Bad smell gone after ozone, but is it drinkable ?

[fruit fly]

I didn't had the time to distill my sugar wash, so I left it for 2 month while it was already fermented.
It didn't smell nice but I distilled anyway.
But boy, what a horrible smell there was after distilling, it smells like a sewer (poo), the whole room smells like it.
I decided to clear it with a high power ozone machine, after half an hour the smell was almost gone.
Now after leaving it in my cellar for two month the smell is completely gone.

But my question is, is it save to drink after I do a spirit run ?

[Hambone]

Was your still clean?

[fruit fly]

Yes, I always clean my still before use.

The smell must be from the rotting yeast I think.

[Hambone]

It’s probably safe. If not tasty just re run it.

[StillerBoy]

I didn't had the time to distill my sugar wash, so I left it for 2 month while it was already fermented.

When a wash is finished fermenting, and you're not going to process right away, it should be racked off the lee/trub (bottom sediment).. then it can kept for a few month with no issues..

As to drinking it, try some and see what the taste is.. might be surprised..

Mars

[fruit fly]

Why can I keep racked off sugar wash OK for a few month, and when I open a bottle of wine a few days later it's too bad to drink, what is the difference between sugar wash and wine in this case ?

[StillerBoy]

Wine and spirit are different animals.. in a sugar wash, one is only interested in the alcohol content.. with wine it's the whole liquid content..

Also, oxygen is the enemy in wine.. it is not for spirit.. that why the process of making wine after the fermentation phase, is done under air lock and no space.. the same thing in bottling wine, the least amount exposed to air and also under the cork, the longer it will keep and better it will be, as wine never stops fermenting..

Open a bottle wine and emidately it start to change because of the oxygen hitting it..

Mars

[Tummydoc]

Was there copper in your vapor path? If all stainless, you may get a lot of sulfur smells from a sugar wash.

[Saltbush Bill]

Thinkin Tummy is thinkin .

[fruit fly]

Very good information Mars thanks.

There was no copper in the path, because it was as stripping run with my pot still.

In my reflux still there is a lot of copper,
but my question was,
even when it smells extreme terrible,
and I could clean it well with ozone,
is it not harmful to drink it ?
could it be possible that the ozone transformed the smelly stuff into a harmful drink ?

[jonnys_spirit]

Strip runs are usually pretty nasty and not really intended for drinking. It cleans up a lot on the spirit run and after cuts or blending of the collected fractions. Not sure about ozone and haven't read about it's use around here yet so can't personally recommend using it. Why did you use it to treat the product? Is that a protocol you read about somewhere?

There is a method in wine making where you do bulk age the wine "on the lee's" or on the sediment. You do rack off the gross lees after AF then leave it on the fine lee's (stirring it regularly and keeping the sediment in suspension) for perhaps months before then clearing - This contributes beneficial body and flavor. In most cases you'd want to rack your ferment off the yeast sediment as it's finishing fermentation and clear it before distilling.

Different bacterial infections have different smells so it could be an infection. Was there any mold or pellicle growth? Was it stored topped up with an air lock or open to the atmosphere?

Which recipe did you follow?

Cheers,
jonny

[Twisted Brick]

There was no copper in the path, because it was as stripping run with my pot still.

Yes, your question centered on drinkability/safety of your product, but your process needs some 'cleaning up'.

Copper's biggest effect on cleaning up spirits is on the descending path from the wash still. Second biggest is the boiler of a spirit run.

Not all of us run copper boilers and copper condensers. but I think if you switch to a copper pot still riser or introduce some copper into your stripping vapor path your spirit will improve (aSSuming you don't run a copper condenser).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epd ... .tb00450.x

[fruit fly]

The wash looked clear, there was no mold or pellicle growth, it was stored topped up with an air lock.
It was only a long time in my fermenter without racking off the yeast. I wasn't attended to drink it after a striprun,
I only wanted to know if it is save to do a spirit run with copper, and then drink it. I was only worried about the
extreme smell I got from the strip run.
I use ozone for my vodka, I like the clear taste after I use it.
Many vodka producers use ozone these days.
And yes I use a lot of copper in my reflux still, but not in my potstil for stripping runs.
https://www.stumbras.lt/en/drink/ozone-vodka/

[jonnys_spirit]

Do you have any other references to ozone use? That one looks like a brand name. I didn't see anything about actually using ozone.

Which recipe/materials did you use for your sugar wash? That certainly has an impact on the product. You should be able to get it exceptionally clean with a good clean ferment and cuts prior to introducing any other process.

Cheers,
jonny

[fruit fly]

My recipe:

90 liter water
16.5 kg sugar
30 gram DAP
1 multivitamine
Epson salt 5 tsp
75 gram baker's yeast
320 gram tomato paste
PH is 3.0 after 4 days

https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/ ... /26251049/
https://www.oxidationtech.com/blog/vodk ... ced-ozone/

[OtisT]

Fruit fly, I’ve not done the math but that looks like a whole lot of nutrients for that wash, and too much nutrients can cause some off smells.

Just a suggestion, but try a sugar wash recipe from the tried & true section of HD, and don’t deviate from the recipe until you have success with that recipe. Shady’s sugar shine is my favorite, but there are other solid recipes up there too.

Best of luck. Otis

[Odin]

Ozone oxidized excessive heads.

It's fine to drink.

Next time ferment at lower temps or use a higher temp tolerance yeast.

That's my 3 cents on it.

Odin.

[Betljooce]

Did you taste the wash by chance?

If you did, did it taste like burnt rubber?

I don't know that I have even heard of a wash smelling like sewer poo before

[OtisT]

I don't know that I have even heard of a wash smelling like sewer poo before

Check out some of the infected dunder threads. Some smelly stuff there, and definitely discussion of poo smells.

Otis

[Betljooce]

I don't know that I have even heard of a wash smelling like sewer poo before

Check out some of the infected dunder threads. Some smelly stuff there, and definitely discussion of poo smells.

Otis

Cool, ok, I might do that.