Home Distiller

is it ok to start distilling if your mash is a light lemonade color..
thanks scott

someone will correct me if i am wrong but colour isnt important, if fermentation has finished then u can distill ur mash, if ur not sure how to tell if ur mash has finished fermenting i sugest u read the whole site here http://homedistiller.org/ and get urself a wine/beer hydrometer.

I believe some have mentioned they have obtained a better product by letting there mash settle (as u do with wines), before being a distiller i was a wine maker so from habit i always let my mash/wine to clear first, wether it makes a difference i couldnt tell u.

Brett, How long do you let your mash clear? I know , in the beer making process this step can take several days to several weeks , and I have read that letting mash for distilling set that long would cause off flavors. Have you experienced this?

what is your mash?

jim (apart from my rums which dont really seem to need to clear there just always a treacle colour) i let my wines/mash clear in the usual way u would clear a wine, basically a lot of racking,, once fermentation has completed i rack it over to a new container and as the wine clears i keep racking so it isnt sitting on dead or settled yeasts and whatevers in there. The reason i do it like this is because so far (apart from rum n soon whisky) i distill wines n country wines with a pot still and on a good tasting mash i will bottle so much as a wine and distill the rest. not sure if this is the right way, but for me it gives a good final product both spirits n wines

Drop a couple of crushed campden tablets (per gallon) into your mash that will stop the fermentation and give it a day or two, to be certain. Now if you thoroughly mix a bit of your mash with wine finnings in a clean coffee mug. If you can’t get a hold of wine finnings at a push you can use at least one egg white per gallon of mash, (I used this quite successfully on a gallon dem-john once) but mix it well before adding to the main mash and make sure that’s mixed good and proper also (this goes for both wine finnings and egg whites). In a couple of days it should be starting to drop to the bottom and be clearing pretty well. I would get it off the lees (dead yeast) now and wait another 3 days and siphon (rack) again. It now depends on you when to rack off the lees, but the sooner you get it off the better.
You see the higher alcohol tolerant yeasts that are still just about alive and in suspension. They will cast around looking for more sugar to eat and find none. So in a pitiful effort to start fermenting again in all the oxygenated mash they’ll only find dead yeast and start to eat them and that’s when your bad flavours start getting into your mash. From start to finish I normally take about 5 days and its nice and sparkling clear at that.
Hope this helps
Geoff

sorry, guys....i have a voka mash and it has completed its fermintation about a week ago...i have been told it should be crystal clear b4 i distill....right now it is a light lemonade color, but not crystal clear...should i wait for it to be crystal clear...thanks scott

I'd just run it .

I don't clear at all. Good ingrediants is all that matters. Yeast is part of the flavor profile.

I have never been able to get crystal clear anything, to run. Every kind of wash I've tried had some coloring left and it has never caused any ill effects whatsoever. Go ahead and run it. If you used a sugar/water wash with a good yeast, you should harvest a good, potent product!
Enjoy th fruits of yer labor, mate.
Ya deserve it
Spiritmaker

Is that clearing crap the home brew sold to me needed? It was only $5.60 and was suppose to clear our stuff up in 24hrs but after 3 days it was still cloudy so we just distilled anyway... Is it even necessary to buy that clearing liquid (its a 2part solution)

it isnt strictly neccesary to clear it before u still it, i just always do it from habit from my wine making days and the fact that i still outside and in england so i clear it while im waiting for a dry day . I dont use anything extra to clear it and as i was informed on this board previously if u can get away with not using it then its best to not use campdem tablets in ur stillin mash to, something to do with sulfurs i believe,

Will I get any adverse effects from putting the wash in the fridge to help seperation before distilling? It worked pretty well the last time I did it, I assume the only thing is it would stop the yeast but If its done anways it shouldnt matter right? Just covering the bases in case I overlooked something.

You mean placing the wash in the fridge to settle the yeast after fermentation is complete? That perfectly fine.

It don't make a damn in hell about clearing something to be distilled. My mash finished last night, I am running it this morning.

Some people prefer to clear washes before distilling, especially when going for a nuetral spirit. And there are others that rattle chicken bones over their fermenters or chant a mantra. Everyone has their own little idiosynchrocies. To each their own. Personally I've never cleared or settled anything but wine.

So do others dont . Some swear that it helps flavor others say they cant tell any differance. Try it both ways and let us know what you think.

I try to get my products to clear , but only to avoid boil over and to allow a fuller still when I run. If I have chunks in my mash, I only fill about halfway.

Just did a run with something that looked like it came out of the back end of a sick labrador - it was mostly solids ( grape skin ). Filled the pot still up to the usual level and took it slowly - no trouble at all and no off flavours.

with a good diffuser you can get stuff the consistancy of applesauce to a happy rolling boil.

Watershed wrote:Just did a run with something that looked like it came out of the back end of a sick labrador - it was mostly solids ( grape skin ). Filled the pot still up to the usual level and took it slowly - no trouble at all and no off flavours.

I think that's one of the "secerets", going slow at a low heat. If you take it easy you'll not foam up your mash near as much as if you put in too much heat. I did that my first run getting back into the game and got all kind of junk in my distillant. This go I turned the heat way down and let it take it's time and it came out much better. Still, it is good to run your wash thru a bag style paint strainer to catch the large stuff, just stretch it over your catch tub and dip out your wash into it, then remove the strainer and most of the larger solids will come out with it. Good luck.