friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Are you getting an air still VP?I'm contemplating brewing up some turbo cider with high-alcohol yeast, then putting it through a still, get some of what Terry Pratchett called "suicider".
Home Brew Questions
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friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I'm thinking about a proper old-fashioned pot still.
Wanna do things hillbilly style.
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
I'm thinking about a proper old-fashioned pot still.
Wanna do things hillbilly style.
I've been thinking of building a copper one one for years and now I have a gaff in the hills on the horizon I think it will be happening soon.
Inspired by Sid James
Pressure cooker be your friend for a stove top
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
I've been thinking of building a copper one one for years and now I have a gaff in the hills on the horizon I think it will be happening soon.
Inspired by Sid James
Pressure cooker be your friend for a stove top
Yep, and the great thing is, you can use it indoors, or outdoors on a gas plate, to deliver your 'shine, and not have to worry about it exploding old-school style!!!
A mate used his brewing kit to get a malt infusion going, spray-malted it, then added an HA yeast. He then boiled the resulting mess over a hickory fire, then distilled it. Didn't taste like the Scotch he envisioned (I told him he'd need to age it in an oak barrel, but he didn't listen!), but it was rather nice (50%)-ish ABV) all the same. The only hard part was getting him to throw away the first and last litres out of the still. Had to explain that was where all the chemical residues are.
Now, time to look up proper coopered virgin oak barrels on ebay...
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Oak Bottle | Wooden Barrel for the Spirits of your choice
There are a number of variations on these including oak sticks you can pop into a demijon
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Oak Bottle | Wooden Barrel for the Spirits of your choice
There are a number of variations on these including oak sticks you can pop into a demijon
Whoa, bit expensive!
Managed to find a "manufacture on demand" cooper on ebay. 5L barrel for about £80, 10L for £100 etc.
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Yeah well worth shopping around. I have a bit of 300 year old oak set aside for a future mini barrel project. I've asked me old fella to strip it down to mini planks in his little wood turning garage but I'm just hoping he doesn't turn it into another fucking tee light holder for Narnia's Christmas box like he did with the 100 yr old teak I gave himWhoa, bit expensive!
Managed to find a "manufacture on demand" cooper on ebay. 5L barrel for about £80, 10L for £100 etc.
I love him but he watches too much youtube for an 84 yr old.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
With all the free fruit available I started off 5 gallons of Bramble wine yesterday. Bubbling this morning so should be ready to rack off in about 10 days and ready to drink by X-mas.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Well it’s the start of the Apple Squeezin’ Season but has anyone got any ideas for what to do withthe pressed apple pulp? I just dumped it in a pile at the bottom of the garden last year but it seems like a terrible waste. Any suggestions gratefully received.
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Pigs or chickens?Well it’s the start of the Apple Squeezin’ Season but has anyone got any ideas for what to do withthe pressed apple pulp? I just dumped it in a pile at the bottom of the garden last year but it seems like a terrible waste. Any suggestions gratefully received.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
I thought that feeding up a pig up on it (mixed with plenty of sage) might result on a pre-seasoned porker in time for X-mas. There’s a chap near us who’s got a wee smallholding and keeps chickens so may sound him out on that score.
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Pork with it's own apple flavouringI thought that feeding up a pig up on it (mixed with plenty of sage) might result on a pre-seasoned porker in time for X-mas. There’s a chap near us who’s got a wee smallholding and keeps chickens so may sound him out on that score.
Me Ma feeds here chickens all her windfalls.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
15 gallons of scrumpy so far and the season has barely started - I think it will be a vintage year. I put out a call on a neighbourhood website for spare apples (offering a liquid dividend in return) and have had so many replies that I’ll be squeezing solidly from now until November. I’m mixing in elderberries as I find them for a bit of colour too. All that press cranking means I’m getting seriously fit too - who says booze is unhealthy?
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
A few years ago my mate and I distilled our scrumpy into a Calvados of sorts with a nice water-cooled still from Poland but we got a bit twitchy about heating it with a gas flame so got an electric hot plate instead - much safer! We wound up with about 40 pints of 75% alcohol that we matured by putting it (a gallon at a time) in a toasted oak barrel my mate got from Italy (off eBay for about £85). One month in the barrel per gallon was sufficient to flavour and colour it and it has remained in glass demijohns in my mate’s cellar for the last 3 years. Recently we diluted a litre of it to a more sociable 40% abv and it’s pretty darned good but we’re determined to let it sit for another year. I’ve developed incredible levels of patience with the whole operation but as that slow trickle of moonshine is hard won there’s no point in taking shortcuts. Good luck with yours
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
30 gallons of scrumpy plopping away - with promises of perhaps twice that again. This season is going to be fantastic!
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
I made 18 litres of pear cider last weekend using my masticating juicer (Gotta be careful how you say that). Bottled it today leaving about 3 liters of trug in the bottom. It smelt wonderful.
Pears courtesy of Ma's allotment.
Pears courtesy of Ma's allotment.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
Now that's what I call a brewery
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Now that's what I call a brewery
I put out a message on a neighbourhood website for excess apples and we’ve been struggling to keep up with donations. So far we’ve got 66 gallons but fully expect to hit the same again by the end of the season. Never thought it would take up like it has but my offer (give me you spare apples and I’ll give you a liquid dividend proportional to your contribution) is more appealing than charlatans like Urban Harvest who not only take your apples but charge you for the juice pressed from them ?!
We may need a bigger press in future years
friedaweed
Me and me girl named Jane
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Idaho
blah blah blah
First pint. I fermented it for 2 weeks in the demijohns then siphoned it into a pressure barrel, added a little sugar and left it another 2 weeks.
... And I think that's a very decent pint of cider. Definitely medium dry, but with a hint of sweet. I like a strong cider - old rosie, sheppys or katy - and I think this is around that strength - 6%+
Reckon it'll improve over time. That'll cover the festive season for me
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
In the spirit of bartering I’ve just exchanged 8 bottles of scrumpy , 300g of homemade biltong and a bootleg Captain Beefheart CD for £30 and a free scrape and polish from my dentist. This is how things should work in the 21st century
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Another barrel bottled
Drank two bottles of this last night and passed out. It must clock in about the 10% mark.
Drank two bottles of this last night and passed out. It must clock in about the 10% mark.
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seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Another 40 pints bottled with my wee chum Lil’ Bob on the label
