Candle filter cartridges

[Juniper]

Does anyone has ever used these kind of filters for (cold) filtering spirits before botteling? I know they are widely used in the food industry but I'm not sure for spirits. I'd like to know what kind of filter material to use to remove solids and cloudiness from whisky.

Thanks

[EricTheRed]

are those not water filters? No sure they would help with the cloudiness.

what are the solids and cloud from?
redistilling perhaps is needed

[NormandieStill]

I think most of those cartridges are going to have a large amount of plastic in them. If you can get the solids to settle out, then siphon the liquid off the top. Shame to make tasty whisky at home and then filter the flavour out of it.

[still_stirrin]

I use coffee filters to remove sediment such as charcoal from my oak aged whiskey. If one pass doesn’t get it all, a second filter will.

But, the clouds are oils and are sometimes difficult to remove. Chilling in the fridge overnight and then filtering helps. And it too may take a couple of passes.
ss

[Juniper]

I know AC can be used to remove the clouds and oils but I don't really want to use that because it takes too much flavor out and it leaves a black sediment. I usually dilute to 46% ABV and after some time the spirit becomes unclear. I want to take out just enough to make a clear spirit. Coffee filters are not really an option because of the total volume.

[EricTheRed]

bottle at higher proof! the oils will not be visible

[still_stirrin]

… I'd like to know what kind of filter material to use to remove solids and cloudiness from whisky…

I answered this question for you already. Sorry if you don’t “like” the answer, but I did give an answer.

… I know AC can be used to remove the clouds and oils but I don't really want to use that because it takes too much flavor out and it leaves a black sediment…

I usually dilute to 46% ABV and after some time the spirit becomes unclear. I want to take out just enough to make a clear spirit.

It has been suggested already to keep the bottle proof higher if you don’t like the clouds forming in your spirits.

… Coffee filters are not really an option because of the total volume.

Why is this so?

[Juniper]

… I'd like to know what kind of filter material to use to remove solids and cloudiness from whisky…

I answered this question for you already. Sorry if you don’t “like” the answer, but I did give an answer.

… I know AC can be used to remove the clouds and oils but I don't really want to use that because it takes too much flavor out and it leaves a black sediment…

I usually dilute to 46% ABV and after some time the spirit becomes unclear. I want to take out just enough to make a clear spirit.

It has been suggested already to keep the bottle proof higher if you don’t like the clouds forming in your spirits.

I guess higher ABV is the easiest way to go then.

… Coffee filters are not really an option because of the total volume. Why is this so?

I have about 20 gallons of spirit, it would take a lot of time to filter it drip by drip without a pump. I don't have good experiences with coffee filters. I've done some research and found some PTFE cartridges that are suitable for strong acids/bases and even solvents, I suppose they would do the job for spirits too. Just wondering if anyone has ever used them.

Thanks for the replies

[EricTheRed]

But if the holder for said filter is plastic.......

[Stonecutter]

Take your riser/column strap some filters to the bottom and filter into your vessel. That way you can move more volume. Or if you can’t remove your riser then purchase a sanitary spool or make your own big funnel.

[still_stirrin]

Juniper,

If you truly have 20 gallons of messy, cloudy spirit, then I suspect you haven’t done a very good job at making cuts nor properly aging the spirits. If your whiskey is cloudy coming OUT of the cask, then what you put INTO it was poorly made. Typically, the wood will absorb the oils so you shouldn’t have them coming out unless you’ve prematurely emptied the cask or worse, tried to add something to “improve” the product.

Coffee filters will pull wood chips and other solids from the spirits as you empty your cask. You shouldn’t need activated charcoal to filter the product out of a cask. In fact, I don’t advocate for activated charcoal at all unless you’re at the very top of the purity scale and trying to eliminate all perceptible flavors when making a neutral.

And with 20 gallons to deal with, I suspect you’ve disregarded the important processes all along the way to get to that much bad liquor you need to “salvage”. Most of us hobbiests would have perfected our processes with only a gallon or two of product … long before that much was produced. Ain’t no “Moonshiners” here!

As for your attempts at pumping through fiber filters, I can’t comment simply because I haven’t had to do it. I focus on the quality of my spirits instead of the quantity.

Good luck in your ventures.
ss

[Ben]

Is this single pot distilled?

[jonnys_spirit]

Is this single pot distilled?

This was what I was going to ask.

20 gallons of double distilled cut spirit (clean and clear) would take me quite a while to make (estimating approx 350 gallons mash and 700# grain total) compared to 20 gallons of single run low wines (cloudy strip @ approx 75 gallons mash 150# grains total)..

Can you let us know a little more about the recipe and distillation processes you have taken and any aging/oaking you may have done?

