Brewing half strength rum?

Okay, I've checked out a few topics and got a few ideas, and I'm especially inspired by the fact that rum is made from pretty much nothing but sugar. I'd like to make a gallon of 20%ish rum and see what happens! I'm planning to move out later in the year so being able to create some party booze for next to nothing would not be the worst idea in the world...

So first question - any experience? Ageing, techniques, additions to standard recipes that work well?

Second question - any recipes?

cheers!

Subscribed.

Found this recipe from an extremely dodgy looking site called "FREE MOONSHINE RECIPES" - might give something similar a blast tomorrow, but stronger and might add some ingredients...

BLACK BEARDS RUM

Two pounds of brown sugar per one gallon of water and one cup of honey for every ten gallon batch. Starting hydrometer reading of about 90. Do not exceed 100. Add 1 to 3 ozs of yeast per 10 gallons of mash.

Heat one fourth of your water to 120 or 130 degrees only hot enough to melt the sugar, then stir in your sugar and then the honey last. Pour it into your fermenter and finish filling with cool water to cool it down to 80 degrees. Take a hydrometer reading and adjust as needed. The add your yeast. 6 to 14 days to ferment.
Yields about 12% alcohol.

So what your trying to make is a high test sugar wine. It's not rum unless you distill it, which I assume you're not planing on doing (and you shouldn't if you live in the US).
There are some tricks for getting the abv up to 20%+. First off, pick your yeast well. Laven's 1118 is a good one, but you'd be better off with something stronger, like Trubo yeast (a distillers yeast).
Yeast does not like high sugar content, or high abv. It can tolerate high abv if it is at a lower temp, but then it moves slower.
So a way to make it (labor intensive, but you don't need to buy anything): Weigh out all your sugars for the batch. Make them in to a syrup. Add half the sugar to the batch. Pitch yeast.
Once it ferments dry (or close) add the rest of the sugar, and move it to a cool place, maybe a basement.

Yeah, I'm after a strong wine, basically. I'm looking into freeze distilling and it may be possible to get it to 25-30% with a standard freezer. If not, I'll be happy around 20.
time and labour is not an issue, this is an experiment. the idea of doing it in 2 parts is good, although it's likely I won't have a cold place over the summer...doh...

RobWalker said:

Yeah, I'm after a strong wine, basically. I'm looking into freeze distilling and it may be possible to get it to 25-30% with a standard freezer. If not, I'll be happy around 20.
time and labour is not an issue, this is an experiment. the idea of doing it in 2 parts is good, although it's likely I won't have a cold place over the summer...doh...

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Freeze distilling is still illegal and is against the terms of this board. I'm not the police or anything, but be careful.

ajwillys said:

Freeze distilling is still illegal and is against the terms of this board. I'm not the police or anything, but be careful.

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We allow freeze concentration discussions. While it may be a gray area, it's been discussed to death from a legal standpoint, and the site admin has chosen to allow it.

However, we do frown upon "hooch" discussions, and this thread is walking a fine line. Please keep it constructive.

I think you'd want a dark, flavorful sugar so you end up with something other than rocket fuel hooch. Maybe molasses?

Most rums are aged in used bourbon barrels, so maybe you'd want to soak some oak cubes in bourbon and use those in the aging process?

I'd stay away from freeze distillation for something like this. Freeze distillation doesn't remove the harmful chemicals like regular distillation can, so if you try to push it too far you can end up with something harmful.

Freeze Distillation is looking less and less of an option...after all, I want to concentrate on the taste, not the percentage.

Was thinking about Oak Cubes, reakon it could be a good idea! Got plenty of nice spirits here...how long do you think I'm looking at for ageing? Bearing in mind I want to drink this, and not die before it's ready.

Oh gosh, please do this. FOR SCIENCE. Maybe a mix of molasses and turbinado/dark brown sugar. You want a little residual sweetness from unfermentable sugars or it will just taste like rocket fuel. Definitely use oak soaked in bourbon. Hell, maybe even splash a little bit of real rum in there after fermentation to add a more authentic flavor.

If you are planning to get to 20% ABV via fermentation alone make sure you do some research on gradual addition of sugar, aeration, and yeast nutrients. Stay away from turbo yeast, I recommend White Labs Super High Gravity Ale Yeast.

I'd definitely stay away from things like turbo yeast as well. That's trading ABV for any chance of taste.

Could you not use desert wine/ strong ale yeast to get it most of the way up, then use turbo yeast to finish it off? Or is turbo yeast just pure evil / unable to start in an already alcoholic mix?

