Further adventures in distilling

[Coriba]

Trying to make whisky. Brewed a nice ale, SG ~ 1.045, finished 1.012, no hops. Ran a stripping run today and it puked at about 60 C. Cleaned and restarted and distillate came out brown with lots of floating ‘trub’. Like a colloidal suspension. Don’t know the ABV of initial distillate, too much ‘trub’. By the end, the distillate was clear at about 30% ABV. Collected until less than 20% ABV.

I’m sure the ferment was finished. I boiled the wort and racked off sediment twice. I know there is something you can add to the wash to reduce foaming and puking. Didn’t think I needed to with a stable finished beer.

What should I do to address this? Do I need to filter the stripping run before the spirit run? I have another beer ready to distill and plan to add this stripping run to the next whisky wash. Probably more after that.

So far, brandy is easier than whisky.

 

[Coriba]

Apparently I can add marbles or butter.

I‘ve never made beer without hops. This beer does not smell all that great. Don’t think it’s infected, ferment went well.

 

[BigEd]

Trying to make whisky. Brewed a nice ale, SG ~ 1.045, finished 1.012, no hops. Ran a stripping run today and it puked at about 60 C. Cleaned and restarted and distillate came out brown with lots of floating ‘trub’. Like a colloidal suspension. Don’t know the ABV of initial distillate, too much ‘trub’. By the end, the distillate was clear at about 30% ABV. Collected until less than 20% ABV.

I’m sure the ferment was finished. I boiled the wort and racked off sediment twice. I know there is something you can add to the wash to reduce foaming and puking. Didn’t think I needed to with a stable finished beer.

What should I do to address this? Do I need to filter the stripping run before the spirit run? I have another beer ready to distill and plan to add this stripping run to the next whisky wash. Probably more after that.

So far, brandy is easier than whisky.

The puking problem could be due to your kettle being too full or your heat being too high. Runoff from the condenser should be crystal clear until you get into the tails.

Re your distiller's beer: Did you ferment on the grain and also charge your still with this mixture? If the wash was wort only was it boiled after mashing, pre ferment? FWIW I make my distiller's beers in much the same way as a drinking beer. The wort is run off the grain and I give it a short boil (10 min) to create a hot break. The fermented beer resulting is pretty much clear and is easily racked off any trub into the still kettle. I do not fill my kettle any further than 2/3 full with wash when charging. Not that you have to do it this way but it does all but eliminate any puking problems.

 

[Coriba]

My beer was ok, not crystal clear, but if I was making beer I would have bottled it. Really malty without the hops. Regular all grain beer, sparged and boiled for an hour.

I blew a fuse in my voltage controller so I had no heat control. After cleaning the puke out I used the on/off switch to slow it down.

Can I add this sub-optimum stripping run to the next stripping run? I’ve got another distillers beer ready to go.

 

[BigEd]

Yes you can add this to the charge for your next run.

 

[Coriba]

So I have a couple of stripping runs done on all grain mash, a blend of barley and rye. Both puked, learning how to manage heat. I have about 5 litres of low wines for a spirit run. I’ve saved some of the leftover of the latest run to use as backset. How much do I use?

 

[Coriba]

Never mind, not how you use backset. I’ve saved a couple of gallons but don’t want to ferment right now. Will it keep?

 

[bernardsmith]

Happy - and safe New Year, Coriba.
I cannot see why it won't "keep" if you store this much like you store any wine you make - I would imagine that even if the alcohol was subject to oxidation (or souring) that that would not be a major issue as you are collecting the ethanol and not the flavor compounds

 

[Coriba]

Update. I had three barley/rye mashes ready that have been stripped. A total of 8L of 40% low wines. Ran the sprit run today and got 2L running about 70% or greater and then another litre which ran between 60 and 40%. I stopped at 40%. Was that too early? Seemed to have a bit of wet cardboard smell.

I plan to cut the first 300 mL. My palette is poor so estimating cutting the first 10%. Is that about right? Should I use the 40% run, sort of cardboard smelly-like?

I plan to age in one litre glass milk bottles using some ‘lightly toasted American oak chips’. How much oak do I add? Plan to age with a loose cover outside (not in sun) so it experiences hot and cold seasons.

So far, all good fun.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Coriba, I would think that if the distillate smells like cardboard you may be pulling too much volume. What was the ABV of the wash or mash? That % gives you an idea of the maximum volume you can expect to obtain (a 10% ABV means that if you begin with 1000 ml you cannot possibly have 100 ml. If your wash was at 5% ABV then you cannot possibly pull 50 ml. Cardboard tastes sounds like you are pulling tails.
As to oscillating between hot and cold, what about using your freezer? Can you store the distillate with the oak for two or three days in your freezer and then let it sit in your kitchen for a day or two, then back to the freezer and then back to the kitchen counter.
How much oak to use? I would use the same amount as you might use to oak a wine: about 2-3 oz for 6 gallons for about 2 weeks and then taste. If you prefer more oak flavor, allow the oak to steep for another week and taste. If after two weeks the oak is too intense, remove the oak and let the spirit sit for a month or two... the oak flavors will mellow a little. If still too oaky you can always add more spirit to dilute the intensity of the oak.

 

[Coriba]

That’s a quick response, thanks.

My wash was from stripping runs, so about 40% ABV, or about 3.2 L of alcohol. At an average of 60% ABV in my spirit run, I should get 5.3 L if I get it all. Of course I don’t get it all.
I normally run the stripping run down to 20%. This sprit run ran from 75% to about 60% and then dropped quickly to 40%, which seems like a stopping point. I’ve read somewhere that there is a lot of character in the tails so I kept some. To be honest, I was hungry and cold so I terminated. I’ll cut and blend tomorrow and start oaking.