterday:

https://www.bmswijndepot.com/nl/catalogus

My Wish List is over flowing!

Felt like a kid in a sweet shop; never gotten excited by stainless steel before!

Is there a fetish name for that?

[Mash]

Obsessive fermenting disorder probably covers it.

Solace can be found at brauland/brewland. OFD suffers welcome.

[Mr Mac]

OFD!

Love it!

Or....

Obsessive Fermentation Syndrome

= OFS!

Translated to ‘Oh F*ck Sake!’ to the un-affected!

[gaza the instructor]

I have shown signs of that for years, it makes me walk with a lisp!!!

[Easydrinker]

Having no German, I was defnitely the kid in the sweet-shop.

Robert.

[Mr Mac]

I’m useless at languages, so I browse these stores using Chrome, with auto translate turned on.

The people at BMS Wijn Depot are great, and can speak excellent English, so I really enjoyed my visit.
They’re a bit more expensive than Braumarkt, but I’m old fashioned and like to actually go to a store now and then.