Are you tired of drinking the same old spirits from the same old brands? Do you like to experience novel and intriguing flavours that aren’t sold in stores or found in well-known recipes? Well, consider doing some home brewing. It’s not just enjoyable, but it also has a lot of advantages you might not have thought of. The following guidelines explore the advantages of brewing your own spirits at home as well as some of the supplies you’ll need to do it successfully even on your first try.
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Why Homebrew Spirits Instead of In-Store Ones?
Instead of buying conventional boozes, you can easily make tasty home brew spirits in the comfort of your own space. This way you can make sure that the product was carefully crafted and used high-quality ingredients, just like with everything else you produce from scratch.
There is a wide range of drinks that can be brewed, including your favourite spirits or cocktails, and if you master the fundamentals, it can be easy to add your own special touch to the recipe. Besides the amazing fact that your imagination is the only true constraint here, brewing your own spirits at home can be quite an affordable hobby as well. Instead of paying several dollars per glass, you can batch brew drinks that cost just a few cents a glass — if you don’t add in the cost of your care and attention.
Making your own homebrew spirits, however, may seem intimidating at first. Some breweries can even resemble high-tech laboratories more than sites where alcoholic beverages are produced because of their stainless-steel vats, measuring tools, and strict temperature control. Plus when you consider how one small error might ruin an entire batch and have you sobbingly pouring hours of labour down the toilet, it can get even more frustrating. Don’t worry though as you don’t need high-end equipment or tons of experience. All you need is a few essentials to kick-start your home brewing adventure.
Bourbon Oak Chips
Besides being used for making beer at home, bourbon oak chips or chunks are one of the few essentials to consider when complementing your first home brew spirit kit as well. Traditional, useful, and widely available, this high-quality wood is air and watertight when used in barrels, but slightly permeable to water.
However, compared to other hardwoods like chestnut, oak does not have as much tannic content. Although they can be utilized for flavour, apple and cherry wood have an unpleasant odour. A healthy dose of tannins, like those found in oak, provides a mouthfeel and a delicious bitterness. When the teabag is steeped for too long, too much can become like a cup of tea. While oak may not always be the greatest option, it excels in terms of availability and constant quality. It is an effective way of modifying and adding flavour to your spirits while being affordable and easier to manage.
There is no single correct method for soaking oak chips in bourbon. The kind of oak chips utilized, the preferred flavour profile, and the amount of bourbon’s alcohol level are only a few of the variables that affect the outcome. However, in general, most people let oak chips soak in bourbon for a few hours to a few days.
Still, for producing high-quality and tasteful home brew spirits add the oak chips to the secondary fermenter, where the cooler, understated flavours can come through without bubbling off during the primary ferment. Chips can also be soaked in bourbon or whisky before adding to add more complex and distinct flavours as well.
Essencia
In terms of home distilling supplies and spirit flavour essences, essencia is the industry leader in quality. Making the best liquor, spirits, and liqueurs at home is now affordable thanks to the essencia system of distilling ingredients, equipment, and flavour essences.
As home brewing is raising in popularity and more and more people start making their spirits at home, there is a wide range of essencia at your disposal to prepare your favourite drink.
For instance, if you’re a fan of the Jack Daniels flavour there is a bourbon essencia that combines charred oak, vanilla and a hint of marble to give you the recognizable sour mash flavour of this centuries-old drink. Fans of Johnnie Walker, on the other hand, can enjoy their home brew glass of this authentic Scotch whiskey by buying an essencia that brings its flavour straight to their door. Having the ingredients such as subtle oak and peat notes the Johnnie Walker essencia is definitely something to consider for your homebrewed whiskey. And, if you really need a glass of homebrewed G&T after a long and sunny day at work, there is also a Gin essencia perfect for drinking alone or mixed with friends, it’s up to you.
Free Standing Copper Parrot Head
When distilling alcohol, a copper-proofing parrot is an incredibly useful piece of equipment. It is quite simple to proof the product coming out of the still thanks to a parrot, which is essentially a device that carries a proving hydrometer.
For proper usage, you should remove the tubing and affix the taller of the two tubes to the underside when the compartment fills with the distilled liquid. The second chamber will subsequently be reached via this. Your spirit hydrometer should be placed in the second chamber. When the liquid reaches a certain level, you can use your hydrometer to check the ABV. The collection chamber should be positioned beneath the spout as it will otherwise overflow.
Since the proofing parrot is in direct contact with the distillate from the still, it is very important to clean the parrot at the end of the distilling process. Without proper maintenance, the copper parrot can accumulate copper salts and other undesirables, which can contaminate the distillate with potentially dangerous substances.
