Impatient.com

[Jennysgin]

I'm still waiting for my sugar wash to finish and I reckon it's still got a fair way to go.
In the meantime, my shiny new airstill keeps looking at me!
New plan - Lidl, 4 bottles of cider, beat it until it's lost its fizz, 2 strip runs, combine for 1 spirit run.
Hey presto, brandy
Is this a really stupid plan?

[gaza the instructor]

Jenny patience is a ........
Know its hard and you want to get going, but you could do a bit of
reading and make yourself a sputnik for your Gin.
I am making a Strawberry and Vanilla Gin, sound nice??
Look on the old site for boodles or Winston Gin, if you cant find it
will repost the recipe. 2ltrs gin @42% going to add two split vanilla pods
about 200g of strawberries sliced and let it soak for a week.
Its a request from a pals wife.

[Jennysgin]

Sounds good
I have been doing quite a lot of reading and have a list of things to try so I'll definitely add the strawberry and vanilla to the list. The science of it is quite interesting too!
The sputnik is on the cards, I still need to go to b and q for legs and borrow a drill (ours died!).
I shall try and not get too far ahead of myself, I'm normally very controlled and logical about things but the prospect of this new hobby has set me off!
Thanks Gaza.
(Also promise to try not to fill forum with any more rubbish!)

[gaza the instructor]

Jenny it is NOT rubbish, you ask and comment on what you
like we have a common goal, all on the same path etc..
You want to see fresh strawberries when they have been
in Gin for a few days. They could be used as ghost straws
at Halloween.

[Mash]

Nothing is rubbish. As for the cider.... Just freeze it.

[Jennysgin]

I need a bigger freezer!

[Srb57]

You might consider another fermenting bucket and get another wash on the go...and then maybe another, I personally have 6 buckets and nearly always have 4 with washes in them at various stages. Because once you start....I buy my sugar from about 4 different shops as it does look odd buying 20kg at a time..
As everyone says...keep asking it is the best way to learn..

[gaza the instructor]

I need a bigger freezer!

You sound just like the wife there Jenny, but if I ask for any freezer space
I am told to Foxtrot Oscar if you get my drift.
More washes I bought some food grade buckets with lids on the bay, cheap
as chips, make a hole put an airlock on.
Try a Kale or tpw wash V.good and cheap.

[Easydrinker]

I'm still waiting for my sugar wash to finish and I reckon it's still got a fair way to go.
In the meantime, my shiny new airstill keeps looking at me!
New plan - Lidl, 4 bottles of cider, beat it until it's lost its fizz, 2 strip runs, combine for 1 spirit run.
Hey presto, brandy
Is this a really stupid plan?

IMHO this is is not the daftest idea.
In a Scottish Lidl your cider would cost £20, South of the border, only £7.96.
This is a small price to pay for some playtime.
It may not be brandy,without ageing, but will give you some drinkable spirit and some hands on experience with making cuts.
One life,live it!

Robert.

[myles]

I'm still waiting for my sugar wash to finish and I reckon it's still got a fair way to go.
In the meantime, my shiny new airstill keeps looking at me!
New plan - Lidl, 4 bottles of cider, beat it until it's lost its fizz, 2 strip runs, combine for 1 spirit run.
Hey presto, brandy
Is this a really stupid plan?

Well it would be Calvados / Apple brandy. Only worth doing if it is a good flavoured cider.

I currently have two 30 litre fermenters going with tesco pressed apple juice and Safale S04 yeast. 50 litres in total so there is a decent space left in the fermenters for foam. Those are intended for drinking cider though.

[Easydrinker]

The observant amongst you will notice that I have just deleted a whole bunch of posts in this thread.
They were not helpful to the OP.
For feck's sake!
Take a look at what you respond to.
If your post helps, post it.
If you have something else to say, start a new thread.
The Forum Police are watching.

Robert.

[Easydrinker]

I'm still waiting for my sugar wash to finish and I reckon it's still got a fair way to go.
In the meantime, my shiny new airstill keeps looking at me!
New plan - Lidl, 4 bottles of cider, beat it until it's lost its fizz, 2 strip runs, combine for 1 spirit run.
Hey presto, brandy
Is this a really stupid plan?

Well it would be Calvados / Apple brandy. Only worth doing if it is a good flavoured cider.

