What should my wash look like?

Steff · Post by **Steff** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:49 pm

Hello everyone...
This is my first wash so I'm not sure if something is wrong. I used 8kg of sugar with 21l of water. Water temp after dissolving sugar was around 100 deg f. I added a packet of Alcotec 48 and stirred it up and have let it sit for 5 days now. It has been a steady 70 deg F I just checked it and it seems to have stopped fizzing but it looks the same as day one. It is a solid off white-yellow color through out. Isn't it supposed to have seperated with the spent yeast on the bottom? The only instruction I didn't follow on the Alcotec packet was that I used an airlock. What should my wash look like and at 70 deg F how long should it take?

Thanks in advance

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:01 pm

You still have suspended yeast and will for some time. It takes quite a while for a turbo wash to settle and clear on its own. Cooler temps can speed the process.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:03 pm

If its stopped bubbling then fermentation is complete (as long as it did bubble at some point)
The wash will be cloudy and if you leave it for a week or 2 it will start to settle n clear.

Time is normally as stated on the packet and varies between yeasts (mine takes up to 4 weeks

but thats for higher % 18+ )

Steff · Post by **Steff** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:18 pm

Does anyone recommend using clearing agents?

ginzo · Post by **ginzo** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 9:04 pm

Steff wrote:Does anyone recommend using clearing agents?

I never do.

rectifier · Post by **rectifier** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:06 pm

Waste of money. I don't even use clearing agents in my wine...

sot · Post by **sot** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:27 am

Taste it for sweetness if you haven't got a hydrometer. I've just finished a Turbo and if you include the settling time it wasn't much faster than the 16% house plonk I've been making for years.
I already owned a Harris Quickfine so polished the wash with that. I wouldn't buy a Quickfine just for distilling but if you've any plans for winemaking as well it's worth having.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:01 am

i only ever used finnings when i was after a wine to drink quick n bought a kit that came with 2 packs of finnings the result was a wine that cleared over night

(much quicker than using nothing).

However i prefer to not add to many chems to my wine and i prefer to not use kits to often (unless im low on wine n expectin lots to dissapear at a party).

In short i wouldnt buy them unless i had a stubborn wine that wouldnt clear itself, id let it clear itself with time and i wouldnt use them for my stilling mash.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:08 am

put it in the fridge. It will clear in no time

The Chemist · Post by **The Chemist** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:45 am

rectifier wrote:Waste of money. I don't even use clearing agents in my wine...

Good point, rectifier. The commercial companies use fining agents (isinglass, gelatin, PVPP, etc) because consumers (mainly Americans) won't accept a cloudy product. But there's nothing wrong with it. If you made it, and know its good, drink it! (Actually, the dead little yeasties are good for you!) And if your distilling, it's even less of a problem, though you want to remove the majority.