Filtering?

[mollica713]

I just finished my first run of distilling ever!!! Very exciting. I had some post distilling questions for you guys. I ran a sugar wash. Basically boiled some malt and sugar. Nothing too fancy. I was wondering if you guys would recommend filtering my spirit? And if you do how so? I've heard answers ranging from charcoal, carbon, coffee filters, Brita, etc. I would like it to be something I could make myself and won't be too expensive as I am a poor kid right out of college. Thanks for the help.

[frozenthunderbolt]

If you have made reasonable cuts you should not need to filter it.

If you must filter it you are better off dumping it back in the still, cut to 40% or below with water and running it again.

If you are dead set on filtering it regardless, DONT use a britta filter. Make a z filter out of all copper (no plastics or synthetics) and buy spirit grade activated charcoal (or make your own charcoal from a sutible wood for flavouring)

You can run it through a coffee filter but it won't (shouldn't have to) do anything unless it is a macceration (booze that has sat on something to flavour it i.e. fruits)

If you carbon filter you WILL need to run through a coffee filter, possibly multiple time to remove fine carbon from the hooch (more unneccessary work).

An example:
1. I have just made vodka using the Birdwatcher recipie in the tried and true section.
2. I stripped the alcohol out of 40 L of wash in two runs (about a gallon).
3. Next i diluted it with water to less than 40% and ran it again and made 'cuts' - collecting in 200-400ml lots in numbered jars.
4. I chose the best jars from the middle and set them asside as 'hearts' - i could dilute and drink these (but will actualy run them a third time once i have repeated this whole process on another 40L of wash)
5. The 'fores' (first 400ml) i'll keep as fire lighter
6. the jars 1-3 and 8-12 are the somewhat funky 'feints' which still contain some good hooch but are contaminated with other (naturally occuring) fermentation by-products, I'll either add the feints to my next run, or, more likely, save up several batches of them and re-run them separately keeping a smaller 'heart' than i would on a standard 'spirit run' (2nd or 3rd re-distillation in which cuts are made). Any 'feints' from an 'all-feints' run will be fire lighter, not reused later.

Basicaly, filtering because your spirit tastes bad is either a problem with your recipie (too much sugar and turbo yeast typically), a problem with your equiptment (no saccrificial runs done), or a problem with your process (running too hot, wash not cleared or 101 other things).

Pop on over to the "new distiller reading lounge" and have a scout about, then try a tried and true recipie

[mollica713]

Thanks for the help. I am going to do an second distillation on my product. I used pint mason jars to collect my alcohol. Should I use all of my product or should I leave off the first and last mason jar?

[Prairiepiss]

You should take a little time an read up on making cuts.

[woodshed]

No need to filter. Much need in heeding the posts ahead of mine. Research. It's all here. No better source around IMO.