jema
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Carrot Whiskey updateFrom Sarahs recipes:
[quote]
6 lb carrots
1 gallon water
2 oranges
2 lemons
4lb sugar
12 oz raisins or sultanas, chopped
1 lb clean wheat
yeast
Wash carrots, but do not peel, boil them in the water until tender. slice the oranges and lemons into a large bowl or similar and strain on the carrot liquid. Add sugar, stir to dissolve; cool to blood heat, add pre-activated yeast, raisins and wheat. Cover and leave to ferment 12 - 15 days. Skim, syphon into demi-john. Ferment out, then bottle. Best if left at least two years
/quote]
Just done a second racking of this into demijons, now that it is nearly fermented out.
I started with 3 gallons in a bucket, which went down to about 2.5 in the fermenter and it is now down to 2 gallons in a couple of demijons's, boy does this recipe generate sediment
But taste wise, it is very whiskey like, albeit pretty damn rough at the moment 
I can see this one needing the suggested maturing time.
Next time I can see me going for the 5 gallon batch of this. Thanks Sarah for the recipe 
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Treacodactyl
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What's the expected alcohol level? I also wonder if it's something you could age with a little wood (somehow)?
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jema
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| Treacodactyl wrote: | | What's the expected alcohol level? I also wonder if it's something you could age with a little wood (somehow)? |
Based on the amount of suger in the recipe, this could easily be 15-16% 
Problem with aging experiments is the disappearing quanities to experiment with 
I am definately going to do the 5 gallon batch though, to give more scope for this. In fact if I can spare the buckets, I may even kick off 8 gallons in a couple of buckets with the aim of getting 5.5 cleaner gallons in a fermenter.
Given the cost of the ingredients a bit of waste won't matter
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jema
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Partially as I sythoned off from an opaque fermenter I ended up with a bucket of sediment in fact a bottles worth between 2 demijons
I have therefore racked again to create in demijon of the pure stuff and one topped up with half a bottle of ASDA whiskey and half a bottle of home brew chardonay. The difference should be interesting.
I don't think I'll wait two years before trying 
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tinyclanger
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anyone tried distilling....or is that illegal. Or is it only illegal if your going to sell it?
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jema
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| tinyclanger wrote: | | anyone tried distilling....or is that illegal. Or is it only illegal if your going to sell it? |
It is illegal and I have not done it.
I have been tempted though, and hence researched a bit on the web, and a lot of the advice out there on carbon filtering etc just goes to convince me that this is not an area to casually play about in.
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tinyclanger
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Sorry for th dumb questiion but why is it illegal. its ok to make home brew so why not home distill
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jema
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| tinyclanger wrote: | | Sorry for th dumb questiion but why is it illegal. its ok to make home brew so why not home distill |
You can takes the "whys" up with customs & excise but I can assure you that is the law.
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tinyclanger
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mmmm better not then eh, might blow up the house anyway 
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Treacodactyl
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I've also heard that if you don't know what you're doing some of the products can be toxic.
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jema
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| Treacodactyl wrote: | | I've also heard that if you don't know what you're doing some of the products can be toxic. |
Hence all the talk about active carbon filtration if you visit distilling sites
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Blue Sky
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You could have a look at Mr Seymour's advice on a home distillery. It is in quite a few of his books - but very discretely disclosed. I am sure that the method given would work exceedingly well but I have yet to try it 
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tahir
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You can remove some of the water, hence concentrating the alcohol by frezing (apparently)
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jema
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| tahir wrote: | | You can remove some of the water, hence concentrating the alcohol by frezing (apparently) |
Which is also i'm sure safer.
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cab
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Freeze distillation isn't safe!
The risk involved in distilling is all to do with odd alcohols. Basically, you want ethanol. Ethanol is good. Ethanol is proper alcohol. You can live with tiny traces of other alcohols, but you'd rather not concentrate them because then they become really dangerous. They include such wondrous compounds as propanol, ethylene glycol, isopropanol, methanol and pentanol. A teaspoonfull of isopropanol could blind you.
Obviously, these assorted nasties (and goodies) have slightly different boiling points; ordinary distillation works by boiling off the lower alcohol (methanol) and then heating to a temperature at which ethanol boils off (and is collected), leaving behind the higher alcohols. Get it wrong and you concentrate the other alcohols to a toxic concentration.
Freeze distillation works the other way; you rely on different freezing points to freeze out some of the water, but you tend to increase the other alcohol contents too.
Which of these is most dangerous I'll leave to those who have blinded themselves to answer
Your problem with these nasties is that they're competetive inhibitors of alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme we need to deal with alcohol (some of which might appear in our own biochemistry from time to time). They not only stick in the active site of the enzyme, they refuse to come back out. That enzyme gets nadgered and we're in trouble. This is made worse by the fact that we've got a form of that enzyme lining the back of our eyes, so if you stick something into there permanently we're left blinded.
