Homemade Rum

[jonp9576]

hahaha, that gave me a good laugh this morning

 

[Saccharomyces]

This could work BUT... they way you are approaching it I suspect it won't turn out well.

Incremental feeding would really help. Yeast don't reproduce well under high osmotic pressures. I would start at 8% ABV potential with wine yeast, or 12% ABV potential with turbo yeast and feed it every day with a small O2 addition for the first few days. Repeat until the sugar addition no longer causes a visible increase in fermentation activity.

Low FAN levels will result in excessive fusel alcohol production. Unless you are adding molasses, you will need to use yeast nutrient at recommended doses for wine fermentation. For higher gravity fermentations, Fermaid-K added 1/3rd of the way to terminal gravity is also a good idea.

The pH of the wash is likely too high and needs to be adjusted for the yeast to remain healthy. Saccharomyces yeast perform best between a starting pH of 4.5 and 5 which is where wine must and beer wort begin, and end with a pH of around 4. I would recommend using acid blend for winemaking since it is relatively flavor neutral, and testing with pH test strips until you get between a pH of 4.5-5.0.

 

[MBM30075]

Well, for this run, done is done. I can't go back and change this one. I did go ahead and put the jug in a swamp bath to keep fermentation temps down.

My target for this was twofold: 1) have fun (DONE!) and 2) hopefully get a "liquor" that I could mix with soda or something for a drink that tastes decent to good. (Still waiting...)

Anyway, if I pour the whole thing out, I'm out a small amount of time (seriously, took 20 minutes to brew) and $8. Oh, well, right?

BUT, even if it goes terribly, I've had fun and hopefully learned a thing or two.

Sacc, what does FAN stand for? When you said a small O2 addition, do you mean like stirring with a whisk? (I don't have an aeration stone). How would I do that in a 1 gallon jug that takes a #6.5 bung?

I added a full tablespoon of yeast nutrient, which is 3 times what's recommended. I've got some acid blend, so if I do this again, I'll add it.

8% ABV would be what, 1.065 or so SG? So, something like 1/4 to 1/3 of the sugar I used to start? Then add at what rate? 1/10th per day, so that on day 11 I'm adding the last of the sugar?

Sacc, thanks for the positive response. I mean, you actually HELPED me. Your post was a little better than:

"You're making HOOCH! Why are you so stupid?"

Thanks!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Well, for this run, done is done. I can't go back and change this one. I did go ahead and put the jug in a swamp bath to keep fermentation temps down.

My target for this was twofold: 1) have fun (DONE!) and 2) hopefully get a "liquor" that I could mix with soda or something for a drink that tastes decent to good. (Still waiting...)

Anyway, if I pour the whole thing out, I'm out a small amount of time (seriously, took 20 minutes to brew) and $8. Oh, well, right?

BUT, even if it goes terribly, I've had fun and hopefully learned a thing or two.

Sacc, what does FAN stand for? When you said a small O2 addition, do you mean like stirring with a whisk? (I don't have an aeration stone). How would I do that in a 1 gallon jug that takes a #6.5 bung?

I added a full tablespoon of yeast nutrient, which is 3 times what's recommended. I've got some acid blend, so if I do this again, I'll add it.

8% ABV would be what, 1.065 or so SG? So, something like 1/4 to 1/3 of the sugar I used to start? Then add at what rate? 1/10th per day, so that on day 11 I'm adding the last of the sugar?

Sacc, thanks for the positive response. I mean, you actually HELPED me. Your post was a little better than:

"You're making HOOCH! Why are you so stupid?"

Thanks!

Regarding your addition of yeast nutrient. More is not necessarily better. The nutrient contains or is all Di-Ammonium-Phosphate (DAP). If you use too much DAP it will taste like ammonia. That taste will never go away.

 

[mmb]

Temperature control will be very important for something with straight sucrose... might retard some of the fusel alcohols that the yeast will spew.

 

[jcobbs]

Been following this off & on--don't know what you're going to end up with here but if you're going for a kind of rum-ish beverage, when it's finished why not try flavoring a sample with a bit of rum flavoring? Watkins makes a pretty good one. Since you're just playing around it can't hurt anything. And if you do manage to pull this off without a lot of fusels, then you could end up with something not too bad...

 

[Saccharomyces]

Sacc, what does FAN stand for? When you said a small O2 addition, do you mean like stirring with a whisk? (I don't have an aeration stone). How would I do that in a 1 gallon jug that takes a #6.5 bung?

