The Importance of a Crystal Clear Wash

[Honest_Liberty]

Maybe I'm lucky but so far I haven't burnt the yeast and I'm grabbing grains all the way to the yeast bed. The hearts sample I took from my strip was surprisingly smooth and flavorful, but I dunno. Maybe the flavor is in there and I'm still too green to discern what what.
The spirit was noticeably drier than with sugar, and rounded softly around the edges compared too that noticeable sugared bite... Which I don't mind by the way

[8Ball]

I ferment on the grain and then use a paint bag and mop squeezer. Everything that makes it through the paint bag, goes into the strip runs. I use propane under the pot and never have a scorching problem. Works for me.

[bilgriss]

The importance of clarity is relative to your setup. If you have an indirect heat source or propane fired boiler with a thick bottom, you shouldn't have any problems with a "Cloudy as F" mash or wash. But I have an internal element. I don't find a need to be "clear", but there are things that I do watch out for. The first, with all grain, is incomplete starch conversion. If you fill your boiler and there's still unconverted starch, it's going to be really prone to scorch with an internal element. If you're lucky you might get by with very slow heating, but it's tricky. And similar with a lot of solids floating around. If they settle on a wide open element, it's going to throw objectionable flavors. I've learned to take it easy, but be fairly rigorous in making sure that certain things are done "right" if I have discovered through trial and error that I don't like the result.

[Chauncey]

I've ran on the grain on a number of setups including my old copper pot and never had a scorch, I just used an aluminum pot lid(which got a hole melted thru it)as a spacer between my copper pot bottom and the propane cooker. Ran it fairly low, hour or so heatup for a sloppy 11 gallon charge. I did have a thick oat mash that started to stick in a t500 type tea urn but it kept flipping the internal breaker. When I drained it to check things out/reset the breaker on the bottom of the unit and saw some sticking around the bottom metal in the shape of the element so I thinned the mash and ran it with no problems.


I normally rack into buckets from my brute then when I get to the bottom grain bed I squeeze that out in its own bucket. so I get like 35 gallons in 5 to 7 fermenter huckets. I pour each bucket directly into the boiler but leave the little.extra trub that settles out. Each of my ferments is about 3 still charges. The squeezed one goes in the last charge too in case there is any issue because it is normally the smallest. Definitely not crystal clear though. For sugar washes, I can't say. I don't really make them just flavored spirits.

[MoonBreath]

Strained thru ss screened collender into carboy or other vessel, sit until completely settled, then racked thru ss screen collender with wrung out clean cotton dishcloth folded in collender...Spotless clean.
You'll never have crystal clear washes without sparkaloid or similar additive..
The corn or fruit colors are flavor and character and should be left alone.
Y'all talkn of runnin a crystal clear fruit wash instead of a beautiful spotless Clean purple wash..Well I think not.
Theres a difference in clean and clear.
Yep, spotless clean is as good as clear to me.

[dragon9874]

never had an issue w/ cloudiness of my wash, in terms of it's always cloudy (i can never see thru it), but my thumper might be helping to clear up my my product? i know many ppl swear by a clear(ish) wash, but never been an issue for me.

f(O_o)

[jonnys_spirit]

I go back and forth. Running it with all the trub and muck today.

Cheers!
-j