Going cloudy when diluting

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Sat May 05, 2018 10:55 am

Hey guys.
I did a stripping run, then a very very slow spirit run. 6 hours on 20L.
I caught distillate from 88% all the way down to 60%
24 x 350ml jars from the spirit run.
I did max reflux most of the time.
So as a test, i added about an ounce or 30ml to a glass of sprite and ice to test my hard work.
It went white and cloudy.
I took the sample from the number 2 jar. So there is no tails in it.
What can cause it?
If i sip it neat, it as as smooth and clean as can be. Even at 88%
But the moment i dilute, the appearance change.
Do i run it a third time?

Recipe is very basic. A south african fruit called marula. Bought it as a pulp from a local juice maker company. It is very low in sugar, so added some inverted sugar to get the wine to 10%.
Did a stripping run, of which the last 2 or so bottles was cloudy.
After today’s spirit run, it was perfectly clear while neat.

Post by **underdog** » Sat May 05, 2018 11:47 am

I had something similar happen to me last week. I had some high-test neutral that had been stored for a year or so. We were having a party and the missus said that were out of vodka. Well, crap, I can fix that.

Got out the hydrometer and the jug of distilled water and watered some neutral down from 95% to 40%. I put it in a clear glass bottle. It was cloudy! Not really cloudy, but ugly enough that my guests weren't going to see it.

Scratched my head for a few minutes and got out a new, sealed jug of distilled water (the other one had been opened for a couple of months.) Mixed a test sample down to 40% and it looked good. Ended up mixing up a bottle of it and set it in the bar area - clear as water.

Does distilled water go bad? I've got 1.75 liters of cloudy neutral that says it does.

StillerBoy · Post by **StillerBoy** » Sat May 05, 2018 11:49 am

CraftyZA wrote:I did a stripping run, then a very very slow spirit run. 6 hours on 20L.

CraftyZA wrote:I did max reflux most of the time.

What did you use for your spirit run, pot still or what setup for refluxing..

CraftyZA wrote:I took the sample from the number 2 jar. So there is no tails in it.

Yah is has no tails, but it has heads.. heads from some brandy will cloudy the spirit.. reduced it to the abv you want, stir it well, and let it settle in a cool place for a few days, then rack it..

Mars

Post by **Swedish Pride** » Sat May 05, 2018 12:07 pm

It's something about protein of what not.
to fix it, keep your booze ove 46% or chill filter, or drink out of dark glasses

Beerbrewer · Post by **Beerbrewer** » Sat May 05, 2018 12:10 pm

I'm getting the same problem, I have a chalky substance that goes out of solution when I cut with my normal tap water, I thought that may be calcium carbonate coming out?

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Sat May 05, 2018 6:50 pm

StillerBoy wrote:
CraftyZA wrote:I did a stripping run, then a very very slow spirit run. 6 hours on 20L.

CraftyZA wrote:I did max reflux most of the time.
What did you use for your spirit run, pot still or what setup for refluxing..

It is a 4” column still. For the stripping run, i removed all the packing, and left the reflux tap wide open, and ran it as fast as the tiny 0.5” liebig could support. For the spirit run i repacked the column, and had the reflux open a quarter turn.

StillerBoy wrote:
CraftyZA wrote:I took the sample from the number 2 jar. So there is no tails in it.
Yah is has no tails, but it has heads.. heads from some brandy will cloudy the spirit.. reduced it to the abv you want, stir it well, and let it settle in a cool place for a few days, then rack it..

Mars

This gives me hope. Will test some jars higher up in the process.

The idea is to do cuts, then dilute to 60 then leave it on american oak cubes for 10 days. We are in autumn now so temperature fluctuates from 6 in the morning to 25 in the afternoon. Perfect for quick aging.
After 10 days I will bring it down to 40-43

Post by **HDNB** » Sun May 06, 2018 6:10 am

like swedish sez, 46 % is the magic number. if it goes cloudy below that you have lipids (plant fats) in the distillate. it can easily be through the whole run, left in the packing from stripping, it pushes through with spirit run.

carries flavour so whatever doesn't get stuck in your teeth, the liver will filter.

you can either clean the packing before running or reflux at 100% for 30-60 mins to wash it down to the boiler.

Developing Flavor Profiles · Post by **Single Malt Yinzer** » Sun May 06, 2018 6:35 am

Warm it up. If it clears when warm then it's chill haze. It can happen at room temp if you have enough oils in there. Normally it comes from the tails other things can cause oils to express anywhere in the run.

https://homedistiller.org/wiki/index.php/index.ph ... _Filtering" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Mon May 07, 2018 7:33 am

Just an update:
Did a sample in the middle, and it was crystal clear even after diluting with tap water. Just a spoon full in 2 spoons of water.

esxman · Post by **esxman** » Mon May 07, 2018 9:19 am

If your distillate is carrying any essential oils through the still , as you dilute down past 47%abv'ish , the oils precipitate out , (this effect is wanted with Perod, Pastis, Absinthe, ouzo ). These products are made by infusing the neutral alcohol with anise,cinnamon,orange,lemon and then re-distilling , in fact even apricot brandy distillate will louche . Your oils may be present early and late in the run . If you are aiming for a 40% product , water it down and around 47% it will start to go milky, if you add some neutral , from say a sugar wash at around 40% , the louche will clear like magic as the drops go in, because you are diluting the amount of oils to alcohol . You could even colour it and call it Amarula cream , my wifes favourite tipple!

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Tue May 08, 2018 11:34 am

So I did my cuts a bit different.
I started in the middle and moved outwards. I’ve got 4.5L of seriously premium cuts with tons of flavour, and smooth as a baby’s bottom.
Does not go cloudy at all.

Next, i will dilute the rest, then filter it. Once it stops going milky, i will blend it with the good stuff. Keeping 1L of the good stuff for my self along with my fancy drink collections.

A lot of info here was spot on. The cloudiness came from the 1st 9 bottles out of 25

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Tue May 08, 2018 11:41 am

esxman wrote:You could even colour it and call it Amarula cream , my wifes favourite tipple!

I’s doing something like that. Got emulsifier, and going to mix 1 tin evaporated milk, 1 tin sweetened condensed milk, and marula distillate to 25% total abv. Should end up with something very close to the real thing.

Where are you from? Essex UK?

esxman · Post by **esxman** » Wed May 09, 2018 4:35 am

Yes , until I ran away to Greece ! retired here in Crete , so many grapevines , mulberries,figs ,apricots .Really spoilt for choice on what to do next .Working on Rum and Whiskey now , did awesome Gins , all from a modest pot still.

CraftyZA · Post by **CraftyZA** » Wed May 09, 2018 8:24 pm

esxman wrote:Yes , until I ran away to Greece ! retired here in Crete , so many grapevines , mulberries,figs ,apricots .Really spoilt for choice on what to do next .Working on Rum and Whiskey now , did awesome Gins , all from a modest pot still.

Figs would be awesome to try. It’s on my todo list. Unfortunately, i will have to pay retail price for figs, and they tend to be quite expensive.
The fig tree that i planted this year is still going to be a few years before it is ready

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