Use a bucket. You can find #1 or #2 plastic buckets cheap at any hardware store. Once you are done adding the last of the sugar you can rack into your jug and let it finish in there.

Too much yeast nutrient is not a good thing. ^^^^

8% ABV would be what, 1.065 or so SG? So, something like 1/4 to 1/3 of the sugar I used to start?

Yep. Maybe start with 1/3rd, and stretch the sugar additions out so you are doing it over about a 10 day period. Much easier to do this in a bucket with a (sanitized) whisk. For the first few additions you can whisk vigorously to whip air into it. After that just enough to drive off CO2 without splashing too much.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Regarding your addition of yeast nutrient. More is not necessarily better. The nutrient contains or is all Di-Ammonium-Phosphate (DAP). If you use too much DAP it will taste like ammonia. That taste will never go away.

Too much yeast nutrient is not a good thing. ^^^^

I have never drank ammonia but if you smelled it, adding too much will give the same impression as if you did. Smell overpowers taste.

 

[jevchance]

Here's a thought, in case what you end up with isn't what you were going for.

Since you're thinking about flavoring your "rum" with fruit anyway, why not start out trying to make a high-gravity wine instead? There are numerous recipes I could point you to.

There's also fortified wines. Make yourself a high-gravity wine, then add brandy to strengthen and flavor. I'm addicted to a fortified cherry wine called Cerise from a winery here in Michigan. Its made by mixing cherry wine with cherry brandy, and its delightful.
Chateau Chantal - - Fortified

 

[bkov]

i heard some yeast strains react better with table sugar then other strains.

i dont know if us05 is one of them, but for example if it is....would you be able to use us05 as the yeast then when it finishes(probably like 11%?), add the champagn yeast?

 

[MBM30075]

NOW we're getting some good ideas rollin'!!!

Thanks for the great ideas, guys!

You've got me thinking. I'm still gonna let this batch run its course, but I've got a better idea of how to do this next time.

Sacc, you said #1 or #2 buckets from a hardware store. Is that a size or type of plastic? Also, would you cap the bucket in between additions, or will fermentation be vigorous enough to maybe just cover with a bucket filter? (The bucket would be kept from jostling, so as long as crap can't fall in, it should be ok, right?)

bkov, I like the idea of starting with a clean beer yeast and then going to the champagne yeast later. That seems like a good way to keep the fermentation more controlled and slow in order to prevent fusel production.

jev, I wasn't actually thinking of using fruit. I have some blackberry FLAVORING that I was considering, or I thought about adding some vanilla beans. I'm not really a big wine fan, and this is intended to be more of an alcohol base for a mixed drink (i.e., rum 'n coke or something), but thanks for the idea!

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[jevchance]

Ah yeah I use some of the extract flavoring in beer batches sometimes. Couldn't hurt to try it!

 

[Schlenkerla]

This has me thinking that you are making something like a Slo Gin....

 

[will_cbe]

Sacc, you said #1 or #2 buckets from a hardware store. Is that a size or type of plastic?

Also, would you cap the bucket in between additions, or will fermentation be vigorous enough to maybe just cover with a bucket filter? (The bucket would be kept from jostling, so as long as crap can't fall in, it should be ok, right?)

Type of plastic. #1 is PET, which is most commonly used for soda bottles. #2 is HDPE, which is most commonly used for milk jugs. These are the only two types of plastic that you can use for long term food storage. Others are prone to leaking chemicals into food over time. (See BPA scare)

You are correct. The must will be ok as long as a vigorous fermentation is going on, and you keep dust and bugs out of it.

 

[MBM30075]

Just wanted to let everyone know that this batch is still fermenting, albeit slowly. I've had it in a swamp bath for weeks now, so hopefully the fermentation temperatures have been low enough to avoid fusel alcohol production (maybe... fingers crossed).

Can't wait to rack it soon!

 

[GuitarBob]

if your concoction turns out bad, and tasting too alcoholic, maybe you could try flavoring it with something. Since alcohol acts has a has a flavor enhancer you might be able to make something very interesting.

Or maybe mix it with some type of wine and making a fortified version of it.

 

[FireNightFly]

I think you may also want to remember that good rum is aged for many many years.

 

[MBM30075]

So I checked the gravity reading a couple of weeks ago, and it was only down to about 1.150! Not working very quickly, huh?

