Question on Precipitate

[kingearwig]

you guys put spirits that have been aged with wood back in the still???? isnt this one way you get methanol?

FukNosePunkin

this is a stupid question??? the dude said

Well i tossed it all back in the still, and reran it, and haven't had it reccur....till now

[punkin]

you guys put spirits that have been aged with wood back in the still???? isnt this one way you get methanol?

FukNosePunkin

this is a stupid question??? the dude said

Well i tossed it all back in the still, and reran it, and haven't had it reccur....till now

Dunno the answer mate, i'm not too worried about it though.

Still doing my cuts ect...


Wasn't trying to make you look stupid though.

[pintoshine]

You know I never thought about throwing anything I previously distilled back into the pot and running it again. I have the same attitude as you punkin, I make my cut regardless and worry about the flavor and smell.

[punkin]

Another observation on snot.

Refiltering after giving the cut, oaked, fruit or mollasses spirit a week or so to develop the algae haze on the bottom (leaving the last little cloudy sediment bit like a brew) means that the spirit is now clear, with no more goobies developing.

A possible factor on snot.

I was pondering the connection between the rum and the peach brandy, and besides from the remote possibility there could have been a slobber (cause of the angles in Gonzo) another thing occurred to me.
Both these brews have had a possibillity of not fermenting out completly.
Perhaps there was some unconverted sugar remaining in the wash.
Pertinent?
I don't know...

[punkin]

I just finnished loading Gonzo Mk2 and The Skankey Hoe up for tommorrow.

Skankey Hoe has 40l at 34% of mollasses strip and the spoilt ujsm, ready for a neutral spirit run, i'll switch on tommorrow morning while i'm talking to you guy round 5am for heat up and out in the shed for breakie while she's stabilizing.

Gonzo is unfortunately loaded with 40l at 40% of watered down ujsm from my 50l ujsm barrell.
I have the snot developing in my spirits again the same as this time last year, and as close as i can figure it from a stack of experiments with different water for cutting, the boiled tap water (treated town water) i've been using for cutting my spirits is causing it.
Unfortunately the spirit in the barrell was cut from 80 to 65% using boiled town water

So the barrell will be redistilled (should make for very easy cuts anyway ) and watered back down with the town water after it's been treated with the new double filter setup i've installed.
A 5 micron charcoal filter then into a 1 micron paper element fiter should eliminate what i suspect to either be traces of algae or sediment from the treated river water we use here that just clump in the bottom of bottles.

Hopefully....

So a full day in the shed. It'll be my first try of the dual independent pump system i've installed where each still will be running from it's own 360gph bilge pump supplied by independent 12v power supplies with 3 way splitters connected to each pump in order to add flow control and remove load from any pressure buildup in the pumps.

If i get really keen, theres 40 litres of pints mollasses wash waiting to be stripped after the potstill run

Also have a need to put down a new Rum wash and want to get one of wineo's sugar washes going.





MayStickABroomUpMyArseAndSweepTheFloorTooPunkin

[trthskr4]

Punkin, I've been using "town water" for my cutting also and get the same thing in warm weather(snot/stringy). I just filter it through coffee filters and it goes away. I honestly thought it was a reaction with the oak. Maybe not though.

[punkin]

Punkin, I've been using "town water" for my cutting also and get the same thing in warm weather(snot/stringy). I just filter it through coffee filters and it goes away. I honestly thought it was a reaction with the oak. Maybe not though.

Just can't seem to filter this out rad. I think it's just too fine. It comes up in a cloud from the bottom whenever the bottle is disturbed, the best we've been able to do is let it settle for a few days, very carefully decant through coffee filters leaving a few inches in the bottom of the bottle, then repeat that process. We've been using the rest for cooking after repeating the process a few times with the dregs. We got LOTS of cooking bourbon

I've been banging my head for weeks trying different experiments to isolate it, and that's the only common denominator i can come up with, for sure the ones that are cut from barrel strength down to 40% with more town water show major amounts of it.