Turbo yeast tastes like ****, plain and simple. Produces some really strong solvent and rubbing alcohol smells/flavors. Used it once for a high % wine, never again. Ended up dumping all 5 gallons.

The only real use for it is for sugar washes to be distilled, and even then you have to run it through filters to make it palatable.

Yuri_Rage said:

However, we do frown upon "hooch" discussions, and this thread is walking a fine line. Please keep it constructive.

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Making the cheapest drinkable hooch is always constructive... that's basically what skeeter pee is.


As for the sugar wash... i mean wine; turbo yeast is probably a bad idea if you want it drinkable, as is any abv above 13%. Above that it's hard to keep it from making ethyl acetate, unless you have really good control of fermentation temp... and even then... maybe 11% would be a better target.
Freeze concentration would be interesting, though you should look up laws on that in the UK first. It is illegal in many place (where they care more about safety than taxes) as it is more dangerous than distilling, as with distilling you can easily remove methanol, and with freezing you are more likely to get higher concentrations such higher alcohols.

I'm not looking at this as a hooch thread. I'm really interested if someone can come up with a rum flavored wine. It sounds like it'd be really good in the summer on ice if it works.

^ My thoughts exactly!

airdusters said:

Hell, maybe even splash a little bit of real rum in there after fermentation to add a more authentic flavor.

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Well, after some research, a lot of companies are still making their rums combining them with rum that is decades old to add a more mature taste - a simple process of combining them to make one 10-year old tasting rum, rather than having rums that are a few years old and 30 years old. Not a bad idea if I can find a decent vintage! Woods could work too...plus it'll bring up the ABV

I have used Gervin High Alcohol Yeast before which wasn't bad, and can result around 18%

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...ervin_High_Alcohol_Yeast.html#a102045#a102045

One to try. My LHBS is closed mondays and I'm out all day tuesday, so wednesday is the earliest i could check this out...unless I started with a Montrachet, of course, and then restarted with a higher tolerance yeast.

I'm thinking of trying something basic with molasses, light brown sugar, honey and high alcohol yeast, and using bourbon-soaked oak chips to age. I figure this way there'll be a complex flavour which is what I want to achieve, quite worried that it will be boring to be honest. I should be able to get an idea for the taste after a few weeks, and can start another variant to see how it goes, or even rack that off into two secondaries and check out my other options. We're having some serious storms here at the moment too, and apparently rainwater is better for rum than our chemical-filled hard tap water. I reakon I could easily fill a gallon.

There's the option to flavour afterwards too. Caramel, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon all sound like they could be amazing added ingredients!

Lord I'm excited now. Time to write up some ideas...

RobWalker said:

I have used Gervin High Alcohol Yeast before which wasn't bad, and can result around 18%

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Shooting too high can make things really bad... you've been warned.

Curious, did anything ever come of this? RobWalker?

I'm putting it on today or tomorrow. Gonna aim for 15% initially then "top up" the sugar as I go, as that will give me a decent feel for the flavour in the sugars too. Using Gervin 4 Yeast, a Brew Belt and Nutrient to ensure a fast, efficient fermentation. Once the yeast has stopped tolerating the sugar, I'm gonna boost it to around 1.010 so it's got a slightly sweet taste.

If anybody wants to put one on with me, let me know and I'll post up my recipe today or tomorrow!

Awesome idea. Recipe would be great to look at.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and have never played one on tv.

I believe that ATF no longer regulates alcohol and ever since 9/11 alcohol has been under control of the TTB. If I heard correctly TTB considers freezing to be a form of concentration and not distillation. Grey, but if I heard correctly legal.

Well of course it isn't considered distillation. How do you think all those ice beers (Bud Ice, Natural Ice, Icehouse, etc.) are made? I don't think its grey area at all.

With that said, I've actually tried the freezing method with a wine I had made and wasn't very impressed at all with the yield. The tiny ABV bump just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Think of the difference between Aquavit or cognac and wine, whiskey and beer, or Calvados and Apple cider......

It's like brewing a Dopplebock and calling it half strength whiskey, or jacking some apple cider and calling it calvados....

If you want to try something out along lines of a burnt, molassesy tasting wine - look for a molasses wine recipe or one of the Bochet (Burnt mead) recipes....

Thanks

truckjohn said:

Think of the difference between Aquavit or cognac and wine, whiskey and beer, or Calvados and Apple cider......

