New Distiller Here

[jmashspirits14]

I did read it, and are aware of most if the causes if blue distillate, I was just asking if one vinegar run along with a sacrifice run would take care of it. I am however going to keep running half vinegar and half water until it runs clear before I run any alcohol. I also will not run beer if there is a potential for problems no matter how slight. I don't mind debates on my thread, i've learned a lot about bonsai on bonsai forums from arguments, disagreements, and debates. I welcome it as long as it doesn't get threatening or disrespectful. I appreciate you all!

[jmashspirits14]

I did quite a few searches and couldn't find an answer to this question. Can I use the alcohol from my sacrifice run in my doubler or do I just use water for my first run and save the tails after that for my doubler?

[MoonBreath]

Toss everything from the sac run ...Hot rinse inside still ..
You can use water, fresh wash, or feints (tails) to charge thumper.
Water will produce a lower final abv .

[jmashspirits14]

I know it, that's why I was hoping the tails from my sac run could be used in the Thumper. I won't do it though. For anyone interested I did my second vinegar/water run and I did half the run as steam and the other half with the worm cooled and there is no more blue distillate. It started coming out blue again but by half way through the run it cleared. I'm going to run water now then i'm going to sacrifice one quarter of my mash to the angels. I don't age spirits so the devil won't be getting any! Lol. I have zero leaks which i'm happy about and its easy to set up and tear down. How many here say its ok to use tap water for distilling if its boiled first and let set to evap the chlorine off and how many say no? I read if the water is safe for drinking its safe for making mash and distilling?

[ttree68]

Evening, I'm new to distilling but have brewed beer for 5 or 6 years. I'm a high school science teacher so I appreciate the chemistry behind the mash. A good buddy of mine is getting into the whiskey business, got all the licensing etc and I've been helping him work out his recipe for the mash since I've brewed some beer. We're working on a 100% corn recipe using enzymes. We've done 5 mashes so far and have been stuck with OGs of 1.030-1.039. 72# corn and 32 gal water. I've joined this forum to read up and research what folks are doing and what fixes they are exploring and to ask a few questions where I just can't find direct info for what we're aiming to accomplish. I very much appreciate the community here that is open and happy to share information with likeminded folk. Any pointers for what threads to read for corn mashes is welcomed. Many thanks.

[jmashspirits14]

Hey, what if use a little 80 proof clear rum or vodka in my Thumper just for my first run, will it cause my shine to taste like rum or vodka? Vodka really doesn't have a taste though.

[MoonBreath]

Always boil your tap water ..Chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals stymie yeast.
Remember to always aerate boiled water as boiling removes all oxygen in the water.
Yeast need oxygen..

You can use what you prefer in your thump ..Yes, anything you put in the thumper will have a direct effect on everything ..Flavor included.

[jmashspirits14]

Using a fish tank air pump and new fish tank tubing and styling a hole just big enough for the tube to fit tight just like the tube for my air lock and running the pump for about an hour once a day would provide plenty of oxygen for the yeast wouldn't it? Pouring the water back and forth between buckets will airate the water but that little bit of oxygen would fairly quickly dissipate with the escape of carbon dioxide right? Airating with a pump once a day would ensure oxygen in the mash at all times. I wonder if it would contaminate the mash? It would be air right though other than the air in from the pump and carbon out. The air lock would constantly bubble when the pump us on but the pump would only run a half hour to an hour once a day.

[moosemilk]

Regarding tap water: I am fortunate that the tap water in my city is rated at some of the best in the country. I've never had problems with ferments. It depends on your water quality. A few others here also have good enough city water.

As for aeration,i wouldn't worry about putting a bubbler in there unless it's a larger ferment. I've done 15 gallons without aeration many times. Dumping back and forth, especially in smaller five gallon pails, should work. Or get a paint mixer on a drill.

[cranky]

I don't bother boiling my tap water and have never had a problem, On the rare days it smells a bit like chlorine I won't use it, I just wait a few days just in case. I do invert my sugar though and aerate at the beginning, you don't want to aerate after that because you want the yeast to be in an anaerobic state after multiplying.

