First alcotec brew

[davelerave]

thanks

 

[Esqulax]

Cupid_stunt - I Like the plughole idea. When i mentioned this project to my dad, he immediatly though of this, as its deigned to be sealed, and to be flush with the bottom, and we made a plan :)

I bought a 10L plastic food container from Wilkinsons (£3) - Its square so I figure that if i put the drain in the corner, then I can have the maximum amount of bucket on the shelf.
From wilko's I also got a Pipe set that is meant to be for the waste from a washing machine (£2) - Has about a metre of 40mm pipe, a U-bend and a few seals.

And then I got a plastic tea strainer (59p) and some Muslin sheets (£1) to see which one would be better. Also picked up a funnel for £1 - Can never have enough funnels.

So for just over £7 I have most of the bits for my filter. Next trip will be to B&Q to get the plughole assembly and any adaptors needed.

My further plan will be to work out how much pipe the carbon takes up, and have that amount detachable for easy carbon changes, although that's an upgrade.
I'll then be looking to refine it with a few more ideas.

Saying that, I should really put a new batch on to ferment..

(Also found that Tesco's does 5kg bags of sugar for 3.99 - Score!)

 

[Cupid_Stunt]

Hi Esqulax - As I've mentioned before this has been a learning curve for me so I've made a few mistakes along the way.

Today when I was washing my filter bucket (the one with the sink outlet/plughole), I noticed it has already started to become tarnished.
It’s chromed copper and in retrospect I think a stainless steel one would have been better but they cost more.

 

[Esqulax]

I'll go stainless then :)
I don't mind dropping a bit more into this as this is a one-off payment, also to refine it :)

 

[mm707]

I knew I should have patented this bucket idea :)

Hi cupid - how is it tasting ? :drink:

 

[Cupid_Stunt]

Currently doing a stint of 12hr shifts so my head’s cabbaged but the brew is getting me through (err.....not at work mind).

mm707 - yep, you dropped a bollock there but the Kudos is all yours.

As for taste, I really have no problem with a single run through the filter when using the essences but had to throw away the “Mango-Passion”; if that’s today’s passion I don’t want any.
Also I've found the liqueur types are too sweet, so it’s better to add less sugar to start with and sweeten to taste.

Overall it's been a good project with plenty of potential, made a lot easier with the great help from you guys on here (even the mods!!!)

Cheers Megaross :drunk:

 

[lakeslad]

awesome thread guys, i fancy making some of the high alcohol brew, i have two carrier bags of plums, what would be the best way to flavor the brew with these?
cheers
lee.

 

[oldbloke]

Personally I'd make the plums into a gallon of wine and flavour the high-alc brew with something else

 

[lakeslad]

Personally I'd make the plums into a gallon of wine and flavour the high-alc brew with something else

im also doing the wine lol, i have that many i need another option to use them up!!! any way of making a plum schnapps etc with the alcotec kits?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

If you're thinking of making a plum-flavoured liqueur, alcotec might not be strong enough.

A 3:2:1 mixture of 40% ABV brandy, plums and sugar respectively should produce a liqueur of about 20% ABV.

For a 20% ABV alcotec "brew", a 3:2:1 mixture as above would result in about 10% ABV, which is probably much lower than you'd want. A 9:2:1 combination would yield around 15% ABV, but there would be little plum flavour.

That doesn't mean you can't use the plums up though.

Plum brandy I've already described above. Make two batches and leave one for next year. The plums make a deliciously boozy pudding with icecream, and are also good for fruit crumble.

There's also plum & brandy jam. Cut them in half, remove the stone, and put in a big bowl overnight with the same weight of sugar. The sugar will soak into the plums and help them keep their structure when cooking. The next day cook the jam in 5-6Lb batches. As soon as setting point is reached, add half a pint of brandy per batch, and immediately pour into jars and seal.

And last but not least there's plum chutney. 3 parts plums, skinned and stoned, 2 parts chopped cooking apples, 1 part cranberries (if you can get them) 1 part raisins, 1 part chopped leeks or shallots. For every 4-5Lbs of fruit & veg you need 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 1" grated ginger, 2 finely chopped chillies, 12-16oz sugar and 12-16 fl. oz wine/cider vinegar. Bung everything in a pan (4-5Lb batches work best) and cook over a medium heat until thick enough to bottle, then have fun removing the whole spices :twisted: before bottling and leaving to mature for two months. This is my all-time favourite chutney. Last winter I actually bought a kilo of cranberries just after Christmas to be sure I'd have them ready for chutney day this autumn, since cranberries are often exorbitant in the run-up to Christmas. This chutney is particularly good with cheese.

 

[utterchaos]

Hi I am thinking of trying this, the making of the filter should be no problem as I a plumber have loads of the parts already, but can someone give me a full list of the alcotec or simular stuff I should buy, have had no problems so far with beer kits and have around 250 bottles in my garage but want to try something different.
Many thanks

 

[lakeslad]

brilliant many thanks for the ideas, :clap:

If you're thinking of making a plum-flavoured liqueur, alcotec might not be strong enough.

A 3:2:1 mixture of 40% ABV brandy, plums and sugar respectively should produce a liqueur of about 20% ABV.

For a 20% ABV alcotec "brew", a 3:2:1 mixture as above would result in about 10% ABV, which is probably much lower than you'd want. A 9:2:1 combination would yield around 15% ABV, but there would be little plum flavour.

That doesn't mean you can't use the plums up though.

Plum brandy I've already described above. Make two batches and leave one for next year. The plums make a deliciously boozy pudding with icecream, and are also good for fruit crumble.

There's also plum & brandy jam. Cut them in half, remove the stone, and put in a big bowl overnight with the same weight of sugar. The sugar will soak into the plums and help them keep their structure when cooking. The next day cook the jam in 5-6Lb batches. As soon as setting point is reached, add half a pint of brandy per batch, and immediately pour into jars and seal.

And last but not least there's plum chutney. 3 parts plums, skinned and stoned, 2 parts chopped cooking apples, 1 part cranberries (if you can get them) 1 part raisins, 1 part chopped leeks or shallots. For every 4-5Lbs of fruit & veg you need 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 1" grated ginger, 2 finely chopped chillies, 12-16oz sugar and 12-16 fl. oz wine/cider vinegar. Bung everything in a pan (4-5Lb batches work best) and cook over a medium heat until thick enough to bottle, then have fun removing the whole spices :twisted: before bottling and leaving to mature for two months. This is my all-time favourite chutney. Last winter I actually bought a kilo of cranberries just after Christmas to be sure I'd have them ready for chutney day this autumn, since cranberries are often exorbitant in the run-up to Christmas. This chutney is particularly good with cheese.