Sweet distillate

[mcoops]

Hi guys
I’m relatively new to distilling but learning more every day. I started distilling last year with a 3gal Chinese pot still but I recently bought a T500 reflux still. I’ve distilled a number of sugar washes with the T500 using wine yeast and tomato paste and all have gone well and recovered a high abv.
For my latest wash I decided to see what the fuss was about by using the Still spirits Classic turbo yeast and carbon and turbo clear. The fermentation started with a very high SG as it said it would give 20% alcohol. The fermentation went OK but stopped at SG 1.09. I tried adding some water and stirring the wash but it didn’t ferment any lower. I used the Turbo clear and it cleared the wash perfectly overnight. I then ran the wash at 49’ in the T500. The distillate came off at 90% and I recovered just over 4lts at 90% ABV from 22ltr wash. My problem is that I didn’t expect distillate to taste sweet. I expect its probably because I hadn’t fermented down enough.
What can I do now with the distillate, do I just throw it away and start a fresh or is there something I can do to rescue it?
Cheers for any suggestions…

[still_stirrin]

I’d blend it back with more low wines and rerun through the reflux still. It might reduce the sugar sweetness in the neutral spirit. I wouldn’t dump it because you’ve produced some alcohol OK.

You could always use it to make a panty dropper too, where the residual sweetness is appropriate.

Experiment....you can do this.
ss

[gwizard]

That sweetness may evaporate over time. If you've gone the turbo path, then perhaps take it to its natural conclusion - carbon filtering. Put your distillate through an activated charcoal filter. That should remove much of the sweetness and also help clear other flavoring.

[Saltbush Bill]

No mention at all of cuts.....guessing you followed t500 instructions and only took a small fores cut?
I always associate sweetness with heads in a refluxed sugar wash.

[Tummydoc]

The sweetness is not from unfermented sugars, those would have stayed in the boiler. Ethyl acetate is sweet. Your yeast produced this ester, and it is very difficult to separate from ethanol by distillation. Its safe to drink but gives a headache. More common with stressed yeast. Some try to hydrolyse the ester by adding a strong base (sodium hydroxide) which results in ethanol and sodium acetate (fischer equilibrium). The pH is then titrated back to high 7s and redistilled.

[mcoops]

Thanks guys for the advice.. I would hope that if a few years I'll understand what Tummydoc said and I like the idea of panty dropper (I'll look that up). I did follow the T500 instructions and only took off a small foreshot but the second 2lt jar was the same sweetness so that wouyld be past heads. I'll give it some time and see what happens in the meantime i'll go back to my normal wash that works for me.
Cheers all

[Saltbush Bill]

Mcoops.......your not even scratching the surface of learning here.........you bought a t500 and believed the sales pitch........which I might add is complete BS.
Delete all that you think you know and start again at the begin using information from our tried and proven recipe section.
You will also need to learn about making cuts PROPERLY.
Until you do those things you don't stand a chance of making a decent drop to drink.

[Cschmidtke]

When I get a stuck fermentation I rack into another container aerate and re pitch yeast. Works every time, as for the rest, keep working on your cuts until you can taste the difference pull 100 mills per jar and let it breathe once you get a feel for your still it will come naturally.

[mcoops]

Thanks Cschmidtke, I do have a 3 gallon chinese still that I have had for a few years. It works OK but got to work it with cooling and temps. I have about a dozen jars that i use and im getting better with the tasting, foreshots and tails are easy to pick out heads and heart not so much. I tend to stick to the corn and jimbo single malt recipe, that works for me. The t500 works well and produces neutral spirit easy. The issue issue I had with the sweet distallate is going now as Ive cut it down to 40% and given it time to breath. Keeps the wife happy with the Gins and Vodka. I do seem to get a few issues with fermentation stopping early Ive just bought a PH meter to keep track of that.