junglejimmy
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Everything posted by junglejimmy
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I am leaning towards using the heat transfer oil. It only cost around $800 AUD for a 200L drum. The smoking point for the oil is around 300C (572f), so getting enough heat to boil the distillate should not be a problem. blustar, you said there would be thermal lag with the water bath steam option. Would there be the same problem with heat transfer oil. I have no experience with bain marie systems to speak of, however, when cooking with oil on a stove top it seems very responsive to the heat input.
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Started my own distillery about 8 months ago in Australia, and after all this time I am finally about to get my License to manufacture alcohol. About to purchase a 400L Bain Marie Pot still and a 400L Bain marie mash tun. At this point steam generation is not an option as I would like to be up and running as soon as possible. What are you guys thoughts on the bath medium. Water or Oil? I am looking for the most energy efficient option as electricity prices in Australia are some of the most expensive in the world. I have found a local supplier of Heat transfer oil. http://www.hi-tecoils.com.au/product/heat-transfer-oils-12-90/. Is this Oil suitable? I have seen that some guys use Mobil 46. I have come to understand that the number refers to the viscosity of the oil, where the higher number is more thick. The Supplier says they can only do 32 or 64. Would the lower number be more suitable? Thanks for your help!
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Great! Thanks! Would be good to eliminate fungamyl from my inventory. I just started a Distillery in Australia and have to buy 20 Litre drums of the stuff. No way I can use that much with the amount I am currently producing. You say that the Glucoamylase will remain active if fermenting on grain. Does that Significantly increase the yield? Currently I am using a false bottom mash tun to remove the solids, as it is less messy. For my experiments I am using 5kg grain bills with 25 Litres of water. I then Use another 10 Litres of water to sparge the grains. The standard Gravity always comes out to about 1.40 with about 27 litres of wort.. Would I get significantly higher fermenting on the grain? I am from Australia by the way. Sorry for the metric units.
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So you say that "It’s common for the amylases in malt to create nonfermentable dextrins. Glucoamylase can reduce these dextrins to fermentable sugars." Would it then only be useful to use glucoamylase (AMG) and not the liquification enzyme (fungamyl) for a flaked wheat and malted wheat mash. I feel like the malt is a lot more powerful in liquefying the mash. The clear sugar wort tends to rise and collect at the top more readily.
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So i've been experimenting with malted wheat and enzymes when added to flaked wheat to make Vodka. Novozymes AMG glucoamylase and Fungamyl Q alpha amylase in particular. I am trying to maximum conversion efficiency and I feel like the malt used in conjunction with the enzymes achieves the best result. Just wondering if the intended use of the enzymes is to always use them in conjunction with the malts to maximize efficiency or are they intended to be used in the absence of malts?
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Legality of exporting under aged whiskey
junglejimmy replied to junglejimmy's topic in Federal Gov't
to Silk City Distillers: I have some conflicting info about making white whiskey and rum. There are two paragraphs in the law document that suggest it is illegal. There is the law I posted above for manufacture in Australia and this paragraph for importation into Australia. Customs Act 1901 For imported products, Section 105A outlines the requirements of: (1) Brandy, whisky or rum imported into Australia must not be delivered from the control of the Customs unless a Collector is satisfied that it has been matured by storage in wood for at least 2 years. However, when you look online at Australian liquor retailers they are all importing and selling white whiskey that clearly states that is has been aged for less than 2 years. Ideally I would like to make and sell oak chipped aged whiskey that has colour, as a clear whiskey would probably be a novelty to most and not sell as well. I -
Hello, I'm from Australia and currently in the process of starting my own distillery. I plan on initially making Vodka and Gin as I do not have the capital to purchase and store barrels to make Whiskey. I was recently contacted by a friend of mine in Asia who would like me to whiskey for him. He would import it into his country and bottle and label it under his own brand. I told him that in Australia whiskey must be aged in a wood barrel for a minimum of 2 years. He told me that these rules do not apply in his country and whiskey aged for a couple of months on oak chips would suffice. In Australia the law states that: Excise Act 1901 For Australian manufactured goods, the Excise Act 1901 as amended by “The Excise Laws Amendment (Fuel Tax Reform and Other Measures) Act 2006” stipulates: “Section 77FI - Delivery from CEO’s control of brandy, whisky or rum (1) Brandy, whisky or rum manufactured in Australia must not be delivered from the CEO’s control unless it has been matured by storage in wood for at least 2 years. Does anyone have any experience with exporting or selling whiskey aged on oak chips for less than 2 years? Is there any way to get around this law?