It's like brewing a Dopplebock and calling it half strength whiskey, or jacking some apple cider and calling it calvados....

If you want to try something out along lines of a burnt, molassesy tasting wine - look for a molasses wine recipe or one of the Bochet (Burnt mead) recipes....

Thanks

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Mr. Negativity over here. I'm very interested in this, I love rum.

Rob-
So have you put it together yet? Pics? Recipe?

jeepinjeepin said:

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and have never played one on tv.

I believe that ATF no longer regulates alcohol and ever since 9/11 alcohol has been under control of the TTB. If I heard correctly TTB considers freezing to be a form of concentration and not distillation. Grey, but if I heard correctly legal.

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Did you read this thread at all? The person making this doesn't even live in the States. There is no legal debate here; this thread is about making wine.

It's been nearly a month and the thread still isn't locked. Mods must be losing their touch.

I'd also like to see the recipe when you get a chance rob.

Have you thought about charring your oak cubes with a torch? The barrels used for aging are usually charred

DrJerryrigger said:

Rob-
So have you put it together yet? Pics? Recipe?

Did you read this thread at all? The person making this doesn't even live in the States. There is no legal debate here; this thread is about making wine.

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Yeah. I read the thread. Where did I miss the part about the op not being in the USA?

chask31 said:

Have you thought about charring your oak cubes with a torch? The barrels used for aging are usually charred

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Some people have had luck with baking/toasting the oak in an oven. The coating of char may be good though, I can't say, I haven't tried.
I guess it would be a good idea to hit it with some K-meta before aging, and basically treat this like chardonnay.

I'm very curious how this would come out if freeze concentrated. Though I'd recommend not making that choice based on it's flavor after primary.

turtle said:

It's been nearly a month and the thread still isn't locked. Mods must be losing their touch.

I'd also like to see the recipe when you get a chance rob.

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Yuri gave the ok for this thread on the 7th post.

Right, I'm off to buy bits and bobs. I'm not a distiller, and as such, don't know much about the recipe for the rum itself yet. All that I've really gathered together is my OG and my ingredients...hopefully this should leave me with a sort of "amber" rum, somewhere inbetween dark and light so it's versatile enough for me to mess about with - depending on how it tastes, I might add Vanilla, Coconut, Spices, etc to different batches...and just see what works!

Summer Amber Rum Recipe

Gervin #4 Yeast
Water to 1 Gallon

200g Caramel
500g Molasses
500g Light Brown Sugar

Primary Fermentation:
OG: 1.110
FG 1.010
= 14.55%

Gradual Sugar Addition:
Total OG: 1.160
FG: 1.010

Approx 56oz Sugar Total

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And for the record, I am from the UK - and regardless, this is technically a wine, no distilling involved. I'm not out to make hooch, I'm looking to make something tasty for the summer!

Off to the shops now - will report back later

oh! and, the oak chips - they will definitely be toasted, soaked in bourbon and left to age for a while

This is on now. Due to running out of sugar, my OG is 1.092, so I need to add some more sugar in the coming days/weeks.

I've left out the caramel and just gone for Molasses (solid) and Light Brown Sugar - both raw and unrefined. The problem is, rum is made to be clear through distillation, and this is obviously going to be dark - it's the ageing that gives it its colour. So it's very umming and arring at the moment...but we'll see.

alert! bubbling over when I came home tonight. Ditched half a liter and re-sanitized the airlock and bung.

Fermenting ridiculously fast using my chosen yeast, literally 3 bubbles per second. I need to gradually add another 700g of raw cane sugar in the form of syrup, so I'll be adding more on saturday.

You could do what they do to make sake >20% abv and add the sugar in increments so the yeast is able to convert it all..

So, a small update here. It's still going strong with 200g of molasses left to add, there's considerably less kreuzen on top and fermentation has slowed from less than 1 bubble per second to one every 6 or 7...

This home brew is very explosive, and when I poured the second batch of sugar in, it totally foamed over, after previously foaming over from the amount of head on there. I'm having to keep it in a "safe spot" in my house now, so if you're gonna brew this, brew 4 LITRES and not 5! This may need to be restarted as I reakon it's possible that I could've lost some yeast during these accidents. The airlock and bung were re-sanitized using boiling water each time, and all seems well - no sign of infection or dead yeast as yet.

I'm gonna continue to add sugar until it stops, basically, in 50g - 100g increments. If it's a little sweet, no biggie!

So how did it turn out?