I currently have two 30 litre fermenters going with tesco pressed apple juice and Safale S04 yeast. 50 litres in total so there is a decent space left in the fermenters for foam. Those are intended for drinking cider though.

I have to disagree with you Myles, for the reason I stated above.
For some playtime,get to know an airstill time, Jennysgin's idea is not daft.
Who cares if the product is drinkable?
It could save some grief further down the road.

Robert.

[Curmudgeon]

IF you are super duper impatient, you COULD run beer, wine, cider through your still, then nuclear age it in your microwave.

It's a terrible idea but I have done it, several times

Most things done this way need ageing. They will be harsh as hell when straight out of the still.

[Mash]

You could run any recipe and just reduce to sugar to say 3kg this would ferment through quickly.

[Jennysgin]

Thank you Curmudgeon, sense prevailed and I'm getting another wash going.
I'll no doubt revisit the terrible idea in the future though, once I'm more familiar with running the still!

[Easydrinker]

Terrible ideas only seem so at the time.
In the cold, grey light of morning, they sometimes seem really good.
Do look out for my new book on home spun philosophy and plagarism, set to turn the world on it's head.

Robert.

[Curmudgeon]

I remember getting my airstill and like a kid at Christmas just wanting to play with it NOW.

So I did the turbo wash, ran it once and tried (and succeeded) to drink some straight away and thought WOW! £1 a bottle, I'm a genius!

It didn't taste anywhere like as OK the next night and so like most of us I learnt some patience, which in fairness is easier once you've made some good stuff and have some stock in hand as Robert and others have alluded to.

I am a fan of vodkastar not quite turbo yeast/nutrient when stocks are low but it does still take a week or so.

The other way you could have some fun in the meantime (going by your name here) is to buy some gin or vodka, double the volume with water and run it through the still with some botanicals of your choice.

[Jennysgin]

I'd considered that actually! There's some cheap booze in the cupboard.
I've got the rotten first batch to play with, so I'll see if I can get anything from it while I wait A few runs through the still may produce something

[Mash]

Jenny - A few jolly points about this hobby.

Generally, anything you flavour and don't like you can run again.To strip the flavour out.

Anything you make does have a use.... as vinegar or barbecue lighter fuel or screen wash.

Anything with alcohol in it - flat beer, half a glass of wine. You can recover the alcohol from.

Best of all, cleaning alcohol. If you put a dribble of 40% alcohol in all of your bottles or vessels and seal it up, they will stay fresh. Nothing grows in 40% alcohol. Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a bottle of gin go off.? Don't ask Gazza - there is no chance of it going off - not sure his makes into the cupboard

[Mr Mac]

Hi JG, I’m a newbie too, and my first wash was also lousy, but I managed to recover it!

I made a 25L wash using a Vodka Star packet.
It looked ok when done, but was very milky, and smelled a bit ‘off’.

I didn’t have the carbon clearing pack, so I just ran it through the T500 anyway.
Came out nice and clear, but still smelled ‘off’ - mild vinegar with a pinch of something weird.

Did a bit of research, and found a suggestion to add some activated carbon - type GE - to the 40% neutral.
There’s two types of this activated carbon, mainly used for wine, with the GE type used for odor and Flavour, and the FA type for colour and flavour.
I happened to be at a brew supply shop, getting another fermenter, and picked up a pack of GE - not cheap at €8.50 for 250g - but you only need a tiny amount per 5 litre DJ.
Put it straight into the 5L, shake every couple of hours, for a day. Pour out through a funnel with a coffee filter in it.

Worked a treat!
Huge improvement, so I distilled it again - very happy with the outcome.

If you can’t get the GE type handy, I can send you some. Like I said, you only need a few grams per 5L.

[gaza the instructor]

A bottle a day keeps the doctor in pay

[Mash]

A mate of mine was getting through a bottle of vodka per day at Uni. He was drinking it with grapefruit juice In a half pint glass

He went to the doctors complaining of a bad stomach &chronic weight loss. The doctor couldn't work out what it was. They finally got onto the vodka. The doctor replied "The vodka is not a good idea really, but that amount of the grapefruit juice Will actually kill you because it is so acidic". Changed to Coke problem solved.

[gaza the instructor]

Does to much tonic water hurt? It is slimline, unlike me.
I think the wife is trying to get me fit to play in the
first fifteen again.

[Mash]

First fifteen of what... Have you checked the small print

[Curmudgeon]

I can see Gaza as a loose head prop(ping up the bar)