The practical implication of this is that you can only be cured of poisoning with these alcohols with intra-venous alcohol (or at least, that used to be the treatment). Trust me, it's a hell of a lot less pleasant than it is funny.
Leave distillation to those who are kitted out to do it safely and legally.
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Bugs
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That's fascinating, Cab, it's the first time I've heard such a full explanation that seems to make sense. Thanks.
I think 15-16% will probably get Jema wherever he wants to be anyway - besides, the lower the alcohol, the more time you can spend enjoying it
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cab
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| Bugs wrote: | That's fascinating, Cab, it's the first time I've heard such a full explanation that seems to make sense. Thanks.
I think 15-16% will probably get Jema wherever he wants to be anyway - besides, the lower the alcohol, the more time you can spend enjoying it |
You're welcome.
You can get to 18% with a really alcohol resistant yeast, but for heavy duty, high alcohol brewing I'd go down the sake route. But I rarely even measure how much alcohol I've produced, to be honest!
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jema
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| cab wrote: | | Bugs wrote: | That's fascinating, Cab, it's the first time I've heard such a full explanation that seems to make sense. Thanks.
I think 15-16% will probably get Jema wherever he wants to be anyway - besides, the lower the alcohol, the more time you can spend enjoying it |
You're welcome.
You can get to 18% with a really alcohol resistant yeast, but for heavy duty, high alcohol brewing I'd go down the sake route. But I rarely even measure how much alcohol I've produced, to be honest! |
The alcotec ones can hit 20%. I used some of this to fix a stuck ferment and so as a matter of course used what was left to try and do this with the suger solution suggested. I thought maybe the results could be used for some fortification purpose or could be flavoured. I was less than impressed though and chucked the result.
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Hedonists
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Many thanks for this recipe, I started my first one gallon batch yesterday.
As a couple of others have mentioned, I quite fancy having a bash at a five gallon batch in the future, but I was hoping someone might be able to answer a couple of questions first:
Presumably, for a five gallon batch all the ingredients would need to be multiplied by five, not just increase the amount of water?
Would one need to use more yeast for a larger batch?
Can anyone suggest a place (preferably online) where I might be able to buy a large cooking pot - the largest I have at the moment can handle about four pints of of water and 3lb of carrots at a time. So the thought of processing 30lb of carrots in this way doesn't fill me with joy.
Thanks in advance.
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jema
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| Hedonists wrote: | Many thanks for this recipe, I started my first one gallon batch yesterday.
As a couple of others have mentioned, I quite fancy having a bash at a five gallon batch in the future, but I was hoping someone might be able to answer a couple of questions first:
Presumably, for a five gallon batch all the ingredients would need to be multiplied by five, not just increase the amount of water?
Would one need to use more yeast for a larger batch?
Can anyone suggest a place (preferably online) where I might be able to buy a large cooking pot - the largest I have at the moment can handle about four pints of of water and 3lb of carrots at a time. So the thought of processing 30lb of carrots in this way doesn't fill me with joy.
Thanks in advance. |
Yep everything apart from yeast needs multiplying, even with yeast though upping it a bit would be a good idea, as you want to get it fermenting reasonably quickly.
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cab
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| Hedonists wrote: |
Can anyone suggest a place (preferably online) where I might be able to buy a large cooking pot - the largest I have at the moment can handle about four pints of of water and 3lb of carrots at a time. So the thought of processing 30lb of carrots in this way doesn't fill me with joy.
Thanks in advance. |
I can get two gallons in my preserving pan, and you can get such a pan in most big cookware shops.
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Hedonists
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Lovely, thanks very much for your assistance folks
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tahir
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| Hedonists wrote: | | Lovely, thanks very much for your assistance folks |
Glad you've posted neighbour 
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tahir
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If you can't find anywhere closer there's a shop i drive past everyday on Commercial Road (whitechapel) that sells huge pots and pans. I'll find the name etc if you're interested.
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Hedonists
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If you don't mind Tahir, that'd be great. Mrs Hedonist works around that area, so I might be able to persuade to stop off and check out some prices for me.
...oh and howdy neighbour
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tahir
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I'll have a look on my way home tonight.
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tahir
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This is 'em:
Kushiara Cash & Carry
313-317, Commercial Rd, London, E1 2PS
Tel: 020 7790 1234
I doubt it's worth ringing them unless you speak Bengali though, if you or your wife drives past you'll see great big huge pans in the window.
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jema
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| tahir wrote: | This is 'em:
Kushiara Cash & Carry
313-317, Commercial Rd, London, E1 2PS
Tel: 020 7790 1234
I doubt it's worth ringing them unless you speak Bengali though, if you or your wife drives past you'll see great big huge pans in the window. |
Must say I am curious as well. My biggest pot is 12 pints, and I'd like bigger but have balked at cost.
Remember though that Aluminium is not suitable.
