Metallic Taste

[SideJob]

The product has a metallic off taste. The pot is a 16 gallon beer keg and the top is a valved internal reflux. Any thoughts? It has had about 5-6 batches through.

[rhumbum]

Is it definately SS? Some beer kegs are aluminium...

[jholmz]

do you have any packing in it ? if so could be the packing is not exactlty as advertised might be copper clad or if supposed to be stainless might be plated check that out and let us know. could you post a pic maybe we can see something in it

[SideJob]

Will get a photo up. I am sure it is ss. Had to be weled with a tig welder. I just wonder if there is a rubber or plastic linner in the keg. The packing is racine rings. It filters through activated charcoal.

[gleamingthecube]

You may want to pack with copper mesh or scrubbers instead of the rashig rings. Copper will get rid of sulfides and such that can make the output taste funny. Not sure if that's a metallic kind of taste funny or not but for consumption you definitely need to have some kind of copper in there somewhere.

[1bottler]

beware of machining grade copper it contains sulphur

[SideJob]

The columb and everything above the keg is copper. It was not high grade copper, but looked clean will do a batch next week.

[Prairiepiss]

Copper is copper. Unless its copper plated. Then its not copper.

I doubt very seriously the keg is lined. And more then likely its stainless. If you had a fitting welded on it. I'm sure its stainless.

What recipe are you using? And what do you mean by its filtered through carbon? Right after its stilled? How is it done? And the big question. Are you making cuts? We need more info to give you an answer. And pics would be nice.

[Vicknair57]

Is it definately SS? Some beer kegs are aluminium...

I am pretty positive that this is not the case.

[Horses-n-Hooch]

Do ya have fillings in your teeth? Sometimes acidic compounds also organic esters and alcohols can react with the metal in older fillings or dental hardware and give off a metalic taste. Has someone else tasted it and also said the same thing? Just a left field thought.

[bellybuster]

Do ya have fillings in your teeth? Sometimes acidic compounds also organic esters and alcohols can react with the metal in older fillings or dental hardware and give off a metalic taste. Has someone else tasted it and also said the same thing? Just a left field thought.

that right there is a problem I've been dealing with for years, certain foods and even a few of our silverware give me this taste that no one else gets. Makes me want to pull my teeth out sometimes

[SideJob]

I am using lelvin e1116 yeast in 10lb corn meal, 10 lb sugar in 5 gall h2o with yeast nutrient. The dental filling thought is a good one i did not think of. When it comes out it drips through activated charcoal.

[Prairiepiss]

Why are you carbon filtering a corn wash faux whiskey?

And the corn meal will provide enough nutrients.

Didn't say if you were making cuts?

Cut the sugar back some. Leave the nutrients out. Stop carbon filtering it. And make better cuts. Or better yet go to the tried and true recipe section and use the UJSSM uncle Jesse simple sour mash recipe. Substitutes the corn meal for the cracked corn. And follow the rest of the recipe.

[SideJob]

Usually take first and last 10% off. I filter it thinking it will remove bad tastes. I will try your suggestions.

[Ayay]

Copper, with it's many compounds due to the stillin, does impart a metallic taste if not cleaned out to bare copper on occasion. Commercial stillers use an extended spray and flush of citric acid to convert the compounds and to carry them away.

Soaking a copper boiler in acid, and soaking in a base, changes the compounds but does not remove them from the surface. Either way the compounds must be removed by physically scrubbing with a stainless scrubber while flushing with water.

My new copper boiler does not allow scrubbing the inside between runs because the hole is only 2". I soak my high-proof product with 1 tablespoon of activated carbon per liter, after cuts, just to remove the metallic taste. I figure this is not much different to using an all-stainless still and soaking on carbon to remove the sulphur taste.

[SideJob]

I will try the citric acid to clean what i can reach. Prob wrong section, but if i were looking for a high proof alcohol refractometer where would i look? Any suggestions?

[LWTCS]

Yew doo a cleaning run prior?