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Should we Vaccinate Dunder Pit or Preserve its Wildness?
Hi there. I just finished my first rum run and am starting a dunder pit. I drained all the backset after distillation into a 5g bucket and put some cheesecloth over the top. Now, I know there isn’t much in the way of rules for pits, but I’m wondering what my best course of action might be. I live in Northern California and I’m not really sure what wild strains of yeast and bacteria are out and about and whether they’re conducive to a good tasting dunder or not. I see lots of talk of what strains produce what esters and I see lots of people inoculating their pits with lactobacillus, bretanomyces, etc while many others just leave it out in the yard and let the wilds go to town on it, which is how I planned on doing it. Anyone have any input one way or the other, given my location?
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10 Replies
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Depends on what you want, the terroir of your area or of somewhere else.Personally, I’d go to the closest Mexican grocery store and buy a few sticks of cane and toss them in the bucket. Then I’d get some large white marble chucks (home depot garden center landscaping rock) and toss them in the bucket to help buffer the pH from crashing.There are two types of people in this world.1. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete information.
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Funny this topic just came up and your suggestion about throwing in some cane as I was just driving down the back road to the tip past the cane fields and was wondering just that barely an hour ago .Looking at the cane wondering whether the cane itself , the dry leaf debris or the green leaves would be better at inoculating a Rum wash and or a Dunder pit .My recommended goto .wiki/index.ph … ion_Theory
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There’s an old thread on SD of a fella named Florida Cracker that did the stalk with seemingly good results. I had a pit starting using the same method, it smelled rich and fruity and floral…but I neglected it too long and and it turned to shit. Would 100% do it again.Not sure about the leafy ruffage, but I’d bet it has a lot of the same flora and fauna as the stalk.There are two types of people in this world.1. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete information.
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There’s an old thread on SD of a fella named Florida Cracker that did the stalk with seemingly good results. I had a pit starting using the same method, it smelled rich and fruity and floral…but I neglected it too long and and it turned to shit. Would 100% do it again.Not sure about the leafy ruffage, but I’d bet it has a lot of the same flora and fauna as the stalk.I figured maybe the leaves is what they call Cane trash as aposed to Baggass which I thought was the stalks after crushing .You often read about Cane trash going into Dunder Pits .But I really don’t know .My recommended goto .wiki/index.ph … ion_Theory
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My understanding is that the cane trash is the cane that’s been after its been pressed… 100% ready to be wrong on that though.There are two types of people in this world.1. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete information.
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About how much volume should be taken up by the marble gravel? Just like a inch or two layer on the bottom for a 5g bucket? I also have seen people throw banana peels in their pit. Anyone have experience with that? I suppose at the end of the day if I screw this pit up it’s no big deal since I got more than enough backset from a single run to start a pit, I just tend to overly research things before I dive in.
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Plastic pales with seal lids are relatively cheap . Fill a few with Dunder straight from the still ( note I called it Dunder , not backset….. same shit different shovel …. But Rum talk ) . Keep some sealed as a backup while you experiment . Personally , I’m not a fan of moldy Dunder and prefer it fresh….ish . Like a bit of mold is OK but I’ve had some that were just wrong . LOL … maybe they were just right but I wasn’t going there . Yes some folk like to chuck fruit and shit into them . Again , try it and see what you like . Dunder from all Mollases wash will have a natural pH of around 5. It will still grow mould no worries . I believe the Carrabean mobs put Marl in their Pits …. A kind of alkaline clay to raise pH and encourage growth of things .This is similar to the effect Marble might have that Bolverk mentioned .My recommended goto .wiki/index.ph … ion_Theory
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I put 4 gal of Dunder into a plastic bucket in the garden to start my first pit a few weeks ago.I also poured some lees in from a rum ferment, then I added a slice of melon, a slice of pineapple and a big handful of calcium carbonate chips. Left the top off for the day then lidded it loosely. It’s now got a big thick multi coloured pellicle over it, but no change in smell as yet. It’s only an experiment as I’m very happy with my SBB as it is, but may as well have a go!Make Booze, not War!
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I say don’t overthink it. They don’t do anything to the dunder in Jamaica. I kept a bucket in the yard, covered with a dish towel, for a whole summer. Used it as about 30% of a new ferment. Best rum I ever had. Don’t try to duplicate Jamaican rum, you can’t. Make rum with your own terroir. I moved the bucket to different places in my 1/3 acre lot which has all kinds of happy trees, bushes, vegetables. You want to taste your yard!My muck bucket never smelled bad, sweet like roasted orange peel. Don’t worry about ph crash, the ferment is over. As long as your new ferment bubbles happily all is good.I had a problem today stripping a new ferment that used the leftovers from last year’s batch. The dunder sat out all winter, grew a thick green layer that I lifted off. But still smelled delicious. You’ll see me describe the problem in my post from earlier this evening, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the dunder.
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Super simplified, a trash pit uses leaves and skimmings etc. to make a vinegar to react with the muck to make an essence. Both pits use different ingredients and cultures and have ideal pHs.I have used my own cane trash to inoculate my trash pit.Bagasse stinks and isn’t used for flavor. It is often used to fuel the boilers for steam generation, electricity etc. for the mill. If I can taste or smell it in a molasses, I don’t buy it.
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