[MountedGoat]

Feel kinda sorry for you folks up there on the other side. Here it's stillin season all year round, just need a smart protective dawg.

There is no amount of guard dog that can protect us from stupid neighbors that decide to show up at the wrong opportune time. They always come by during stilling, sex and the shower. I love a good rainy day when you can do stuff out in the middle of the road and not get disturbed. Next week might well fire it up for the first time of the season and wear it in again. Then start the big runs after that.

I have 3x 15 gallon lots that are going to turn into grappa and brandy. Then there is 150L of brandy. Gotta warm it up with the 15gal lots first though.

And Punkin, you might want to fine your water first. Grab some geletin and drop it into a 250L barrel that you have and then use from like 3" from the bottom. That should clarify the water before you put it into the bourbon.

[punkin]

I'm thinkin the filters will do the job, MG. Can get bottled spring water for nicks too, but i don't trust it anymore than the town water. I know i can trust my filters if i keep em changed regular.

It's just fantastic out in the shed atm. Got the Skanky hoe running and just switched to hearts, wide open, full heat.

Gonzo is pouring out the eigth litre of redistilled ujsm hearts, with .5 l heads and another .5 of maybe sitting on the bench, just goes to show how loose my cuts have been over time.

BTW, to clear up a question i've often seen repeated on here with the answer likewise repeated (possibly without the xperience to back it), if you age your spirits on wood and then have to redistill it for whatever reason (overoaking ect) don't believe the hype that you will lose the oak flavour.
It still comes out clear of course, but tasting like white oak without the vannillas and honeys and other complex flavours.
That's tasting off the worm at 81%, but clear as a bell the oak flavour.

[Dutchmancreek]

Punkin, I've been using "town water" for my cutting also and get the same thing in warm weather(snot/stringy). I just filter it through coffee filters and it goes away. I honestly thought it was a reaction with the oak. Maybe not though.

Just can't seem to filter this out rad. I think it's just too fine. It comes up in a cloud from the bottom whenever the bottle is disturbed, the best we've been able to do is let it settle for a few days, very carefully decant through coffee filters leaving a few inches in the bottom of the bottle, then repeat that process. We've been using the rest for cooking after repeating the process a few times with the dregs. We got LOTS of cooking bourbon

I've been banging my head for weeks trying different experiments to isolate it, and that's the only common denominator i can come up with, for sure the ones that are cut from barrel strength down to 40% with more town water show major amounts of it.

I've had the exact same problem Punkin....it drove me crazy. I tried the settle/decant/filter thing, throwing out the bottom inch or two of the bottle, etc. That gets nearly all of it out. But even after I thought I got it all out you could sometimes see a trace after a week or two. I'm pretty sure that it was a precipitate of some minerals in the water used for cutting. Lately I've been using distilled water (with no "minerals added for taste") and haven't seen the problem lately.

I haven't seen this in white spirits, but it might be there. The contrast in color in bourbon makes it show up...I doubt it is caused by a reaction with the oak.

[MountedGoat]

That's tasting off the worm at 81%, but clear as a bell the oak flavour.

Not to continue off topic, though I have talked with a couple of guys that swear that if you use wine that has sulphur added to it, it comes through in the distillate. Maybe if it was just added, though I used wine many times that had been sulphured and it doesn't come through in the slightest.

[punkin]

I have seen it in white spirits last year. My Peach Brandy was doing it when in the white, drove me crazy.

I figured i had it sorted by using boiled town water, thought it musta been the spring water i was using or the town water without boiling, figured it for an algae, either that or something carrying over in the distillate cause it only happened with my rum and the peach brandy. But now it's turned up again at the same time of year.

