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Post by SA Hunter on Aug 13, 2018 1:41:25 GMT 10
Went to visit my supervisor the other day for a chat - he was having a bad day - anyway, he pulls out a bottle labelled "Honey Bourbon" He had me at "Honey Bourbon"
Turns out he distills his own liquor; now being a four time unsuccessful home brewer, naturally I was eager to know more;
The distiller initial cost is about $750.00 ( from a Home Brew shop in Gawler SA).
To make the liquor, the cost is for 4kg sugar, filtered water ( he uses bottled water ), and the essence ( they are about $7.00 at our Mitre 10 ).
It is all automatic, and produces 2.5 litres of 98% proof alcohol - pretty much any type of liquor you want - even JD, but there is a trick to it I'm told - soak Oak in water for 4 weeks, then use the water in the distiller.
Anyone else make their own liquor?
Any tips, etc on a good distilling unit?
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VegHead
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Post by VegHead on Aug 13, 2018 7:42:17 GMT 10
Yep, I make Honey Bourbon as well, using a Pure Distilling rig.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 13, 2018 8:49:53 GMT 10
I’ve looked into distillers purely for essential oils and have watched videos on the “air still”. It looks very simple and is reasonably priced. I haven’t looked at it with bourbon in mind though.
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VegHead
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Post by VegHead on Aug 13, 2018 8:55:55 GMT 10
I should add that I make my spirit from tomato paste. No slur intended their Tomatoes lol.
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Morgo
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Post by Morgo on Aug 13, 2018 14:48:26 GMT 10
I plan on getting into making my own beer eventually.
The main bit of kit I'm looking at is called a grainfather. It can also be adapted to be used as a still.
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 13, 2018 16:28:43 GMT 10
Waiting on my brother to bring me up a couple of demijohns and then I will be attempting a batch of mead and a batch of cider. Got everything else I need for them now! First brewing attempt for me so I will see how it goes. I'm also ninterested in doing a mead batch with barley in it too which is actually called something totally different to mead but I can't remember it's proper name 😂
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Post by Peter on Aug 13, 2018 19:37:11 GMT 10
... a mead batch with barley in it too which is actually called something totally different to mead but I can't remember it's proper name 😂 It's called braggot. |
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 14, 2018 12:26:35 GMT 10
I was thinking more along the lines of a metheglin, where the barley is cold steeped for just the flavour rather than being part of the fermentation process and involving hops 😉
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 14, 2018 12:51:18 GMT 10
... a mead batch with barley in it too which is actually called something totally different to mead but I can't remember it's proper name 😂 It's called braggot. I'm having a of a time finding the info I need tho. The tiny bits I've found all refer to using malt or malted grain, but I want to know if I can use either unmalted grain or pearl barley as I'm only after the flavour rather than needing the sugars for fermentation. So I pretty much just want to use barley water in place of some of the plain water to make the mead/metheglin. I know I'd most likely have to boil the barley water after it's finished steeping to kill any unwanted pathogens, then wait until it's cooled before I add the honey. Any thoughts would be appreciated! |
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Post by Peter on Aug 14, 2018 20:22:15 GMT 10
I feel your pain - so often brewing recipes call for pre-made malt, as well as campden tablets, yeast nutrient, and other stuff that is relatively recent technology. I'll keep an eye out and let you know if I see anything.
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 14, 2018 21:41:13 GMT 10
Apparently the proper noun for a female dog is considered a swear word on this forum and gets changed accordingly 😂😂
Yeah I'm seeing so much info regarding the use of what seem to me to be chemical agents and almost zero on proper traditional methods. If you do find any info that would be excellent! Otherwise I will try it and see if it works and report back on it.
I did find somewhere that apple cider can be distilled into applejack using a freezing method that is quick and safe, and the same goes for mead being distilled!
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 14, 2018 21:49:42 GMT 10
Also, what's the best way to filter bits of bees out of honey? I'm assuming it has to be bee-bodypart free to avoid contaminating the mead 😂
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Post by Peter on Aug 14, 2018 21:50:17 GMT 10
The best option will surely be one of two books by Sandor Katz; "The Art of Fermentation" which is more of a text book, and "Wild Fermentation" which is a lot heavier on recipes. He does things completely old-school, so that's more in line with preparedness.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 14, 2018 22:07:08 GMT 10
I’ve noticed a few kits available in stores and online lately that don’t use all the chemicals - for cider, beers of various sorts, ginger beer, etc. For example, the mad millie ginger beer kit does come with a pouch of ginger liquid stuff and yeast sachets, but after you’ve used that up the instructions tell you how to make it with fresh ginger.
The brew smith brand has numerous kits that use a 5 lt bottle. An example is the honey bomb wheat home brewing kit, which has, along with the equipment, the following ingredients - Malt extract, hops, specialty grains, and premium brewing yeast - different from the usual can of who knows what that is used for home brew beer.
Btw, I just noticed on the brewsmith website that they advertise pickling classes in Melbourne and brewing and bacon making classes in Sydney!
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Jackosaur
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Post by Jackosaur on Aug 16, 2018 21:27:19 GMT 10
Also, what's the best way to filter bits of bees out of honey? I'm assuming it has to be bee-bodypart free to avoid contaminating the mead 😂 I've never had bits of bees in my honey, why would it have bits of bees in it? You brush all the bees off the frame before taking the frame away for extraction. I use a stainless steel strainer to strain bits of wax out afterwards though. |
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feralemma
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Post by feralemma on Aug 17, 2018 9:57:35 GMT 10
Also, what's the best way to filter bits of bees out of honey? I'm assuming it has to be bee-bodypart free to avoid contaminating the mead 😂 I've never had bits of bees in my honey, why would it have bits of bees in it? You brush all the bees off the frame before taking the frame away for extraction. I use a stainless steel strainer to strain bits of wax out afterwards though. It came from the local honey man so I'm not sure what he does 😉 |
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Jackosaur
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Post by Jackosaur on Aug 25, 2018 12:42:23 GMT 10
Making 6 gallon of chocolate mead.  |
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Post by Peter on Aug 25, 2018 18:11:29 GMT 10
I've never heard of chocolate mead until now. Can you please link to details/recipes/etc?
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Jackosaur
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Post by Jackosaur on Aug 25, 2018 18:57:57 GMT 10
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Post by SA Hunter on Aug 27, 2018 21:03:54 GMT 10
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