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I've been experimenting with an all unmalted grain recipe for the last couple of months. Have been using enzymes for saccharification, namely alpha amylase and glucoamylase. I have also been using RO water and adding minerals to build my own water profile. The results have been great, however the final pH is really low at pH 3.3 and the wash is taking a very long time to reach final gravity. I think I need to add a buffer / stabilizer so that the pH doesn't crash so much. I know beer guys use Five Star 5.2 stabilizer, however I have heard that it add 100ppm of sodium, which an effect taste. Are there any other commercially available solution? Any suggestions? Thanks!
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Hey guys, So we are thinking about upgrading to a 12" 16-plate reflux still. I think that a 200 Gallon boiler would be sufficient. At the current time we are running a 8" 8-plate still on electric. SO if we were to choose steam we would also have to invest in a boiler. If we were to stay with electric would it be possible to run a still of this size? what would be the power requirements? As in how many 15kW heating elements do you think it would require? Thanks
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From their infosheet they have 4 activated carbons suitable for rum. Two in powdered form (Norit sx plus & Norit DX10) and two in Granular form (Norit pk 1-3 & Norit gcn 830 plus). DO you know which would be most suitable for removing color but still retaining the taste? Also, does the granular carbon you use remove the color? I'm still wondering whether its the phsical form of the carbon that removes color or maybe its the treatment (acid wash) that is the main factor.
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So i plugged "Norit" and "Activated Carbon" into google and it came up with cobotcorp. They specialize in activated carbon for the food and beverage industry, so i'm guessing that's the one. I'll give them a buzz and hopefully we can come up with a solution. Thanks.
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I cant find "Norit" in the members list. Does he have a website for the company he works for?
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Thanks for the imput guys. Those are some things that I haven't thought about. After reading a lot about Bacardi they say their process is to ferment on molasses (no mention of sugar), distill using a reflux column (no mention of the number of plates), carbon filter, age in natural oak barrels for a year, then carbon filter to remove the color, then blend. I sounds like a complicated process, and I know i wont be able to get it exactly the same. I will be happy if its in the ballpark. I feel like the taste at the moment, with the oak chips, is in the ballpark. Its the color that is the problem.
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Hey guys, I'm in a bit of a pickle. A few months back my boss approached me and said he wanted me to make a white rum that could be a substitute to Bacardi, which could compete in house rum market. I've never made rum before,but i told him I could do it. Couldn't be that difficult......right? So fast forward a few months later, countless hours of research and a few failed attempts, I am now the stage where i am happy with the taste. I am using a half molasses half sugar wash with ec-1118. Striping it and then running through our 4 plate column still. After that i filter it and age it on natural oak chips. After a week on the chips it tastes amazing. Smooth and creamy with a hint of vanilla. Its at this point i am a little bit stuck. I have tried few methods of carbon filtering, but so far the color still remains. I ran it through our system we use for vodka, which is just a water filtering machine with a carbon filter housing. No luck with this method as the color was still there. I'm thinking there might not be enough contact time, so then I used pulverized carbon and added it to the rum. I filtered out the carbon, however the color still remains. Is there a special method to remove the color? Maybe even a special type of carbon that I need to be using? Any input would be greatly appreciated as i would love to get my boss and the sales team off my back.
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Ah ok. That puts an emd to that little experiment. I know the mash environment needs to be acidic for the yeast. Disnt realise it needed a pH buffer. So then my next question would be, what is the ideal final pH for a wheat based vodka? I've read that the ideal final pH for wheat beers is in the high 3's or low 4's. Is that what I should be aiming for?
