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I ran a 6 gallon batch of strained corn wash thru my 2" X 40"X13 gallon reflux still, using clean stainless packing and no water on the overhead cooler. My distillate came out tinged a golden color from foreshots to tails. I don't think I puked the still as it took two hours to heat up to 171 deg F and another forty five minutes to collect a 1/2 pint of foreshots which were colored. Could anything besides carryover cause this to happen? My searches turn up absolutely nothing about gold or brown colored distillate.

Do a cleaning run? Flux leftover if you didnt, I dont know just a guess. An expert will be along shortly I'm sure.

I've run this recipe before with good results and nothing has changed about my setup. I was running NChooch's Carolina Bourbon (which smells so good when it is fermenting that it ought to be a cologne) I'm stumped or stupid on this one.

Is there any copper in your apparatus?

Big R

Have you checked your packing since the run to see what it looks like...??? It's very odd that you would get this off color through the entire run...

No copper in my rig. I didn't think to inspect the packing when I disassembled after the run. I just pushed it straight out of the column and into soapy water. I am going to toss that packing and the off color distillate. And I think I am going to find a different packing. I hate dealing with the scrubbers. Thanks for the replies, I was just wondering if this was a common and easily fixed problem.

The most common fix would be to dilute to 40% or under and redistill in your cleaned column...

rad14701 wrote:The most common fix would be to dilute to 40% or under and redistill in your cleaned column...

I'd also change from SS packing to copper.

Big R

On The Bayou wrote:No copper in my rig. I didn't think to inspect the packing when I disassembled after the run. I just pushed it straight out of the column and into soapy water. I am going to toss that packing and the off color distillate. And I think I am going to find a different packing. I hate dealing with the scrubbers. Thanks for the replies, I was just wondering if this was a common and easily fixed problem.

Dealing with the scrubbers? Are you taking them out every run and cleaning them? It's not really needed. A good rince works great. If you still have them inspect them for rust? Did the soapy water you put them in turn brownish?

I checked the ss scrubbers which were still soaking in the soapy water. The wash water was clean but the scrubbers themselves have a barely perceptible brownish tinge, just like the whiskey. After the previous run, I had put the scrubbers in vinegar/water and gave them a little boil before rinsing and drying them in the oven. So nothing changed about my rig, but my cleaning method did. Now I'm thinking that the scrubbers did rust slightly, and that is the cause.

Plan forward: Going to find some real copper scrubbers, dilute the whiskey and re-run it this coming weekend. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. I'll report back

Edited: And then the thought occurred to me 'Holy Crap, what if the inside of my column has the same discoloration' Thankfully, a check with a flashlight doesn't reveal any stains. Whew!

NEVER soak SS scrubbers in pure vinegar...!!! You've found your problem... Replace the SS scrubbers and you should be good to go...