Since then, I've taken it out of the swamp batch and let it ferment on my kitchen counter. It's still not going very quickly.

Is this a good thing?
A bad thing?
Should I pitch more yeast?

 

[Rhys79]

You probably should have pitched with a fairly large starter to have enough yeast cells to ferment in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time. As was stated earlier, yeast don't reproduce well under high osmotic pressures, and that stuff is really high. It will probably take quite awhile to ferment, if it doesn't stall repeatedly.

 

[MBM30075]

Well, I've got time. This is simply a "screwing around" batch, so no worries. At this point, would you re-pitch with more yeast?

Thanks!

 

[Rhys79]

If you're going to repitch, I'd draw off a cup of what you have, dilute it with a cup of water, and pitch the yeast in that. Put it in a small container and agitate frequently (make sure it gets plenty of oxygen so the yeast reproduces instead of producing alcohol) to get a really good starter going and then pitch that back into your mix...

 

[MBM30075]

Since there's so much fermentation left to go, would it be ok to simply POUR off a sample? I know you don't do this once fermentation is complete, but would it matter at this point?

Thanks!

 

[mitch171]

I fully support what you are doing.

I don't think this is intended to be a "good" rum, but a very cost effective way in making a rum like mixer. I may be experimenting with something like this, especially with the concept of freeze distillation. I am sick of buying cheap booze for friends who just want alcohol in their pop.

 

[Rhys79]

Pour it off, siphon it off, use a wine thief, whatever, doesn't really matter at this point as long as everything is sterile.

 

[miloa]

So what happened with your rocket fuel? I'm doing the same thing myself,1 batch has 4# sugar per gal. of cider with 1118 yeast and the other has 5# sugar per gal. of cider. The first is at 1.058 about 14% abv,the second is at 1.152 about 5% abv and going very slow,to this i was planning to add Alcotec 48 turbo yeast. I do not care what everyone says, they do not distill the wash without filtering it first with activated carbon to get rid of the off flavors,i found most of my info on wine making sites from England.

 

[rmolledo]

any updates?

 

[Hummer]

Since you're thinking about flavoring your "rum" with fruit anyway, why not start out trying to make a high-gravity wine instead? There are numerous recipes I could point you to.

There's also fortified wines. Make yourself a high-gravity wine, then add brandy to strengthen and flavor.....

Great suggestions! Whatever you're fermenting, it's the quality of the ingredients that will craft the quality of the drink. Like they say, "Garbage in, Garbage out". An alcoholic drink made only from sugar isn't going to taste like the sugar, it will taste like the alcohol product of yeast fermented sugar, not like a distilled product.

In 2008 I made a "Peach Port" by fermenting peaches and sugar with Lalvin EC-1118. At about SG 1.000 I began adding sugar every couple of days until about 20% ABV. Half the batch I bottled as is, the other half was fortified to about 24% with good brandy and lightly sweetened. I like the fortified batch a bit better because of the increased complexity. Both are an awesome drink now with wonderful peach flavor and a knock your socks off impact. I hope I can save a few bottles for 3-5 years but for sure I'll make more again next fall.

 

[bja]

I do not care what everyone says, they do not distill the wash without filtering it first with activated carbon to get rid of the off flavors,i found most of my info on wine making sites from England.

The wash is distilled first and them carbon filtered, or maybe they do it differently in England.

BTW, when fermenting a wash there are many different compounds produced by the yeast. The undesireable compounds are removed during distillation and referred to as the "heads and tails". The heads contain the nitrogenous substances, aldehydes, and esters while the tails contain the higher alcohols and furfurol, all of which taste just plain nasty.

 

[mcm192]

Any updates on this? I'm curious to see how it turned out. If it's bad, I highly suggest just putting it somewhere and forgetting about it for a while. Let us know though.

Thanks.

 

[truckjohn]

Depending on how this is progressing.... it may be worthwhile for Mr. OP to head over to the Mead forum and read all the stickies...... The diet he is trying to feed the yeast really isn't that far away from Mead.... with regards to high sugar/low nutrient....

Personally, I wouldn't have started with that high of an OG with EC-1118.... or even Champagne yeast.... you usually gotta work your way up.

But... If it's still fermenting... I would let it run.... old fashioned Honey + Water Show Mead is famous for taking years to totally ferment and condition if you aren't careful..... This may not be too different...

Thanks

John