indyspirits

I'd guess 45 mins to an hour. Honestly we don't really check before 45 minutes so that's a poor answer. Next time I'll take a reading at 30 mins. Yup. Simple CVS / Walgreen tincture of iodine.

How exactly are you introducing corn?

I've never found corn to be too bad. We source our corn from a grain elevator about 45 mins north of Indianapolis. The process is similar to what others have said, mix corn and water at about 2lbs / gallon (I have gone as high as 4 lbs as an experiment) adjust ph; add ht alpha am. heat to 190 / hold until negative starch lower to about 170 / add "other grains" add gluco am sach rest (add b glucan if it's rye-gooey) cool to pitching temp pitch yeast This is from memory but it's close to being correct. All grain ground to flour.

You could use some food grade RTV.

The math is pretty simple: let's say you pay $20 / 50lb from your local restaurant supply house. You'll see 46 gravity points / lb of table sugar. Corn is about 15¢ a lb and you can expect about 33 gravity points / lb. After calculating cost of a gravity point we have corn at .45¢ / gp (see below) and sugar at .87¢ / gp. Processed sugar is nearly double the cost of corn. Corn isn't that difficult to process -- Sherman Owen has a youtube video out there on processing corn in a direct fired pot -- readily doable but would be a challenge with large batches. Not sure what type of still you have but if it's bain marie or steam you can easily mash the corn in that. You'll be fighting it the entire way if you attempt it with direct immersion elements. As for the cost of corn -- we pay 13¢ for corn and about another 2¢ for mill/bag/delivery. Also need to calculate in enzymes costs -- I think we use .36 ml / lb (??) of starch. I forget the exact amount. It's not very expensive.

We've purchased used SS totes. I like them because they're squatty/ fit nicely under the parrot and we can forklift them around. Also never any concern about overfilling!

A slight tangent... Very good point. We started out using Lallemand's line of distiller yeasts and found the flavor was indeed much more representative of the product being produced when the fermentation temp was in the range of that specified in the yeast documentation. During winter we had a rum ferment that was in the low 60s that was nearly tasteless (sugar source was 68% TSAI molasses so pretty clean in and of itself) after the spirits run. We found that fermenting in the upper 80s resulting in a drastically shorter ferment time and a better flavor profile.

Turbo yeasts will lend a not-so-pleasant flavor profile to whatever product you're making. Look for a yeast appropriate to your fermentable source. Add nutrients as needed. Watch your fermentation temp.

Unless you're bringing your mash to a boil before innoculating you're going to harvest a substantial quantity of wild yeasts with the pitched strain. If you really want to harvest yeast you'll need to make a starter from sterile wort (I make starter from about 1040) and feed / aerate to bulk up cell count. Even then you'll need to consider if the time and cost of wort will be worth it.

Heading up through Chicago on June 2nd to Milwaukee for the Highland Games. Also need to drop by my wine locker at 730 W Lake St -- is that near you? I'll bring all you like. Last winter was mild but the winter below it dropped to a few degrees below zero a time or two. This stuff seems to be the cockroach of absinthe botanicals.

Probrewer is good. Craigslist isn't horrible. Find yourself a contractor in the steam business who freelances and ask them to inspect it for you regardless of the source.

I transplanted this from a single runner last spring. It gets no direct sun. This will be removed today for drying or it will take over my hostas & other non-sun-loving plants. This is the initial bed of pontica planted from two starts in spring of 2014. I've hacked it back two or three times. It does get direct sunlight and ample watering. This should be enough for hundreds of liters of absinthe. Anyone need a start?

I'm in Indianapolis -- USDA Zone 6a. I've never thought about growing absinthum since it's readily available commercially. I may have made a mistake with my pontica as I transplanted it to a few of my flower beds. We don't really have a place for it at the distillery and since you needs so very little in the coloring step I thought, "why not". I now know "why not". I'm going to harvest in mid-June and again in late summer. I'll post a few pics later today.

I have a bumper crop of artemisia pontica growing. Should I harvest continually throughout the growing season or wait until fall? I've read online that "wormwood" should be harvested in July / August. I'm assuming that's for grand wormwood. Are the rules the same for petite? Regardless, I've got to get it under control as it's taking over my garden. Eric (previously ebstauffer)