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tahir
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The ones in the window are most definitely aluminium, they may do stainless though.
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Hedonists
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Thanks very much for the info.
I shan't 'phone, as Bengali isn't my strong point - a friend once taught me a few swear words in Urdu, but I've never found a suitable occassion to try them out.
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Bugs
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| Hedonists wrote: | | a friend once taught me a few swear words in Urdu, but I've never found a suitable occassion to try them out. |
I doubt they would give you their best price if you choose this occasion to practise.
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tahir
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Be a laugh though
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jema
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I have just accumilated the ingredients for my 5 gallon effort here. As these things go it has to be one of the more expensive Country wines, at about £20 for the bits and bobs.
Well worth it though it the first batch is anything to go by.
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sally_in_wales
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Hyper Value had vast stainless steel stockpots for about £5 a few weeks ago, I bought one for soapmaking, I would guess its about 3 gallons in capacity
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jema
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| sally_in_wales wrote: | | Hyper Value had vast stainless steel stockpots for about £5 a few weeks ago, I bought one for soapmaking, I would guess its about 3 gallons in capacity |
£5 I'm more used to seeing £35 for this sort of thing 
Who are Hyper Value?
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jema
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Was just thinking about this recipe and the fact it uses 6lb of carrots which is an awful lot, and it uses them unsliced.
Reading more carrot wine recipes on the web, a lot use less carrots as low as 3lb and do slice. They all want the carrots treated gently though. So I think I will reduce and slice and be gentle!
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Bugs
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What do you do with the left over solid bits of carrot? I assume it's all compostable?
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jema
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| Bugs wrote: | | What do you do with the left over solid bits of carrot? I assume it's all compostable? |
Pass them on to the local schools I think, traditional for the veg to have been boiled to death
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Hedonists
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| Bugs wrote: | | What do you do with the left over solid bits of carrot? I assume it's all compostable? |
I fed mine to my worms. AFAIK having been boiled, the carrots should break down more quickly than if they were raw. So yes, they're very compostable.
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Sarah D
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Firstly, the carrots are cut into chunks or thick slices. Don;t cut them thin or they will turn to mush and disintegrate completely and you will hae carrot soup instead of wine. I omitted the slicing in the recipe above, so that was an oversight on my part. When you've been brewing as long as I have and so often, it is easy to missout things when you are writing them down for others. I can't imagine the recipe would work as well with whole carrots  - how are you going to get the flavour out?
This amount of carrots makes a perfect whisky; any less and the flavour will be diminished and it will be more wine-like. Carrot wine is good, but this is meant to be whisky in this case.
I give the leftover cooked carrots to the chickens; they won;t eat them raw but love them cooked like this.
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jema
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I didn't think it was an oversite about the slicing as CJ Berry in his carrot wine uses 6lb unsliced as well! and also I was/am very pleased with the first batch so far.
Definately food for thought!
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jema
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I'm once again down to barely 4 gallons at the end of the pulp ferment. Tasting good though I do not think the decrease in the amount of carrots used has had much of an adverse effect
I can see me having both batches I have done bottled in about 6 months, and having a better idea on a new batch then.
with the first batch, as I do have a taste for rough Bourbon, I think i could easily enjoy it as it stands
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ButteryHOLsomeness
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| cab wrote: | | Hedonists wrote: |
Can anyone suggest a place (preferably online) where I might be able to buy a large cooking pot - the largest I have at the moment can handle about four pints of of water and 3lb of carrots at a time. So the thought of processing 30lb of carrots in this way doesn't fill me with joy.
Thanks in advance. |
I can get two gallons in my preserving pan, and you can get such a pan in most big cookware shops. |
how about a nice heavy bottomed stock pot?
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ButteryHOLsomeness
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| tahir wrote: | | The ones in the window are most definitely aluminium, they may do stainless though. |
if you have any chinese supermarkets nearby you may want to try there. they often sell cooking pots and may do a non aluminium pot... if not you can stock up on other essentials there for a pittance
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jema
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We had a first bottle of this last night, very reminiscent of whisky and ginger wine. Albeit on the rough side.
Definately will improve with a chance to mature.
Quite good from a wine making perspective though, as I have been concentrating on kits and Elderberry which in effect aim to be standard red wines.
It will be good when some real "Country Wines" are ready.
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jema
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Second batch of carrot whisky with reduced carrot has now been racked to demijohns. It is good but has rather less claim to the whisky label Next time I think I will go with the orginal carrot quantity.
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ButteryHOLsomeness
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| jema wrote: | | Bugs wrote: | | What do you do with the left over solid bits of carrot? I assume it's all compostable? |
Pass them on to the local schools I think, traditional for the veg to have been boiled to death |
alternatively you could puree them, add in some strong flavoured juice (lidl's 100% mixed fruit juice of 12 different kinds of fruit with provitamins added would be great) and make it into a leather in your dehydrator
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