I’m looking to do cleaning runs on both boilers and heads. I mixed up a 1/3 batch of Birdwatcher’s sugar wash figuring that would give me enough wash to do a couple sac runs with boilers about 1/2 full.
Followed the recipe and instructions (at 1/3 division) and got it to 1.09 SG for start. Thought I was doing ok, and set it in a small room with space heater, maintaining an average of about 27*C (80-81*F). Things fizzed along nicely, with that rich brewery smell and SG tests looked good for a day or two, but then my numbers started to drop pretty rapidly. I’m now at day 8, and there is still a little bit of action in the air locks, but my SG is way down into the beer range according to my hydrometer (around .40). It’s tasting pretty dry, but if I was going on tast alone I’d probably leave it for another day or two.
It’s probably obvious that this is my first kick at the cat with distilling, and I’ve done a fair bit of reading on the forum but not seen a topic like this, so please be gentle with me if I’ve done something really stupid, or am asking a question already asked by many!
My questions are: any idea what might have happened to the wash to come out so low in ABV? I’m pretty sure I was very close to 1.09 to start, though reading that thing is tricky (I had the wife confirm my readings), and the amount of sugar/water used seemed right in line with the recipe! Only other thing I can think of is that I originally didn’t have a heater in my little room and my wash got cool the first night before I stuck the heater in to maintain temp. But it’s been smelling, looking, and sounding nice ever since after things slowing down that first night... so I thought all was still good.
Second question: even at this low ABV do you think this wash will be ok as is for a sac run? If not, can I fix it? If so, I’m willing to give it a go.
Sorry for the long-windedness, and thanks in advance for (hopefully) taking it easy on a total noob!
