Pisco Raki Arak etc

DonMateo

Last thing i read he was still fighting. Actually i am working in Peru right now. Nothing like a really good pisco or pisco sour. Yummmm.

punkin

I haven't really heard from him since i introduced him here.

Sam

His Pisco is available through Dan Murphy online so seems to be doing ok.

GD50

@Sam. Can’t find any product at Dans. If you can point me would appreciate.

Sam

@GD50 if you enter Harman in the search bar on the Dan Murphy site it should come up.

Its one of their "direct from the supplier" options but it looks like its all sold out at the moment, might have to wait until they release some more. The link on their website to place an order doesn't work either, I wonder if the Peruvian Government has hacked his website...

Must be good as its sold out everywhere!

punkin

I've got half a feeling someone told me they'd bought his still, dunno why.

GD50

Maybe they won an broke him. If the Peruvian Govt took on Harmans you would think they would take on Chile though the battle might end in war.

Sam

@GD50 Peru and Chile fight that legal battle in every country that sells Pisco. Sometime Peru wins and sometimes they are told to share their toys nicely, its a battle they have to fight in each country though.

I actually read that Chile have suggested they bury the hatchet and refer to it as Peruvian Pisco and Chilean Pisco, that was after Chile lost a very expensive 9 year legal battle against Peru in India though...

GD50

@DonMateo. Seeing’s your in Peru slip over to Bolivia and buy a bottle of Singani. Would love to taste / buy a bottle of that. Even put it on my bucket list to go to Bolivia high country to check it out.

I even emailed the Bolivian Consulate General office in Sydney and asked nicely if someone would bring me back a bottle. Funny I got no response.

Sam

I would love to try some of that! I also would love to get my hands on some Pisco from Tres Generaciones as they still use a falca for their aromatic varieties

GD50

@Sam. Pisco Porton uses a combination of stills and Falca is one of them. Dan Murphy’s has that.

DonMateo

@GD50 I will see if I can find Singani. There are lots of Bolivians in Argentina so I think I could get some there. I will try and find some but probably at Christmas. Pisco Biondi is one of my favourites.

Sam

Thanks @GD50 I just ordered some, for that price it had better be good!

GD50

@Sam. Stuff it I just did it. A bottle of Singani 63 from Bolivia. Something like $50 a bottle and $50 freight. Who knows what I will have to pay when it hits Australian Customs. Guess I will find out. @DonMateo. I will post you a small taste.

DonMateo

@GD50 mate, I will have a look in a bottle shop here. I have been busy doing other things but there is a boutique bottleshop around the corner of where I am staying.

Sam

@DonMateo I would be interested if there are some good/interesting bottles there as well. Maybe GD50 & I can split the freight or something

Sam

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to stop a fermentation before its complete? I would like to try and make a Mosto Verde Pisco so will need to stop the fermentation before the end.

Do you actually need to stop the fermentation or can it just be taken out of the fermenter and put into the still? My concern with this option is that usually I like to cool the fermenter at the end so the yeast settles out and then rack it off over the top of the lees.

I had thought about dumping some Citric Acid into the fermenter as it gets near where I want the SG to be to kill the yeast.

My concerns are that the Citric Acid would make the Pisco taste like shit, or if I try and distill it with all the yeast still in suspension that will also not taste good.

I'm not considering crash cooling it as my fermenter has a cooling jacket so whilst good for maintaining a temp due to the thick HDPE material its not good at crash cooling.

Just wondering if anyone has gone down this path before and what they did. I'm probably leaning towards just putting it straight in the still as I think the Citric Acid will ruin it.

grim

Potassium Sorbate is commonly used to stop fermentation.

Sam

Thanks @grim I thought there would be a better way of doing it!

punkin

If you have direct immersion elements then you'll need to be really careful about residual sugars scorching. It'll happen and it's irreversible and awful.

Sam

@punkin thanks mate, I was to run the boiler low and slow do you think that would that likely still cause scorching?

punkin

I'm no expert but it would seem likely to me depending on how much residual sugar is there.

Sam

I had been thinking of stopping it at somewhere between 1.030 and 1.020

grim

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the sugar. Worst rum distillation we ever did was a stalled ferment.

Burnt tires, dumped it.

And we have a bain marie.

Sam

Maybe I will pull enough to fill the thumper out of the fermenter early and stop the ferment. Then let the rest ferment out so it can go in the boiler.

I know its not technically the method for Pisco but it could be a reasonable compromise.

grim

You could ferment like a mead, select a strain that won’t survive full attenuation

Sam

Would that not still leave the scorching of residual sugars as an issue?

Sam

Sorry I was being dim, I get what you mean. Do two ferments, one through to full attenuation for the boiler and another that stops earlier for the thumper.

punkin

If it's sweetened product you want then wouldn't back sweetening be an alternative?

Sam

@punkin you have lost me there, whats back sweetening?

My thought had been if I stop the fermentation then the wash would contain more residual varietel expression from the original grape juice.