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bcoutts

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  1. Following a fairly old chain - sorry. I just wanted to ask a few questions regarding efficiency on pot stilling whisky (Canadian eh?) as we are ramping up our whisky production and would like a bit more info on "industry standards" as we barrel more spirits. Our oldest whisky is just over a year old (was in a 10 gallon barrel) so as we fill 30/53 gallon barrels I'd like to see into the future a bit better. In this thread Silk suggested a 900 gallon mash would fill 2 x 53 barrels and Calwise suggested about 500-600 gallons @ 18 brix would fill a barrel. Not too different so I'll use Silk's as an example: 900 gallons @ 10% = 90 proof gallon potential. Assume the strip is @ 30% and it all goes into the pot still. You have a pot still 300 gallons @ 30% (90 PG). To fill 2 x 53 gallons @ 115 proof requires (106 gallons x 57.5%) or about 60 proof gallons. That would mean about 2/3 of what was in the still was captured as spirits to put in the barrel. We have been using 1/3 heads, 1/3 hearts and 1/3 tails as a general rule but based on the math above we should widen our cuts considerably to get to about 2/3 of the output.. I know this is very much a personal preference but I'd really like some input from those with more experience. Thanks
  2. Sorry to pickup on an old thread. We have "cloud" issues with oils/proteins/fatty acids or whatever coagulating in the gin. We have been filtering our gin with 1 micron filters and and are happy with the taste. We have used a .45 micron and found the taste to be a bit less vibrant? I know dialing back the botanical bill is an option but I am not keen to do that. We bottle at 42% and I do understand the higher abv the less chance of the "clouds". Does any have suggestions based on your experience? Much appreciated.
  3. I run a two column (1st column is 4-plate, 2nd column is 12-plate, both columns have a defleg). We have trouble hitting 190 proof consistently and are manipulating the flow to the 4-plate column defleg. I read in this thread a theoretical temp of 180-190 to (presumably) allow lots of ethanol through to the 12-plate column and only knock down the water in column #1. Our 2 columns have a drain back to the pot. I am wondering whether the job of the 1st column is to do lots of work (set at 175-180) and allow column #2 to polish to the vodka or set at 180+ to leave most of the work to the 2nd column. I haven't been able from this thread to understand the role of the two columns (a previous thread suggested to have virtually no cooling in the 1st column). If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
  4. Are the rye barrels first use? How long was the bourbon in the barrels? Thanks Brock
  5. My first single malt run was somewhat of a failure (I had a 15" krausen that was fairly dry that didn't fall and had to be scooped out of the fermenter by hand and SG didn't go below 1.02 - it was constant from day 4 to day 7 so stripped it). I heated it to 152F waited 90 min (starch test good) heated to 165) cooled and added yeast according to manufacturer's specs. After the required time at 150-55F do many of you heat to pasteurization (~180F) to kill bacteria before you cool and pitch? If so, do you add glucoamylase on the way down or in ferment to ensure more simple sugar conversion? Any help to get my process working a bit better is appreciated. Thanks
  6. Thanks Tim - I will be patient.
  7. Our first whiskey mash (100% single malt barley) and fermentation is nearing completion (SG @ 1.01). We ferment and plan to strip grain on. The krausen on the top of our fermentation is about 8" thick. Any recommendations of how to handle the krausen? Do I use a shovel and remove it before I pump to the stripping still? Do I wait for krausen to fall - it is so thick I don't think it will. Thanks for any advice.
  8. Thanks for the advice much appreciated - I've lowered the starting gravity (1.06) and will add 470g of DAP - I will let you know how it works.
  9. Sorry - I should have been more clear. Non malted wheat, no nutrients. Day 0 pH 5.7 SG 1.070 Day 1 pH 4.5 SG 1.050 Day 2 pH 3.5 SG 1.042 Day 3 pH 3.4 SG 1.038 Day 4 pH 3.5 SG 1.030 I will get down to about 1.010 in another 3 days with pH staying about 3.5 or 3.6 Seems to me at 1.01 I am leaving a fair bit of potential alcohol in the fermenter. And yes it has very sour flavor by day 3. I suspect part of the problem is the soft water that does not have sufficient alkalinity (buffer capabilities). There are a number of websites with data for water profile depending on the type of beer you want to make but I can't find anything in terms of water profiles for distilling vodka. Thanks again for any help
  10. Sorry to piggy back on this conversation but can someone shed some light on the pH as you mash and ferment. We have a similar profile: Carbon filtered water, heat to 90F, add wheat (90% of mash bill), heat to 165F, drop pH to about 5.8 with citric acid, add HTAlpha rest 90 min As it cools add barley (10% of mash bill) at about 152F, add a bit more citric to get pH to 5.5, at 140F add Glucoamlyase - let sit for 45 min. Begin cooling to 80F, transfer to fermenter add yeast (hydrated). pH drops to 4.5 day 1 and then to 3.5 on day 2. I don't get great attenuation and my striped distillate has a bitter taste. Is my carbon filtered water missing something to buffer the pH? Any help is appreciated.
  11. bcoutts

    Mash pH

    Thanks so much for the advice. We used about 5% backset and a bit of citric to get the pH right for the beta-amylase and our yield was right where we wanted.
  12. bcoutts

    Mash pH

    Thanks Skaalvenn. What type of acid do you use to drop pH - citric?
  13. bcoutts

    Mash pH

    Seeking help with my mash profile. After heating and holding the mash (all wheat) and adding the alpha enzymes my pH is above 6.2. I know this is the high end for alpha but the enzymes seemed to work well (no starch). I added some citric acid to get the pH down but after adding 300g the pH had only dropped to 5.6 - still above the beta-amylase sweet spot. I am using carbon filtered city water - any ideas of how to get the mash pH down to where the betas would be happy? Thanks.
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