Distilling Saturday

New Realism (American Realism) / Edward Hopper/ Early Sunday Morning

Beautiful Saturday, sucking down a pot of tea and relaxing.  Spent some time paying bills and analyzing the spreadsheet that governs my next 62 weeks.  At this point, things still appear to be a “go”.

Today’s little life lesson is setting up a system for distilling.  Just to keep everyone up to date, August is the four year anniversary of my purchase of one of these.

So after weinieing around for these past four years, I have worked out a pretty fair production system.  Now, for a serious drinker, this system won’t work.  The time commitments and the lead times will put most folks off.  

You start with the idea that you are limited to one gallon of wash.  That one gallon of wash will yield one quart of 100 proof stripper.  Now, here comes the blackest of heresies:  If you are one of those folks who claim that they can taste the subtleties of the grains used in the wash in the final product four years later, I will assume that you are a pretentious fuck who has watched far too damn many episodes of Martha Stewart.

So, a sugar wash it is.  Get yourself a pot that can hold two (2) pounds of cane sugar and as close to four quarts of water as possible.  Weigh out two pounds of cane sugar, half a teaspoon of yeast nutrient (1), half a teaspoon of yeast energizer (2) and fill up (QS) to three quarts total volume of liquid.   Bring the liquid up to 170℉.  Now, some folks ask me why I don’t boil.  Well, truth be told, I am not trying to sterilize, I am just trying to reduce the bioburden to give the yeast a running start.  

When the sugar wash you have now created is cooled to around 80℉, pour it into a one-gallon glass jar (mine is a repurposed pepper jar) with a hole in the top and a band-aid covering the hole (band aids work super well for keeping cooties out and still allowing air exchange). If you need to, add water to the jar to fill it up to around an inch from the top.

Add distillers yeast.  I use rum yeast, because I have always used rum yeast.  

Now you get to wait two weeks while the yeastie-beasties chew up the sugar. 

I’ll write more when this initial fermentation is complete.

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1. Yeast nutrient blends typically contain a mix of trace elements and important molecules including inorganic nitrogen, organic nitrogen, zinc, phosphates and some other stuff that helps yeast grow and complete fermentation.

2. Yeast Energizer is not the same as a nutrient. Please don't use the lingo or products interchangeably because you can damage your yeast. Energizers are indeed nutrient blends, but typically contain components such as diammonium phosphate, yeast hulls, magnesium sulfate, vitamin B complexes, and tricalcium phosphate.  Please be aware that diammonium phosphate (DAP) is toxic to yeast in high concentrations, so be censorious in selecting a nutrient blend for use in starters or at pitching that does not contain DAP. Use DAP-containing nutrients (aka "energizers") in subsequent nutrient feedings (@ 24hrs, 36hrs,