Finings

[alcodemon]

I have previously used Turbo Yeast followed by Turbo Clear with pretty good results. Using 9 kg of dextrose, I got 5 1/4 litres of spirit @ 90%.

Recently I have been using Birdwatchers Sugar Recipe and the best I could get was 3.6 litres @ 88%.

Each batch was 26 litres.

Would it be ok to use gelatin as a finings to clear the wash. Would it give better end results as to the % ?

For my next wash I will substitute 1 kg of sugar with dextrose and see if I get a better result.

I suppose when the bloke in the home brew shop said dextrose will give a better result, he wasn't kidding!

As gelatin clears a beer, I guess it might clear a wash. I read somewhere that some slops left in the wash may affect the quality of the spirit.

Any info appreciated.

Cheers

[olddog]

have previously used Turbo Yeast followed by Turbo Clear with pretty good results. Using 9 kg of dextrose, I got 5 1/4 litres of spirit @ 90%.

You may have got quantity, but you certainly will not have quality
Brewshops like you to use Turbo's so they can sell you clearing agents and filtering equipment to remove the off tastes produced by Turbo's. A recipe like Birdwachers will produce a cleaner spirit which does not need clearing agents or filtering.

Recently I have been using Birdwatchers Sugar Recipe and the best I could get was 3.6 litres @ 88%

3-4 litres from a 26 litre wash is about right.
Greed and impatience are your enemy, to get a good quality spirit, don't try and push for a high ABV as it only gets bad tastes, clearing agents are not required, once your wash has stopped bubbling, give it one more day and rack off into another container, leave for another 24 hours before you distill. You will not get most washes to clear to transparent, the all look opaque, but racking twice will remove any solids or excess remaining yeast in the wash.

Look for quality, not quantity.

OD

[vicrider]

+1 what OD said. V

[rad14701]

+1 on what the others said...

Additionally, if your still was able to yield 90% with a turbo wash it should also be able to yield 90% with any other wash... It's not the recipe or %ABV of the wash that makes the difference, it's how you run the still... Granted, running a lower %ABV wash will have less volume of each cut, but they will also be cleaner... You just need to make minor adjustments to the distillation process and you should be able to get 90% or better depending on your equipment...