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So we recently got a band new reverse osmosis filter system that we use to dilute our vodka. I wanted to try an experiment using the filtered water in the mash, but I have come across a problem that has got me stumped. That is, the pH of the resulting mash is extremely low during fermentation. We usually use spring water for our mash that is very basic (8.5pH). We add citric acid to our mash to it down to about 6.0pH. The filtered water has a starting pH of 6.6, so very little citric acid is needed to bring it down. However, about 2 days into the fermentation I measured the pH and it was 3.2pH. That seems very low to me. Can anyone please tell me what they think is going on with the chemistry. Some things to note: Mash consists of half white winter wheat, with half sugar enzymes have been added to the wheat to extract the sugar the temperature here is quite high 33C (91F) in the daytime Im using a pH pen with auto temperature compensation to mesure the pH
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Hi, I've been in the process of creating a house gin and I am relatively happy with the formula I have developed. I have come across one problem that you guys probably know all too well, and that is flavor changing dramatically with time. I've been using Angelica as a fixative but I feel its maybe not as effective as orris root. In my local area the typical orris root varieties ( Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida ) are hard to find and I want to try and avoid importing to save on cost. In my area there is a variety which is abundant and cheap called Iris domestica (Common name: Blackberry lily, Leopard lily). Its primarily used in Chinese medicine. If I were to use this as a substitute do you think it would still have fixative qualities? Thanks
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Thanks for the info guys. your still look great. I do have another question however. If we were to purchase a 12' column with 16 plates, what would be the optimal pot size for a 8 - 12 hour run with a 40% ABV charge? Thanks
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So after a bit of research I have discovered that both the 4 plate column and the 16 plate column can both be used, in conjunction, for a vodka run. My next question would then be how is the operation procedure different from running a single column with a single dephlegmator? My best guess would be this: Bring the boiler up to strike temp Have the dephlegmator fully open on the first column (4 plate) Stack the first column with alcohol Gradually close the the first dephlegmator on the first column so as to stack the second column Have the dephlegmator fully open on the second column for 100% reflux keep the system in equilibrium for a period of time. gradually close the second dephlegmator to start releasing the heads Is this in the ballpark guys?
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Hi, So we have been running a Still Dragon Single 8' Column attached to a 200L boiler for about a year now. At the present time we are almost running it around the clock to keep up with demand. We would like to invest in a larger still and after some research i have seen that most of them are Split Column Stills. The split column stills featured on Artisan Still Design look amazing, but I am a little perplexed as to how they operate. Is the first 4 plate column used for rums and whiskys, and the second 16 plate column used for vodka? or are the first and second column used in conjunction to give a total of 20 plates for Vodka Production? Thanks
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Hi, As the title suggests i am in the process of making a cost effective house gin for the bar and nightclub market. I have my recipe all figured out and I am happy with the taste, but I have run into a few problems with the maceration and distilling technique. The first being the cloudiness issue. I know discarding the heads is a way to reduce the cloudiness, but i have found to get a truly clear gin I have to discard a lot. Is it possible to keep all of the heads and just filter the oil and cloudiness out? If so what size filter would accomplish this without any loss in taste? Also, as I would like to save money and reduce waste, what temperature can I collect to without compromising the taste? So far I have been collecting to 90C but I feel I could go higher. Thanks Guys
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I want to develop some ready to drink vodka mixes similar to Smirnoff ice, Bacardi breezer etc. I have developed some great recipes, but as these recipes contain real fruit juice I have come across a bit of a problem. The problem is preservation. The first recipe I developed is a vodka lemonade similar to Smirnoff ice. The components of this drink all mix to create an environment that I think would be hard for bacteria to grow. Lemon juice (citric acid), sugar and vodka. However if stored for a long period I am afraid of spoilage. Most soft drinks and juices add a preservative called sodium benzoate. I am not sure if this preservative is suitable in this case, if it is sufficient or how much to add. Does anyone have any experience with preservatives of this kind. thanks
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Thanks CDE, That is an amazing overview. You should write a book! I noticed one thing you said about grinding however. Previously I have been steaming and rolling my wheat before mashing. I have a grinder, but even on the lowest setting the wheat comes out almost like flour. Which method do you think is more suitable for an all grain vodka using enzymes? steaming and rolling or grinding? Thanks.
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Thanks bluestone. I read somewhere that the increased maltose concentration from beta-amylase effects flavor in a good way.I think that is for beer though and probably wont effect the taste when doing a reflux run for vodka. Also heating the calibration solutuons to high temps seems a little tricky if you want to reuse them. I know they usually come in little plastic containers. Maybe I could put them in a microwave for a minute. How do you heat them up?
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Thanks James, I did not know the Ph and temp meter existed. That makes life so much easier. We have 1000L fermentation tanks at our distillery. After doing a not of research and listening to you guys I think I Jane a plan of attack. One other thing though James, you mentioned glucoamylase and beta-gluconase. I have read so much conflicting and confusing info about enzymes. From what I gather glucoamylase performs the same job as beta-amylase. I am unfimiliar with beta-glucanase, however after a bit of reaserch I came up with this: "Beta-glucanse is part of the cellulose enzyme family, and are used to break up the beta glucans in (un)malted wheat, rye, oatmeal and unmalted barley." Do you think I should add a beta-glucanase if I am going to use an all wheat vodka? And if so how would it be implimented?