I cut 10 half bottles from the same batch tried different combinations of the different filters i used/different waters.
The tap water ones had it severe (which suprised me cause i thought it was the cotton balls Bourbon Girl was using to filter) but spring water and filtered water developed a small amount after a while. I musta cut from 80 back to 65% with town water originally. It's not there all year, just in the spring which leads me to believe it may be suspended algae.


Could i please ask a mod to do the job of cutting the posts dealing with precipitate out of this thread and pasting them in this thread that i started last year where the question remained unresolved cause the problem went away?
I know it's a bit of work....


Sorry, apologies for dragging it this far away, back to your thread boys.

[punkin]

bump



Thank you anonymous mod squad member

[seravitae]

eagerly waiting photos of snot.

did you try to culture the snot? that'll tell ya if its alive

[punkin]

eagerly waiting photos of snot.

did you try to culture the snot? that'll tell ya if its alive

If i never see it again i'll be happy...

restocked the 50l barrell with 22.5l of ujsm this morning, woulda had enough to fill it if i hadn't stuffed up 30l low wines last week with an addition of a couple litres of mollasses low wines...anyway....it'll be full again in a couplea weeks

Bourbon Girl is starting to panic baaaaddd
All other mates and neighbours have been dry for weeks, funny seeing their faces when you say no too..


"i can't go back to the bought stuff..."


Glad i drink beer and vodka. Plus i got stacks of allgrain

[rad14701]

Sounds like the makings of an uprising there, punkin... You'd better get busy...

[punkin]

Sounds like the makings of an uprising there, punkin... You'd better get busy...

Mud just reminded me of the 40l of peaches and corn i have in a beer keg with a couplea sticks in it in the locker, so i went and ran 4l out into an old 4l Johhnie Walker swing bottle with some more oak sticks. it's about 1/2 -2/3rd coulored and has the smoothest sweetest nose, like a good bourbon. Made me think about the 4l cookie jar full i have in another cupboard with a stack of sticks. got it down, it's a dark mahogony (same age) on the verge of overoaked, but still with the harsh spirity nose.
It's gotta be to do with airspace, the storage keg has a 4" american oak lid (it's a spare boiler) clamped down tight, but that just don't explain it.

The jars have their rubber rings removed so it's only glass to glass, you'd reckon they'd breathe, but maybe not?
Has a coffee filter over it now for a week or two....


Anyway, a couplea bottles of Peaches and Corn handed out judicously over the holidays should keep the Natives at bay.

[myles]

On this issue of precipitation, it sounds like it could be a water quality issue. Would it be worth while running some water through the still and using that to dilute with? Would that get rid of any odd minerals, preservatives etc in the water supply?

[Dutchmancreek]

On this issue of precipitation, it sounds like it could be a water quality issue. Would it be worth while running some water through the still and using that to dilute with? Would that get rid of any odd minerals, preservatives etc in the water supply?

You're better off buying distilled water than making your own....cost of fuel, time, etc. Just be sure you buy plain distilled water and not "drinking water purified by distilling, with minerals added for taste".

[pintoshine]

In the USA one of the things that has become quite popular are the "In Grocery Store" Triple filtering systems. I pay about $0.86 for triple filtered water. This stuff is great for diluting. I don't know if these systems are available any but the gullible USA Americans but this is usually good water. They even have the filter maintenance documented on the side of the machines as to the last date and the number gallons filtered on the current set of filters. The cartridge of the ones deployed at WalMart have Cellulose course filter, RO and activate carbon. It is a s good ads it gets for $.172 a gallon.

[punkin]

On this issue of precipitation, it sounds like it could be a water quality issue. Would it be worth while running some water through the still and using that to dilute with? Would that get rid of any odd minerals, preservatives etc in the water supply?

Dunno how much would be carried over in the vapour mate, one would assume very little.
I'm hoping i've solved it with the installation of my filter system, cause i've just added over twenty litres of ujsm back to the barrell, and i don't think the flavours will stand another distillation.

I'll post a piccie later, off to work directly.