Sugar wash

[Old Town]

So I have ran two runs with a FG reading at around 8% and got a final product of 70% apv. I just did a all sugar was with a 11% FG reading and only got 65% apv when I ran it.. So what did I do wrong or is that normal for an all sugar wash??

[NZChris]

You should be able to work it out from your run notes. I haven't seen them, or even know what still you ran it in, so I wouldn't have a clue.

[guittarmaster]

I don't mean to stress the obvious but just like when you call tech support the first thing they say is "is your computer plugged into an outlet that works" leats clarify one thing......


When you say FG, do you mean the final gravity of the wash when read with a hydrometer said 8% or 11%?

Or do. You mean you took an OG (original gravity before adding yeast) and it said -lets pretend- 1.071 and a final gravity after fermentation finished and it said 1.010 for a difference of 8%


If you mean the 2nd, did you follow a tried and true recipe? Did you pot distill? Did you use a parrot during distilling or proofed it afterwards? How much did you collect? If Measured after collecting you might have just collected further and got more tails and diluted it.

If you by FG you mean you measured it before running and it said 1.071 (~8%) then your fermentation was not finished or it became stuck. Your fermentation should be closest to 1.000 or lower if you can get it there

I hope that helps

GM

[still_stirrin]

So I have ran two runs with a FG reading at around 8% and got a final product of 70% apv. I just did a all sugar was with a 11% FG reading and only got 65% apv when I ran it.. So what did I do wrong or is that normal for an all sugar wash??

How much wash did you have in the first run? How much in the 2nd?

How much product did you collect with the 1st run? How much did you collect with the 2nd? I bet you collected deeper into the backend with the second run such that the average %ABV of the run was lower.

Was the 65% & 70%ABV measurement the "peak purity" or the average %ABV of the product collected?

It is typical for a potstill to produce a peak purity of 55-65%ABV on a single (or strip) run with a wash of 8-10%ABV. If on the first run you got a higher purity, chances are you stopped collecting earlier at the end of the run. Collecting an average of 70%ABV indicates that you indeed did stop a little early, potentially leaving some of the alcohol behind in the backset.

Now, if you're using a reflux still, the purity is dependent on how you operate it, that is, the reflux ratio you are attaining. A higher number of reflux cycles will produce a higher purity product. And depending on how you run the still, you may attain purity of up to 90-95%ABV, even from a wash (opposed to running low wines).

So, you didn't say what type of still you have either. Can you share more?
ss

[Old Town]

Ok so I have a keg barrel pot still and I packed the two inch column with copper mesh. My OG reading was 1.078 and the FG reading was .980
I used my profing hydrometer and took readings as I ran my still. I only did a single run and the highest reading I got was 65% apv.. In my past two runs I was putting out 70% constantly with a 50/50 wash of flaked maize and malted barly with a sugar head.

[Old Town]

I guess my question is if my last two runs witch had a FG reading around 8% put out 70% why did a wash at 11% produce a lower apv??

[still_stirrin]

Could be how you ran it...hotter input on the lower %ABV product, ie - more smearing. Or, it could be that you collected more product from the run that peaked at 65%ABV.

Really, 65%ABV vs 70%ABV for the foreshots/heads is essentially the same.

But either way, what you got is representative of the processes and tools you're using. So, you didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry.

What really matters is the quality of your keeper cut as well as the volume you collected.
ss

[Old Town]

Thanks man

[Saltbush Bill]

I just did a all sugar was with a 11% FG reading and only got 65% apv when I ran it

Am I understanding this right , this run was just sugar ?..no grains no nutrients?

[Old Town]

12 gallons of water twenty pounds of sugar and two 8oz cans of tomato paste.. I used 24g of distillers yeast and it fermented for 12 days.

[Old Town]

My still

[Still Life]

Nice setup!

It seems you're making a single run with each recipe. (Do I have that right?)
If so, that may be the "discrepancy". Do both a strip & then spirit run for each recipe.

Strip (getting rid of fores) and go deep into tails to extract all the alcohol.
Then Spirit run, using prescribed cuts.

That will likely "even out" your respective yield numbers.
(Sorry if I'm not reading you correctly)

[Old Town]

You are correct still life I have only been doing single runs. I'm not real sure on how to do a second run. From what I have gathered you just run as deep as you can on the first run with no cuts, remove you're backset from your boiler and rerun the liquor from the first run??

[Still Life]

Exactly. Take the "low wines" (first, deep, fast, Stripping run). Toss fores. No cuts.
Empty boiler.
Then (Spirit) run the low wines, making your cuts.

[Still Life]

There's another current thread about this subject here.

[Shine0n]

OR make another wash and run some more low wines so you can have a full charge

[Old Town]

I got another wash fermenting now. Going to run it and combined the two for the spirit run!!

[The Booze Pipe]

Ok so I have a keg barrel pot still and I packed the two inch column with copper mesh.

I'm curious what the copper mesh does in a pot still column? I understand that it doesn't cause reflux. So would it be good for additional copper contact, helping clean up the distillate of sulphides?

[Old Town]

From what I understand the the copper mesh does help clean out some more of the impurities. The more copper your vapors pass through the better. I also got a little bit higher abv when I added the copper mesh.