Winter rums

Oh, no it's heading into winter again, time of dismal temperatures, warm fires and insulated fermenters.
Larger thermal masses help overcome part of the temperature problem.

[@marshmellow573]

hi there, your a Kiwi, excellant. look forward to checking out your other vids . . R.

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Heya Marnie, you local as well? Happy Distilling!

[@StillIt]

Cool to see you using to the safeale. A buddy gave me a few packets and I was planning on using it for a rum too :). Keen to see what the difference in taste is also!

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Heya Wookie!!! The SafAle yeasts are pretty good from what I've found. Used a few of them over the last couple of years and they are pretty reliable - as long as I don't cock things up somehow ... which is always on the cards. :o) The BE-256 "Abbey yeast" is really good for winter if (like me) you don't have access to heating pads and 'lectrickery off grid as it's good (based on the specs) down to 12degC although (like I say in the video) I've had it down to 10degC and below in June/August last year and it has still performed well - goes off like a rocket too if you pitch it properly and can withstand a higher alcohol concentration than most - ideal for me brewing for distilling. :o) The other yeast I was using in the vid is a Belgium Triple/Trippel ale yeast - s'pose to be all about the fruit flavours and esters which I thought would be good for a rum. I actually mis-read the temp range on the yeast spec for that one (Mangrove Jack M31) 18degC lower range, (read it as 10degC damn my glasses-needing-eyes nowdays) will be interesting to see how that runs in the lower temps - hopefully the larger thermal mass, starting it warmer to begin with and having the fire running for a while is enough to push it thru'. Was even considering lager yeasts at one stage just coz of their low temperature tolerances!

[@Samandcocoa]

listen to them go. bet theyll be great

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Hope so Nuntius! Have the fire going whenever I am there to keep the room temp' up!

[@user-ex3xk5ch4i]

Video ok. Good luck in Russia

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Thank you my friend! Happy Distilling! :)

[@StillIt]

Have you ever had a strong fake floral flavour from the BE256? I am struggling to ID the source of the flavour in my blackstrap wash, I wonder if its the more clove side of things from the yeast. Cheers mate ;)

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Heya Jess, Nah, not had anything like that really, on the contrary I'd been quite impressed with the Abbey yeast, - possibly even moreso than the rum specific turbo-ish yeasts I'd used. What generation was the batch you got the floral flavour from? Alternately you could stop sticking the car fresheners in your muck pit and go back to using dead rats. Dead rats are the accepted norm for the contemporary muck pit. ;o) Happy Distilling fella!

[@StillIt]

Angry Parrot Distillery. Cheers mate. Happy stilling ;)

[@driekus9]

yeah a new vid. following :-)

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Hey fella! Yeah been a while haha - still have a few vids I still need to edit and get up from last year. Been busy chasing work for the last few months. Happy Distilling!

[@driekus9]

by the way. what is your ratio melasse water sugar? i got some melasse today so soon i can start a few batches myself :-)

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Heya Driekus, my ratios vary by the time of year/temperature and the yeasts I can get away with using relative to the ambient temperature. I'm off-grid so I have to work with natural room temp - I don't have power for fermenter belts and the like. In winter, about 1 part molasses to 4 parts water by volume or thereabouts (which most sources I've had seem to recommend as a safe ratio) and I'm using a beer yeast - usually something like the abby yeast which can give a decent yield but more importantly for me can cope with low temperatures. In summer I sometimes increase the ratio of molasses a bit more (slightly) and use a more aggressive yeast that likes higher temperatures and withstands a higher osmotic pressure, like a rum-oriented turbo yeast to ferment out that heavy wash. I've done a few small test batches where I've gone entirely by calculating the fermentable sugar content in the good quality mollasses I snagged recently - as opposed to a volume ratio. The result was a wash that would have fermented out (on paper) to around 13-15% abv but it's SG was completely off the scale just because of how dense the rum wash became with all that molasses. I got that batch/recipe to ferment out in summer (around a room temp of 25degC - 30degC with a very aggressive turbo-style yeast), but in winter with the more sedate beer yeasts I couldn't even get the yeast starter to work at that same concentration of wash (high concentration/osmotic pressure killed the yeast) - had to dilute it back with water and re-pitch yeast into the starter before it would work. The resulting distilled rum from the test that worked was VERY pungent but foamed and puked like a bastard in the kettle.

[@driekus9]

thanks for your elaborate answer. I like the idea of a belgian yeast. guess it will help with the taste as well. i will try it all :-))

[@AngryParrotDistillery]

Hey fella - you're welcome. I forgot to add I usually include a generous 15-20% by volume backset into the wash so very generally my "safe ratio" is something like; 1part molasses; 1 part backset; 3 parts water. Happy Distilling