Brew UK Forum | General Brewing Discussions
prohibition high alcohol kits - problem
Hi All,
My first home brew was a Prohibition Gin, bought for me as a Christmas gift 2009, didn't get round to trying it until Jan 2011 and it was practically out of date. However, once under way I caught the bug and have now done some wines, a Wherry and a Coopers lager.
By the time the Gin was finished it had a terrible smell and adding the flavouring didn't cover it up - wrote it off as first brew inexperience. My wines and beers have all be great. I then did a Sloe Gin kit using all my newly aquirred knowledge and again I have this same awful smell and taste to the finished product and the final flavourings don't even come through. I followed the instructions exactly particularly the bit about shaking well while the charcoal is in it to get rid of the off flavours over a 3 day period.
At this point I could give up and enjoy everything else I have brewed or got brewing, but I have 2 more of these kits on the shelf!
Any ideas greatly appreciated!
(I will also give the manufacturer/distributor a call)
Cheers Guy
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Guy, while this may not be a solution it's certainly an alternative.
Given that it makes a 22% end product, it's the alcohol equivalent of just under 2.5 litres of 40% gin, or just over 3.5 70cl bottles.
Last time I made sloe gin, I used Sainsburys own brand and IIRC it was £7.49 a bottle, so £26.50 for shop bought versus ~£16 for a kit.
Sloes are free, and I can't see any kit giving the real thing a run for it's money!
Fermenting: Damson pale
Conditioning: Morello Cherry Lambic 2
Drinking: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 clone, Morello Cherry Lambic 1, Rauchbier
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers Steve, will probably do just that for the Sloe gin. But I haven't a clue what's going on with the kits and I have another Gin and a Whiskey to go sat on the shelf. Will give them a call next week.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Any ideas anyone?
Beginning to think I should not follow the instructions and leave to ferment out for longer and continue the charcoal/shaking phase for longer to see if the yeast can clear the nasties or at least reduce them to give the charcoal more of a chance to.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I'm almost tempted to buy a kit just to see what it's like! Though the idea of charcoal frightens me - a well made spirit should not need to be filtered (see my Smirnoff rants across the web), though as this process doesn't actually call for distillation such refinement may not be possible without filtration...
Maybe with the next grain order
Fermenting: Damson pale
Conditioning: Morello Cherry Lambic 2
Drinking: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 clone, Morello Cherry Lambic 1, Rauchbier
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Oh; the Gray Kangaroo may also be of interest to you; a rather well designed activated-charcoal filtration system.
I've not bought one myself, but it's been about for years and tends to get favourable reviews when it comes to removing harshness from cheap spirits.
http://www.graykangaroo.com
Fermenting: Damson pale
Conditioning: Morello Cherry Lambic 2
Drinking: Schneider Weisse Tap 7 clone, Morello Cherry Lambic 1, Rauchbier
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Steve,
The weird bit about these kits is that you actually have a sachet of charcoal that you put into the dj and shake twice a day for 3 days before adding finnings. The liquid goes thick black and then once the finnings are added it drops out over a few days and then you rack into a clean dj.
Doing the first of these kits got me interested in home brew, thankfully before the process had finished. If I had waited the result would have put me off completely. However, my Wherry, Coopers Aussie lager, several Cal con kits and a couple of others have turned out brilliantly.
Cheers,
Guy
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Update:
I have called the number in the instructions twice, first time I was told the best person to speak to was going on holiday that afternoon, left my details and patiently waited around 2 or 3 weeks. Called again and was told the best person to speak to was in a meeting and again left my details still no call 10 days on.
I poured the original Gin away, the Sloe Gin appears to be improving over time as I have left it in a demi john to bulk mature.
I think I will brew the other 2 kits using my improoved skills attained using other kits and when it comes to the charcoal stages i will increase shaking to 3 times per day and increase by an extra couple of days too, hopefully this will cure the off smells I have got previously.
Will just have to try these other two kits, just got to fit them in with everything else we have going on.
Guy
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