Home Distiller

Had crystal clear likker, cut it down to 40% with tap water or distilled water, tap one time, and distilled the next, and both makes the finished product cloudy. What gives?? one was a sugar wash ,other a corn mash run. I don't get it, why would two crystal clear liquids make something cloudy when combined? Cloudiness makes it look impure or tails. Both had proper cuts. Any ideas?

two things come to mined,, minerals in water or tales. as you used distilled water that should not be it.
if it is cold let it warm up and see if it helps.

I use filtered tap water to cut and one thing that happens to me is that millions of little bubles appear, making it look cloudy. I just air it overnight and the next day it is clear, with no deposits and it sure don't taste like there is any tails in it. But it clears up after 15 min, but i can still see some bubles going up like in a soda drink. If its not that it's what rad said, probably the tails since you used distilled water.
If it is the tails, the reason it is clear when it comes out and clouds when mixed with water is because the tails mix with the ethanol, but not so well with water because of their oily nature. Or at least that's what i think i read somewhere.

Vodka_Master wrote:If it is the tails, the reason it is clear when it comes out and clouds when mixed with water is because the tails mix with the ethanol, but not so well with water because of their oily nature. Or at least that's what i think i read somewhere

That sounds correct Vodka Master

OD

Well, Tails sounds like it fits the bill, but one run I shut the run down at 60% and it looked the same as the ones I took down into the 40's. I can usually see the tails from the cloudiness when it appears somewhere in the mid 40's and collect the tails down to 40. Being warm does seem to make it clearer. Taste is fine. What % do clear tails start to show up? surely not in the 60's?

I often have the same problem, and I always stop at 65%. I think it has to do with how much water you cut it with. Once I started cutting mine to 55%, I no longer had that problem. Seems to make it taste better too.

Tails begin to show in my product about 40abv when the likker has a whiteish tinge to it. I then collect down to 20 abv for a feints run. Stopping at 65abv would certainly avoid collecting tails, but means you discard a lot of good etho. Do you save the stuff after 65abv for a feints run later? This would avoid wastage.

I agree with the others and reckon it's tails, but it seems odd that you're collecting tails at 60abv. Maybe someone will come up with an answer cos it's too hard for me.

blanik

I do collect beyond 60%, I usually let it run til it gets to where I have to turn up the heat real high to get it to run steady. I like to collect everything from right around 85-80% down to between 65-60% depending on taste. Everything else gets saved for the next run with the exception of the first quart which gets used for my backpacking stove.

if you cranked the heat up at the end you could have carried over the tales.
(i don't know what you did I was not there)

Dnderhead wrote:if you cranked the heat up at the end you could have carried over the tales.
(i don't know what you did I was not there)

+1+1

Nope, I don't crank it up. I try to keep it running at a steady stream that's about the size of a wooden match stick til I'm finished collecting my drinkin' stuff, then after that I will crank it up a little to speed up the end. But, like I say, I only let it run til I have to turn it up once more, then I shut it down.

Im not up on reflux stills but what is the temps.? you could be running to fast. most Iv head about is "drips per. minute". a stream I beleve is more of a stripping run.

I couldn't tell ya. I don't use a reflux either. I use a 25 gallon pot still and run it at Popcorn Sutton's recommendations, a stream the size of a matchstick. I always had problems with my stuff being real
fiery, but once I started running it at that speed that problem cleared right up.