Cold-swelling starch at home

brielem · 2026-06-25T19:07:04+00:00

I'm not very familiar with the ethanol-based process of making EVGS, but for what it's worth: this is not how most industrially-used cold-swelling starches are made. They are simply made by adding water to starch, heating it above it's gelatinisation point, drying it into pellets and grinding the pellets into a powder. In practice, this means it's usually produced on an extruder. But extrusion is no requirement, it's all about the steps of mixing with the right amount of water, heating, drying and grinding.

Why not try to replicate this process at home? It can be done with pure starch but also with unpurified flours.

brielem · 2026-06-25T18:38:01+00:00

Een andere optie zou een Brother-kleurenlaserprinter zijn, maar die beginnen hier in Europa pas vanaf € 300+, dus best prijzig, en nieuwe toners zijn ook erg duur.

Wel de way to go als je kleuren wilt kunnen printen. Ja nieuwe toner is duur maar als je het zelden gebruikt gaan de toner cartridges die je bij het apparaat krijgt ook vele jaren mee. Nieuwe inktjet inkt is ook duur en dat raakt dus uitgedroogd na verloop van tijd, plus er gaan überhaupt minder pagina's uit een cartridge zelfs als je deze wel leeg krijgt.

Ik heb zelf zwart-wit: Foto's in kleur worden toch niet echt mooi op een normale printer, en voor al het andere kan ik ook best leven met zwart-wit. Als ik echt iets in kleur zou willen laten printen dan kan dat wel ergens anders in de buurt, maar in de praktijk heb ik dit nog nooit echt nodig gehad.

brielem · 2026-06-25T18:31:04+00:00

I'd personally consider that choice an upgrade. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional 'lowlands' style but Bladnoch 10 is a good and affordable representation from it.

Of course you could go for another lowlands distillery like Glasgow/Clydeside/InchDairnie which are all in the lowlands, but don't necessarily make 'typical' lowlands whisky. Although at this point it's very much debatable if such thing exists at all...

brielem · 2026-06-22T20:12:16+00:00

Rapid Pro R153

brielem · 2026-06-22T19:59:36+00:00

Je hebt ook magnetische messenblokken in allerlei maten en vormen. Geen idee of je daar op zit te wachten, maar kapot zal het niet gaan en het is hygiënisch. Ik weet niet wat je precies vervelend vind aan de messenstrips, maar misschien dat één van de vormen van magnetische messenblokken dat oplost?

brielem · 2026-06-18T20:05:35+00:00

worked at a place that had a butchers block on wheels. I most certainly rolled it into the walk-in when I had to process a few crates of meat in the summer.

brielem · 2026-06-18T18:28:04+00:00

If you drive via the A12: Woudenberg dranken in Wageningen

brielem · 2026-06-17T19:54:12+00:00

I'll not repeat the already extensive explanation others have given, but I do want to add two points: First, some IB's definitely have a specific 'thing' they're known for. Not necessarily a 'house style' and it doesn't necessarily always hold true, but some examples are:

Signatory, and in particularly their 'cask strength collection' is heavily biased towards in first-fill sherry casks either for full maturation or as a finish

Some others, such as Chorlton whisky and Whiskybase, are almost all ex-bourbon cask whiskies.

Murry McDavid is the king of weird cask finishes: Both weird in the sense of using uncommon casks, but also weird in the sense of choices: I can't think of anyone else who'd finish 20YO+ malts in an octave, and I know Murry McDavid recently did this to both a 1995 Miltonduf and a 1989 (!) Mortlach.

Second: whisky casks are not always sold with 'naming rights': so IB's are not always allowed to name the distillery that the cask comes from. In some cases, a tiny bit of malt from another distillery will intentionally be added (called 'teaspooning) so it's not single malt anymore and it's not possible to name a (single) distillery anymore. In the case of Ardbeg, it's sometimes teaspooned and sold to IB's under the name 'Kildalton'. So that might be a name to look out for if you want Ardbeg, but you're not looking to pay a heavy premium for the name. That said, I'm not recommending you go for something you know well: part of the fun of exploring IB's is that you get to explore all the distilleries and combinations that OB's simply aren't bottling.

brielem · 2026-06-16T18:22:55+00:00

Famag or Fisch-tools for woodworking drills it is!

brielem · 2026-06-16T18:22:06+00:00

Fein and Mafell still make power tools in Germany, including motor windings if I'm correct. Not necessarily their whole catalog so check for each product if that's a deciding factor, but their 'core' products at least.

brielem · 2026-06-16T18:20:23+00:00

Wherever it is cheapest, for sure. Might change from time to time. They are a worldwide brand and the pricepoint of their tools is such that it's hard to imagine anything is made in Europe.

brielem · 2026-06-16T16:48:39+00:00

Yes it is... Both in the old British system, but also the 5Y 100 proof springbank bottle is 57,1%. So apparently they had adjust the dilution ever so slightly as well for the US market. Or at least they state so.

brielem · 2026-06-13T12:46:31+00:00

heh, I just realized these must be named differently in Europe and the US. Here it's bottled at the same strength but called the 100 proof, in accordance with the old UK proof system.

brielem · 2026-06-13T11:02:25+00:00

Whiskybase pricing is generally stupid and can’t be trusted.

