Cleaning all done but still STINKS!

[KeenPin]

Finished all my cleaning runs.

Did a 7 hr soak in 50/50 water/vinegar, then did a vinegar/water run. Then I made a cheap 5 gal sugar wash and used a turbo yeast, cheaper then buying wine here in Canada! I ran the sugar wash and is smelled like wine when I put it in the still. The problem is now my kettle, column, and condenser now stink!

Here's what I did:
I decided to run the full batch as if I was doing a stripping run for practice. And to give my chance to smell and touch the distillate coming out, no time like the present to learn I say!

First drops were slow and had a sweet smell like I have read described here. Kind of neat to finally see!

I keep the still going to see what proof I started with on a striping run, as it is a pot still. So I used my parrot, because i wanted to see what proof was coming out.

I decided to run it to the end for timing to plan for my first real run. Ran all the way to 10% in 3hrs. I ran fast and hard for the most part to test my condenser as well.

Once I shut it down I ended up with about 1.5 gal of 100 proof, don't worry I'm not saving it to drink! It's safely labeled for any future cleaning runs.

I did some simple tidying up as I waited for the Kettle and Still to cool a little bit, maybe 30 min? Then I took the column off and drained the still. The backset smell sweet and gross at the same time! I rinsed the column with hot water and the condenser to flush out any thing. Then I rinsed the still, it still smelled so I did a couple of drops of dish soap in water and washed it and rinsed it again. Then I put everything back together, as I was planning on running my first real striping run today, but life stopped that. I went to put the unit away until next weekend and that's when I noticed the smell. It still smells like backset and tails.

Is this normal? I washed everything again, but 3 hrs later it still smells. I'm confused, I'm hoping that this is normal and it will not make my next run smell. I am assuming that my fores will clean out the smell, or am i dreaming?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Bigbob]

Yes the inside of your still will smell bad. That's the patina that you want to save. It will not pass on to your future spirits. When you clean after a run, just rinse in hot water and dry what you can. It works!

[KeenPin]

Thanks Bigbob,its nice to know that everything is working out right.

Waiting on my next wash to clear some and then I am off to the races!

[ShineRunner]

Yep, I'd say that's normal. Tails are pretty stinky and hang around in there for a while. Perhaps they're extra stinky due to the turbo, but I've never used it so I can't say.

SR

[KeenPin]

Yeah, I'll never use turbo for drinking stock. But $7 and sugar from my commercial kitchen (aka free) is way cheaper then a $30 4lt box of wine here. I never tasted the "wash" as it wasn't something that interested me.

But my wash that is clearing now I tasted. It was smokey sweet when it when in the fermenter, and now is so dry. Ended up at 7.5% abv. Got 12-13 gallons of it to strip and then spirit and start my aging process.
Nice thing is I will be going on vacation for a month right after that, so I should be able to "wait" till I get home to worry about tasting it for real!

[NZChris]

I shut down cleaning runs before I hit tails and stink up the still head and condenser with fusels.

[Saltbush Bill]

The fores on the next run will rinse the stink out.

[NZChris]

The fores on the next run will rinse the stink out.

In theory.
It works if you are doing the same product in the same still or still head for every run, but at hobby scale when you might be doing rum one day and gin the next etc., it doesn't always work out too well.

[KeenPin]

Well I will for the most part be running the same thing in the future.

If I want to do a rum I'll build another column.


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[NZChris]

Well I will for the most part be running the same thing in the future.

If I want to do a rum I'll build another column.


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I do rums in a pot still. It's what I originally built it for. What kinds of rum do you think a column will be good for?

[KeenPin]

I'll build another pot column. I like my booze with lots of flavour. Not real interested in neutral at the moment.


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[NZChris]

A pot still doesn't have a column.

[Pikey]

Mine does

[NZChris]

Mine does

Yeah, right. And my spade is a shovel.

[Saltbush Bill]

but at hobby scale when you might be doing rum one day and gin the next etc., it doesn't always work out too well.

Most serious gin distillers that I know , inducing my self go to the trouble of building a dedicated gin still.
Not that you really need to do that ...Ive never found it to hard to get the gin smell out of a still by giving it a good squirt and a rinse out with fresh water.