My first experiments

[Froggy]

Hi Guys, Unfortunately I only found this forum in the last few days and after searching and reading a lot of posts on here, it appears I have been making a few mistakes when operating my still. Not really a problem I guess as we all learn from our mistakes.
I thought I would post here what I have been doing so you guys can assess what I have been doing and help me improve my product.
I have completed 6 batches with my Still Spirits Reflux still with varying results.
I didn’t document my first 2 batches so I can only post what I remember.

Batch #1 & 2:
I started with 8Kgs of Dextrose and added about 20 litres of hot water.
Once the Dex had dissolved and the temp got down to below 30 degrees C, I added a packet of 24hr turbo yeast and mixed well.
After 24 hours I fitted the lid with air lock and waited a week or there abouts for the bubbling to stop.
Once fermented, I tossed a bucket into the still and turned it on. Over an hour later the temp was coming up to about 75 degrees and was starting to dribble.
At this point I was turning on the flow of water through the column and getting the temp stable at 80 degrees which I did all the way through the cook.
Once at 80 degrees I started keeping all the spirit until the still went from a dribble to dripping. I ended up with just over 4 litres of 87% which I diluted down to 40%.
I separated my 40% spirit into 2 demijohns and added about 170grams of activated carbon in each. The 2 demijohns were shaken at every opportunity over 7 days and then filtered again through a vertiflow carbon filter.
With my filtered product I added some different essences (all rums) and allowed to sit for a few days.
My rum flavoured spirit was very drinkable, well it tasted alright anyway however I have no doubt it could have been better.

My next 4 batches were slight different as I learnt a little from reading some information on the web. I’ll make another post with these.

[Froggy]

Batch 3,4,5 and 6 were all pretty much done the same way. I just experimented with different amounts of Dex.
Batch #3:
6Kgs of Dextrose and 20 litres of water.
Once down to below 30 degrees C a packet of 24hr turbo yeast was added.
24hrs later the lid with air lock was fitted.
Once completed the bucket was tossed in the still and the process was started.
Again I kept the temp stable at 80 degrees all the way.
I tossed the first 50mL and kept the next 3 litres of 85%. I kept a further 600mL to add to a later batch.

I cut off keeping the spirit as soon as the still went from a steady dribble to dripping. I kept the dripping for redistilling later.

From one of my batches I got just over 4 litres of about 86% which I halved and diluted down to 40%.
When I added the water to one of the demijohns it went cloudy!? But when I added water to the other demijohn of spirit from the same batch, it didn’t go cloudy!?
I have read on here that if the spirit goes cloudy when diluting you may have some of the nasties in the product. I thought if this was the case both lots of the diluted spirit would of gone cloudy?
The only thing I can think of is that I diluted when the spirit was still warm and when I did the second dilution it was cool.
Do you guys think this could be the case? It doesn’t smell any different to the other batches so I’m thinking about soaking some carbon in it and seeing what happens.

Since doing these batches I have learnt a few more things reading these forums.
I shouldn’t be using turbo yeast and I should be doing more cuts. Fore shots, heads and tails etc.

Anyway thanks for your time.

[pothead]

Cloudiness can happen if you collected too far into the tails.

I would suggest doing some reading here:
http://homedistiller.org onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Read it all again and again, and if you need things clarified, or simply want to double check(not everything there is 100% accurate)...feel free to ask us.

Also...I would get away from the turbos.

[Froggy]

Cloudiness can happen if you collected too far into the tails.

I have read that a few times on this forum. I would of thought if that was the problem, both lots I diluted would of gone cloudy

I would suggest doing some reading here:
http://homedistiller.org onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Read it all again and again, and if you need things clarified, or simply want to double check(not everything there is 100% accurate)...feel free to ask us.

Yep I have read it many times and i'll be reading it many times more as I still dont understand a few things.

Also...I would get away from the turbos.

Yep i've already figured this one out

[Hackers]

Also...I would get away from the turbos.

There is nothing wrong with turbos per sey. With a good turbo, when the directions are followed they produced a perfectly good neutral wash with little or no off flavours or nasties.

From my experience, one of the most consistant for this purpose is the StillSpirits Classic Turbo Yeast. Hassle free and will ferment out 8kg of sugar without a problem.

The main trick is you need to keep the ambient temperature the same or very close to the temperature of the wash. e.g. Wash at 25oC, room temperature also at 25oC

Hope this helps.

[Froggy]

My room where I keep my buckets is kept constant at 25degrees. However I found that when the yeast was working, the temp of the wash would be 27-28degrees

[pothead]

My room where I keep my buckets is kept constant at 25degrees. However I found that when the yeast was working, the temp of the wash would be 27-28degrees

That is normal. The yeast produce heat.

The fussil oils from the tails might not have transfered into both containers.(I have no idea why...and I may be wrong here...I am just guessing,but...) lets say you have a gallon jug of water(for example) you put just 1 drop of oil in it. the oil spreads over the whole top of the water...then lets say you pour half of the water into another jug. Most likely the majority of the oil will be left in the first jug.

Also, turbos simply produce more crap than other yeasts...plain and simple. Yes, they are simple.... so simple that they are almost foolproof, but the flavor from a turbo compared to the flavor when using EC1118 is a HUGE difference.

Also, try not to ferment your product higher than 12%, any more seems to stress the yeast and create nasties.