Fermentation to Distillation Time Frame

[cookiedds]

I a lot of posts I see the 96 hour mark after pitching yeast repeated as the window you need
to distill within to avoid off flavors and contamination.
If you have an active fermentation in a well oxygenated
filtered mash (liquid only) using a healthy active yeast pitch in a
sanitary environment (carboys with air locks), can you crash the wash to
32° after fermentation is complete and hold it until you are ready to
distill? The alcohol level should be in the 7.5% to 10% ABV level and I
would think that would help slow bacterial overgrowth. Lactobacillus that
are present in the grain will drop pH and cause a little sourness in the
mash and early on during fermentation but shouldn’t negatively impact
flavor or aroma profiles. I guess a Brettanomyces contaminant could push it
in a weird direction but not at that temp. I’m just trying to fit the all
grain mash into my schedule. Does anyone have input on this?

[cranky]

I a lot of posts I see the 96 hour mark after pitching yeast repeated as the window you need
to distill within to avoid off flavors and contamination.

I don't know where you keep seeing this repeated but in my opinion it's a load of crap.

[firewater69]

I have to agree with cranky, it's done when it's done and if you use an air lock it can keep for a while.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

My best sugarhead was run 8 months after I pitched yeast.

That sum a' was clear as hell, and the smoothest drop.

YMWNV

[still_stirrin]

+1.

I finally ran a rum which had been setting in the fermenter (done) for nearly 3 months...probably infantile by cranky’s measurements. But it was under airlock and in a glass carboy. The wash cleared very nicely too. No problem with the rest period....if you can’t get to it right away.

I think the urgency is more of a “newby” panic really, mostly because they just don’t know the processes and products. Certainly, a 96-hour benchmark is definitely “old school” and should be understood in that light. If you pay attention to your processes (brewing, fermentation, clearing, etc.) then you shouldn’t have to “worry” about the timing.
ss

[cookiedds]

Thanks, that’s where my head was at too. I keep a pretty sanitary and sterile (I have an autoclave) brewery environment and have never had a problem with spoilage or off flavors before. I was concerned that washes lacking the antimicrobial properties that hops contribute might be susceptible to infection. Thanks for easing my mind!

[still_stirrin]

Hops are overrated. The alpha acids protect the ferment until the yeast go to work. After that, the alcohol and lowered pH reduce bacterial growth. So, the finished ferment is quite well protected, especially so if under an airlock.
ss

[Lawfish]

FWIW, my ferments take at least 2 weeks on average. I do mine in a basement in Florida, which stays around 66 or so in the winter and up around 74 in the summer. OG is usually around 1.090 and FG is 1.000 or below. On average, I lose around 10 "points" a day. But once they're finished, I have no problem leaving them in the fermenter under airlock for awhile. Probably 10 days is the longest I've let one sit.

[frunobulax]

I think 96 hours is from a commercial stand point, where time is money. It would have to be the most ideal conditions to get a ferment complete in 4 days.
When I make a wash or beer it's because I want to run, so I shoot for 7-14 days (hopefully 7) and make fermentation conditions as ideal as possible, Eg; correct Temp. Pitching rate, PH, Aeration.
I also think lacto infections are imminent without boiling an all grain beer, and while the infection may add flavor at first, it will degrade after a couple weeks and ruin the beer.

[HDNB]

i agree with all them ^^^too. 96 is overly optimistic for anything i've done, especially if it's over 1.06ish...i'd be looking for 3 more days to clear and hope for a run on day 7...prolly longer. i'd love to know the 96 hour secrets, not that i'd be able to manage it but it would be nice to know how.

i've left a lacto infected wort for 6-7 weeks with no noticeable problems. can't say it did any good either...but it drank just fine.

[Jimy Dee]

Also is it not the case that after fermentation finishes we should let things sit for 3 or 4 days before ever distilling? 96 hours after pitching yeast seems nuts.

[Shine0n]

My rum ferments finish usually in 72 hours and I run a day later. That is if my temps are correct for the duration, my whiskey ferments are the same.

Fruit seems to be the long haul, 2-4 weeks but that's also because of the temps and yeast used.