Welshbrew

I've found that when distilling fresh raspberries, the flavour does not come through. You need to add the fresh fruit post distillation. Certainly raspberries and blackcurrants.

Forget it. You'll need to buy very large amounts to make it worthwhile, and correctly dry the products. For example, my spice trader takes juniper berries which are typically 40% moisture and dries them to around 18% moisture. By the time you have everything in place (to process raw product) you have replicated a lot of what a spice trader does (at great expense). Definitely not worth it.

The green berries are next years harvest. Leave them on the tree.

Where did you get the copper pipe section from?

72.5% ABV at 20 degrees C is 65.08% by weight (ABW) with a density of 0.87755. So if you have 40.5 kg then you have around 46.15 litres of product. I calculate you have 26.36 kg of ethanol in your spirit. If you were to dilute to 40% (for example) you would have 81.45 litres of gin.

Thanks. I see the resolution is actually 4 decimal places (0.0001 g/cm³), with accuracy being 3 decimal places. I really need it for ABV/ABW mostly, with some use for density. I would rather buy the Snap 41 if that is more accurate than the DMA 35. I won't be using it for final proofing since it is not legal in the UK. Wonder why the Snap 51 is more expensive (£2,581.90) than the DMA 35 (£1,970.80)? The lifetime replacement on the sensor looks attractive.

Does anyone know the alcohol ABV or ABW accuracy with the DMA 35? For the Snap 41 and 51 they quote accuracy of 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. But nothing quoted on the DMA 35, other than density accuracy which is 0.001 g/cm³. Also regarding the "Basic" version, is this just the previous generation that is now cheaper?

I'm using a copper alembic still. Botanical charge is just over 30g per litre, at 40% ABV maceration. I have pretty much nailed my recipe. This is at 10 litre testing size. Problem is moving to 100 and 200 litre sizes. It will be much colder in January than July. The maceration will take longer due to the ethanol mix being colder. This is what I want to measure. Establish a value when maceration is complete (conductivity, PPM, SG, refractive index) then test the maceration until complete. Taste is not reliable. Fully stop.

The ethanol/water mixture takes time to take the flavour out of the solid ingredients. After 1 day the flavour would be too weak to be worth distilling. After 12 days it will be definitely ready. Now it could be ready after 7 days. Or 8 days. That is what I want to measure instead of just waiting too long to be sure. I reckon measuring electrical conductivity may work - it will give an indication of the number of ions dissolved in the liquid.

I know the proof will not change. Sugar will be very low, probably too low to measure. Wonder if refractive index could be used?

Hello I create my gin by macerating at room temperate for 7 to 10 days. Up to now I have determined if maceration is done by taste and colour. Not exactly reliable. And certainly not a scale when I open my distillery. Is there any equipment that will give me some exact figures of how the liquid has changed? It starts as ethanol/water at 40% ethanol by volume. All solid ingredients are then added, before being removed before transferring to the still. What about the Anton Paar density meters like the DMA 35? Or should I be looking at a refractometer instead? Thanks

Thanks If anyone from the UK is reading this, you need a DSEAR compliance engineer, and they charge around £700 per day. Hoping no more than 3 days work, but who knows.

Just heard back from them - they have accepted my application ?

I've stated that I will comply with DSEAR 2002 regulations, and that I need a compliance engineer to get compliant. We'll see what they say.

Right now - from me. I'm reluctant to employ an engineer until I have the lease.