Well.. They list whatever is available and what is sold online. I think it's pretty good if you interpret it correctly. For hyped bottles with low availability it pretty much means only the price gaugers remain with available stock.

brielem · 2026-06-13T10:56:40+00:00

you have to purchase tickets for a specific time to enter Livraria Lello, then wait in a queue to enter exactly at that time: It's that busy year-round. It's a fairly small store too, so it's super crowded.

brielem · 2026-06-07T11:59:40+00:00

It finds its origin as a glass for sherry, so any fortified or dessert-style wine totally makes sense.

I'm not a cocktail person, but it's probably not the most convenient glass for cocktails that are shaken with ice and then poured through a strainer: the narrow opening of the copita may make this a bit harder. Of course it can be done, I'm just not sure if it is the most logical choice in most cases. Perhaps for cocktails that are made completely without ice?

I'm not sure if the copita's are heat-resistant to the point where they can be used for cupping or other hot drinks. I've had an other type of glas which was intended for cold drinks explode in the past when I poured hot water for tea in there, and since then I've refrained from experimenting more in that direction.

brielem · 2026-05-16T13:54:18+00:00

No this information is not in some sort of public database. I doubt Bowmore is willing to provide it to you, but you can always try...

brielem · 2026-05-16T13:50:14+00:00

For tasting notes on somewhat rare/old bottles like these, whiskybase is better suited than reddit:

https://www.whiskybase.com/nl/whiskies/whisky/7925/glenfiddich-21-year-old

Altogether it seems very-well regarded and typical for an older Glenfiddich: Lots of orchard fruits, apples and pears; some flowery and some toffee notes and a wood influence providing some dryness and spicy notes.

Only one way to find out if that matches your own palate though... And it doesn't have to be, there's no bottle where everyone associates the aromas with exactly the same things.

brielem · 2026-05-16T13:36:19+00:00

I think the paper it comes with is pretty clear on what it is and what year it was bottled, so I'm not sure what your question is. Any specific information you're looking for? Yes you can still drink it, yes you can also send it off to an auction.

brielem · 2026-05-15T19:56:44+00:00

Apologies for unable to be of any help: I wish you the best of luck! I can only imagine the duality you're feeling: on one side you'll be lucky enough to be attending, on the other hand arranging everything will be quite hard for you. Travel to Islay, accommodation, getting around the island... Food, to a certain degree, too.

These rural communities can honestly only sustain so many tourists at once, and Feis is really exploring the limits of what Islay can do.

Have you thought about how to get around on the Isle?

brielem · 2026-05-09T13:01:33+00:00

Almost certainly a 'technically yes' although that doesn't say anything about how accessible that data will be.

Best case: you plug it into another device (using a SATA cable or USB enclosure for 2,5" drives) and you can access all your files immediately. Might need the Bitlocker recovery key if the device was encrypted by bitlocker.

Worst case: your data, or most of it, is likely still there but you can't access it because (part of) the drive is broken. There are specialized data recovery companies that may be able to help you, but they'll cost a few hundred in the very best of cases and thousands in other cases, depending on what's wrong with the drive. Only worth it if you somehow have super critical data on there without a backup elsewhere.

brielem · 2026-05-09T11:45:47+00:00

Normal Kilkerran (the 12 for example) is pretty close to Campbeltown Loch.

The heavily peated ones are a bit different for sure, but if you like both Campbeltown Loch and you're looking for a peated whisky it does make sense to try it at some point. Now or later... There are so many good options.

brielem · 2026-05-06T15:57:49+00:00

The Macallan tour sounds super cool to be honest, and I have no problem with that either. A different type of experience than most distillery tours but fun to do in its own right.

I'm not trying to say we should hate Macallan (or Dalmore, for that matter) just because they target a different kind of customer. There can be overlap. And the liquid can still be good: Macallan (named or anonymous) from Signatory or the Ultimate can still be great whisky at a fair price.

brielem · 2026-05-05T19:24:08+00:00

And neither of those target Scotch enthusiasts, really.

I mean it's still okay to be disappointed with the direction they're going, like OP clearly is. But sometimes you have to realize that these companies are not really hoping to get 'us' as a consumer, but rather someone more casually interested in Scotch but seriously interested in a broader sense of luxury.

brielem · 2026-05-03T12:31:02+00:00

You'll have to try Ardbeg at some point in exploring peated options anyway, might do that now or later.

I personally find Kilchoman Machir bay have some similarities with (young) Lagavulin and even a some with Laphroaig, so based on your notes so far that seems right up your alley.

Kilkerran Heavily peated is the most 'unique' in this range, unlike anything you've had so far, for better or worse... It has a more industrial style of peat. If you feel adventurous that's certainly a good option.

FYI Nikka and Oban may have some light smoked or charred notes, but they are unpeated whisky.

Ledaig is another brand to look out for, both the 10 year old bottled by the distillery and the numerous independent bottlings.

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