[cranky]

Evening, I'm new to distilling but have brewed beer for 5 or 6 years. I'm a high school science teacher so I appreciate the chemistry behind the mash. A good buddy of mine is getting into the whiskey business, got all the licensing etc and I've been helping him work out his recipe for the mash since I've brewed some beer. We're working on a 100% corn recipe using enzymes. We've done 5 mashes so far and have been stuck with OGs of 1.030-1.039. 72# corn and 32 gal water. I've joined this forum to read up and research what folks are doing and what fixes they are exploring and to ask a few questions where I just can't find direct info for what we're aiming to accomplish. I very much appreciate the community here that is open and happy to share information with likeminded folk. Any pointers for what threads to read for corn mashes is welcomed. Many thanks.

Welcome to HD ttree68, I don't do grains at the moment and avoid corn as a rule due to my pure dislike of GMOs but I would like to suggest you start an introduction thread in the welcome section, tell us a little about yourself like you just did and ask in that thread and you will probably get the guidance you are seeking.

[Bedico Lightning]

running the pump for about an hour once a day .

Having asthma I use my nebulizer to pump air into my wash.
but just for about a 1/2 hour the 1st 2 days.
After the yeast gets a good start, it's no longer needed

[HDNB]

running the pump for about an hour once a day .

Having asthma I use my nebulizer to pump air into my wash.
but just for about a 1/2 hour the 1st 2 days.
After the yeast gets a good start, it's no longer needed

does that help the asthma?

[Truckinbutch]

Prolly not , HDNB . Just another way to slow down the train . I've got black lung /COPD . Coal companies are the biggest supporters of COPD because they only have to pay comp for black lung . Lots of folks with first stages of Black Lung are diagnosed by doctors in the coal fields as suffering from asthma .

[Bedico Lightning]

does that help the asthma?

So, you think asthma something to laugh about?
I hope you never have to find out you , or some family member can't breath.

[moosemilk]

does that help the asthma?

So, you think asthma something to laugh about?
I hope you never have to find out you , or some family member can't breath.

Relax, Bedico. I don't think he was making fun of asthma at all. More along the lines of making light of using your equipment to aerate. Let's not start a war. I would have laughed had he made a comment if I said I used my CPAP for aerating....unfortunately that damn alarm would keep going off whenever the yeast stop breathing! lol

[jmashspirits14]

Got a problem! What's new huh? Lol. I made a real grain mash last night. 80% corn/20% wheat, cooked the grain 190f for 1.5hrs and the starches got so thick and snotty it was unreal, dropped temp to 150f added malt and held temp for about an hour, kept checking starches until converted, added sugar and desolved, took a gravity reading at 60f and came out at 1.090. Why, and will this be a problem? I added my activated yeast at 85f and its fermenting. Why the jacked up gravity? P.H.? Didn't check it, had no way to check it.

[Kegg_jam]

Got a problem! What's new huh? Lol. I made a real grain mash last night. 80% corn/20% wheat, cooked the grain 190f for 1.5hrs and the starches got so thick and snotty it was unreal, dropped temp to 150f added malt and held temp for about an hour, kept checking starches until converted, added sugar and desolved, took a gravity reading at 60f and came out at 1.090. Why, and will this be a problem? I added my activated yeast at 85f and its fermenting. Why the jacked up gravity? P.H.? Didn't check it, had no way to check it.

Just guessing here, but how much sugar and why did you add it?

[moosemilk]

Cringing at the thought of adding sugar to a perfectly good AG!

[MichiganCornhusker]

Got a problem! What's new huh? Lol. I made a real grain mash last night. 80% corn/20% wheat, cooked the grain 190f for 1.5hrs and the starches got so thick and snotty it was unreal, dropped temp to 150f added malt and held temp for about an hour, kept checking starches until converted, added sugar and desolved, took a gravity reading at 60f and came out at 1.090. Why, and will this be a problem? I added my activated yeast at 85f and its fermenting. Why the jacked up gravity? P.H.? Didn't check it, had no way to check it.

Dude. Slow down, read.

[HDNB]

does that help the asthma?

So, you think asthma something to laugh about?
I hope you never have to find out you , or some family member can't breath.

chill, Bill. like Moosemilk said...it was the choice of equipment that was amusing.
both me and my daughter have asthma. spent many nights in ER getting breathing restarted. i agree not much fun. Laughter is the best medicine (helps to have an inhaler nearby if it's really funny.)
Watched the old man die of LC, thats the worst kind of asthma imo.
nobody gets out of this alive...but i hope to go with a smile.

sorry OP, didn't mean to derail your welcome. at 4 pages you're setting records! as for the high OG, i'm sure if you converted all the starch and then added even more sugar...well, there's your answer!

