Riesling wine smells great. Run smells ammonia

[Graw]

Made 12 gallons of Riesling wine. Turned out great smells and looks normal. Running it thru the pot still w thumper right now and it smells like ammonia. I’m on the 3rd quart jar and smell still there. It’s coming out at 142 proof which is right at what my still produces.
What could be the cause of the smell? Is this batch ruined? It is perfectly clear.

[jonnys_spirit]

Not too sure about ammonia but has the Riesling been treated with SO2 (aka potassium metabisulfite / KMETA / campden / sulphur)?

Cheers,
jonny

[Graw]

I’ll look up the ingredients for the wine kit. What would SO2 make it smell like?

[Graw]

Looks like potassium metabisulfite is in wine kits. Wasn’t thinking this thru I suppose. Should have left all that out huh? What will that do to the distillate??

[NZChris]

It smells like rotten eggs.

How much copper have you got in your still?

[Graw]

Stainless pot with 2” of copper tube about 4’ in length. 2 rolls of copper scrubbers. Copper tube into the thumper and copper Liebig condenser.
Think you’re right. Doesn’t smell like sulphur so much but it’s violent to the nose. About 6 jars in I can’t smell it anymore. Would the stuff that doesn’t smell be worth keeping or is it harmful?

[Ben]

Make your cuts like you would anything else. You can recycle the heads into another run. Let those jars breathe overnight before you make the cuts.

[still_stirrin]

… Doesn’t smell like sulphur so much but it’s violent to the nose. About 6 jars in I can’t smell it anymore.

Would the stuff that doesn’t smell be worth keeping or is it harmful?

It’s the “heads”.

In a fruit must, I would believe you’ll get a lot of ethyl acetate, the kind of stuff that smells like fingernail polish remover. Also, acetone and other ketones may be present, giving you a “solvent-like” sharp aroma when smelled. These volatile compounds may have a “spicy” character, but they will evaporate if you allow the collected spirit to “breathe” a day or 2.

When collecting on the spirit run, collect into a dozen or two of appropriately sized jars so you can make good cuts to eliminate the heads from your “keeper” jars. Have a good review of Kiwistiller’s Guide to Cuts to understand better.
ss

[Ben]

And no big deal if you have made an error. Just water the mess back down to 20 or 30% and run it again