Cheers,
j

[Juniper]

In my opinion I didn't do anything wrong with making cuts or ageing. The spirit aged on a 50 liter new french oak barrel for about 1 year. It smells and tastes good and even looks clear at 65 ABV, it just turns cloudy after dilution to 46 ABV after some weeks in the bottle. Most of the spirit is still on oak, I took out only 1 bottle of spirit to check for cloudiness after dilution. Leaving it longer on this barrel is not really an option since the high amount of tannins in the barrel would ruin it then. Barrel is going to be reused later.

Recipe is according to Jimbo's single malt recipe.

The spirit was twice copper pot distilled with a descending swan neck ( I believe this contributies to more carry over of oils). This pot still gives a lot of flavour but sometimes a little too much so the spirit will precipitate at lower ABV's.

With 20 gallons I was referring to the amount of finished product.

[hawkwing]

If it’s cloudy at 46% you almost certainly kept too deep into the tails. I assume it tastes like it too?

About reusing the barrel it might contaminate anything you put into it. I don’t know for sure what soaks into the barrel or if you could soak most of it out. I just think if the description of swish and how bad it was described. Perhaps a re-char might fix that and be good insurance.

[Juniper]

If it’s cloudy at 46% you almost certainly kept too deep into the tails. I assume it tastes like it too?

About reusing the barrel it might contaminate anything you put into it. I don’t know for sure what soaks into the barrel or if you could soak most of it out. I just think if the description of swish and how bad it was described. Perhaps a re-char might fix that and be good insurance.

I don't agree with that. Cloudiness in a spirit is very dependant on the kind of still you use. I use a pot still, not a column. Low yield but lots of flavour. Nothing wrong with the flavour in my spirit.

For the barrel, yes it's "contaminated" but with the good stuff. I will propably reuse it for rum, no need to clean or rechar it.

[hawkwing]

If it’s cloudy at 46% you almost certainly kept too deep into the tails. I assume it tastes like it too?

About reusing the barrel it might contaminate anything you put into it. I don’t know for sure what soaks into the barrel or if you could soak most of it out. I just think if the description of swish and how bad it was described. Perhaps a re-char might fix that and be good insurance.

I don't agree with that. Cloudiness in a spirit is very dependant on the kind of still you use. I use a pot still, not a column. Low yield but lots of flavour. Nothing wrong with the flavour in my spirit.

For the barrel, yes it's "contaminated" but with the good stuff. I will propably reuse it for rum, no need to clean or rechar it.

Cloudiness is not dependent on the type of still but more on how you use them. Clear spirits are made with pot stills.

[hellbilly007]

As suggested earlier, chill filtering will help you get a better appearance of your product at the cost of some flavor. Regardless of method there's going to be quite a bit of time involved with 20 gallons of product.

No clue what micron size would be needed but there is PTFE/SS tri clamp filters. There's also PTFE filter paper but all that I found was a bit costly

[hawkwing]

If it’s cloudy at 46% you almost certainly kept too deep into the tails. I assume it tastes like it too?

About reusing the barrel it might contaminate anything you put into it. I don’t know for sure what soaks into the barrel or if you could soak most of it out. I just think if the description of swish and how bad it was described. Perhaps a re-char might fix that and be good insurance.

I don't agree with that. Cloudiness in a spirit is very dependant on the kind of still you use. I use a pot still, not a column. Low yield but lots of flavour. Nothing wrong with the flavour in my spirit.

For the barrel, yes it's "contaminated" but with the good stuff. I will propably reuse it for rum, no need to clean or rechar it.

We’ll what’s important is that you like it. I’ve never enjoyed anything cloudy but then again I don’t like my spirits too grungy. I did have to search it up and the cold filtering process was new information for me. No idea what media you could use to filter and not remove too much. Good luck!

[jonnys_spirit]

If it’s cloudy at 46% you almost certainly kept too deep into the tails. I assume it tastes like it too?

About reusing the barrel it might contaminate anything you put into it. I don’t know for sure what soaks into the barrel or if you could soak most of it out. I just think if the description of swish and how bad it was described. Perhaps a re-char might fix that and be good insurance.

I don't agree with that. Cloudiness in a spirit is very dependant on the kind of still you use. I use a pot still, not a column. Low yield but lots of flavour. Nothing wrong with the flavour in my spirit.

For the barrel, yes it's "contaminated" but with the good stuff. I will propably reuse it for rum, no need to clean or rechar it.

Cloudiness is not dependent on the type of still but more on how you use them. Clear spirits are made with pot stills.

I've run a pot still for years now and only get cloudy product when I'm well into the tails and that's been very consistent except with product I might expect to louche as ABV drops like maybe a Gin, an Anise spirit, or something similar..

Cheers!
-j