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Home Brew News No.15 25th July 2010
Welcome to Newsletter No.15. The winter months provide a fantastic environment for making truly excellent Lagers and Stouts given the lower fermentation temperatures of some yeasts. It is also ideal for distillation as the water temperature is much colder, is easier to control and you don’t have to use as much. However, when brewing in winter you must constantly monitor the temperature of the fermenter. If it is too cold, you will have to warm it up using a heater or any other means to keep it at the desired temperature. It is also a good idea to wrap the fermenter with a blanket or similar jacket to prevent heat loss. New Product – Samuel Willards “Smooth” Essences Samuel Willards have just released a new range of “Smooth” essences which make 2.25 litres.  All are absolutely superb and very easy to drink. The Bourbon is very similar to Jim Beam Black Label, the Rum is very close to Bundaberg Red Label and the Whisky is the best single malt with a slight peat flavour we have made. New Product – Edwards Ouzo Essence Edwards Essences has just released a new Ouzo essence which makes 3.5 litres.  This Ouzo has a silky smooth flavour with a soothing warm finish. True to its classical tradition, it clouds the moment you add it to your favourite mixer or ice. New Product – Samuel Willards Premix Coconut Rum Samuel Willards has also just released a new Coconut Rum Premix essence which makes up to 1125ml.  Simply add the 375ml bottle of Coconut Rum to 620ml of spirit at 40%. Top up to the 1125ml with water and mix thoroughly. There are also 6 other flavours in this Premix range including Chocolate Rum, Kafe, Melon, Butternut Schnapps, Sambuca and Irish Cream. New Product Still Spirits – Turbo 500 Boiler and Condenser Still Spirits has recently released their Turbo 500 Boiler and condenser which is a huge improvement on their previous models. This combination will produce commercial grade alcohol at 92-93% purity consistently across the entire wash. It also maximises the recovery of alcohol – up to 95% of available alcohol.  The condenser has 2 digital thermometers for measuring the temperature at the top of the condenser and the temperature at the water outlet. Inside the condenser it uses both ceramic and copper saddles. Unfortunately this condenser will only fit the Turbo 500 boiler and is not compatible with previous Still Spirits boilers or the Essencia boiler.  The boiler has a 2000 watt element which is located in the base in a separate compartment. This is a fantastic innovation as nothing can cook on the element. It also has a waste discharge tap, a cut out fuse and a boil dry reset button. We recently tested this product using several different types of wash and were able to achieve some fantastic results. However, the best result was achieved using Still Spirits Triple Distilled Yeast, Turbo Carbon, Turbo Clear and 7 kilograms of dextrose. For further information on these products, see code 60545 and 60600. Out and About The Walkabout Creek Hotel is one of Australia’s famous hotels and was featured in the Crocodile Dundee movies with Paul Hogan. It is located at McKinlay on the Matilda Highway, 83km from Julia Creek.  Up until the movie it was known as the Federal McKinlay Hotel and sold for $290,000 shortly after the first movie was released. New owners have maintained the rustic feel and atmosphere of the hotel and it is now a tourist attraction.  It is a great watering hole and also has an offsite Caravan Park. Cascade Beer Kits  There has recently been a change in the distribution of Cascade Beer Kits. They are no longer available in Variety Stores and can only be found in Home Brewing stores. Spirit Tip It is extremely important to keep the distilling temperature of Reflux or Super Reflux condensers at 78-80C as everything below or above this range will collect unwanted products. This is evidenced by the table below: Compound Boiling Point (C) Ether 34.6 Acetone 56.5 Methanol 64.7 Ethyl Acetate 77.1 Ethyl Alcohol 78.3 (Required) Propyl Alcohol 97.2 Water 100.0 Ethylene 103.8 Better Beers To enhance the quality of your beer try replacing 1Kg of Dextrose with Aussie Brewmakers Head and Body or Beer Improver. The addition of these supplements will give your beer kit a better body, improve head retention and make it taste better. Happy Home Brewing Regards Aussie Brewmakers |