[thatguy1313]

You created sugars when you converted the starches and then added more sugars. SG is a reading of how much sugar is in the mash. Sugar+sugar=high SG. No more spoon feeding. You clearly don't understand basic theories and processes. Please read all the links contained in the thread in my signature before running that mash.

[MichiganCornhusker]

[Bedico Lightning]

does that help the asthma?

So, you think asthma something to laugh about?
I hope you never have to find out you , or some family member can't breath.

chill, Bill. like Moosemilk said...it was the choice of equipment that was amusing.
both me and my daughter have asthma. spent many nights in ER getting breathing restarted. i agree not much fun. Laughter is the best medicine (helps to have an inhaler nearby if it's really funny.)
Watched the old man die of LC, thats the worst kind of asthma imo.
nobody gets out of this alive...but i hope to go with a smile.!

Sorry HDNB, tough subject for me to laugh about.
I guess it's because I end up giving half of my meds to my mother.(very hard to watch mom struggling to breath, as you do know)
Just lucky I get mine from the VA......

sorry OP, didn't mean to derail your welcome. at 4 pages you're setting records! as for the high OG, i'm sure if you converted all the starch and then added even more sugar...well, there's your answer!

I thought the guy should be excommunicated when he added sugar to an AG.
(my attempt at humor)

[jmashspirits14]

I added the sugar because I didn't think the starches alone would produce enough sugar to get at least a 9.9 abv. When I tasted the mash after my last iodine test and before adding the sugar it was just a faint taste of sweet. The wash I made I used 7lb of sugar for a 9.9% abv and I figured in this mash the starches might provide a couple pounds worth of sugar but surely not 7lb. Wrong again! You all are probably going to freak out but I added 5 lb of sugar to this mash. So 4 hours worth of work and I ruined it! I'm going to run my original wash tonight for my sac run so I sanitize that bucket and make another mash and not add sugar. I have seen several recipes where people added sugar to thier mash, clearly they were mistaken as I. Even with all that sugar I could never get over a 14% abv because I use red star active dry yeast, 2 packs. Oh 5 gal, my mash will always be made in 5 gallons.

[cranky]

If you are happy with it, it doesn't matter what others think. That said it is largely considered that an all grain mash retains more flavor and is much smoother than one with sugar in it even though they tend to produce a lower ABV wash. The other consideration is that if you put all the effort to do the mashing it is kind of a waste to add sugar when you can achieve largely the same results by ding a UJSSM type wash.

[jmashspirits14]

But in my mind a sugar wash wouldn't have the flavor an AG would have, is that right? I know most people do sugar washes but why, wouldn't a genuine mash produce a better smoother wikkey? By the way I use a little wheat with my corn because I read that wheat makes a smooth flavor. I'm trying to read everything and I will, I just don't have the time to sit and read it all at once. I wish I could but we are talking about A LOT of reading, which I don't mind doing because I wasn't to learn right but I also want to have something to do as I learn. I can't really work on my trees because they are all dormant except for a hand full of tropicals in my grow room but everything is done that can be done at this time. Also I want to make some drink, lol. I do appreciate some peoples firmness with the learning. I can take criticism well. When your an artist for a living you learn to accept criticism and use it as a tool to learn. If anyone would like to trade distilling education for bonsai education I would be more than obliged and I study under a world famous artist so I promise my methods are sound.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Lol, I will admit, I do admire your enthusiasm, Jmash. You did break my heart a little when you dumped that bag of sugar into that perfectly good all-grain, but it will still make a pretty good spirit. You can learn by experimenting with your own recipes, but it will be a lot more miss than hit if you don't research Tried & True versions of what you would like to make. You can learn a ton simply by reading the Tried & True threads. The trouble with learn-by-doing is getting into an unsafe situation without even knowing it. It can happen very quickly and have dire consequences. Enjoy your journey, enjoy your spirits, but, please be careful!

[Bigbob]

+1 MichiganCornhusker! (Awesome Video, need that on here!) jmashspirits14, you need to slow down. As Michigan said try out a tried and true. Either the sweet feed or the uncle jesses sour mash will make a good drop and both are super simple. You just need to sllllooowwww down.

[T-Pee]

I know most people do sugar washes but why...

Because it's a helluva lot easier than an AG, it's still a helluva lot better than anything store bought and my friends, family and I enjoy it.

But you don't really want to go down that road with me, do you?

tp