Hello from Wakefield

[Mark Freeman]

Thanks for letting me join the forum!

I am new to brewing having only brewed a couple of batches of wine a couple of years ago.

This year I decided to try and make my own Sloe Gin liquor. I didn’t want to just use a bottle of bought gin and then just add sugar and Sloes.... I wanted to make the base spirit myself.

So I set out with a 25ltr standard brewing bucket and bought some 48 turbo yeast following the instructions to try and achieve a 22% abv base liquid. I also added a number of botanicals in order for the base to taste more ‘gin like’.

The 48 turbo yeast instructions say that after a couple of weeks it should reach 22% abv. I made the mistake of not taking a hydrometer reading at the start! After 5 weeks in the bucket it now has Sloes inwith it and tastes a really nice flavour however it is weak. Tasting it last night tasted like an abv of around 10%. (And it’s cloudy)

Q1) What would be the best way to get the abv up to 20% + ? Could I add a small amount of ethanol?

Q2) How can I make it clear? Tried filtering a little bit and that doesn’t work.

Thanks in advance for any help on this!

 

[Dutto]

Welcome to The Forum!

1. You can't "taste" an ABV. This I know from the many times I have got to the "never again" stage of drinking alcohol.

2. "Time + Gravity" will clear most brews. But if you wish to do something quickly (and your not allergic to shellfish) then Kwik-Clear will clear most brews within 24 hours.

3. To mix two different ABV's then:

• One litre of vodka at 40% mixed with
• One litre of brew at 20% will produce
• Two litres of mixture at 30%.

BTW, if you can buy or lay your hands on unflavoured ethanol then:

• Someone is doing something illegal and the penalties are severe!
• Discussion of the process is not allowed on this Forum.