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Well I did a Wineo rum sugar wash with molasses. 5 day ferment and the sg started at 1.15 and ended at 1.01. 6 gal wash with 6 lbs brown sugar, 1/8 tsp of epsom salts, 1tsp of citric acid, 1tsp DAP, 3/4 cup bakers yeast and 12 cups or 7 1/2 lbs. of black strap molasses.
I cant see through the test tube that I put the hydrometer in because the liquid is like dark rum.
It has sat for 24 hours with out bubbling so I suspect its done fermenting.
Is this normal ?

take another SG reading in a day or so..if stays the same it has stopped if it has dropped it is still fermenting.

Ok I will recheck it tomorrow. If it has stopped should I go ahead and run it through the pot still in a week or so after I have racked it a couple of times. This is my first wash.

let it clear and run it.

Thnx I'll let you know how it turns out.

Dnderhead wrote:let it clear and run it.

I never let my washes clear. I just avoid lees at the bottom. Not looking to undermine Dunder's advice, I am more just wondering out loud. Am I the only one that runs their rum washes as soon as fermentation is over?

You want good licker you best allow time for yeast to settle, another day wont matter. Run a test..... rack into a water jug and let it set, look whats in the bottom.

Case closed.

That's the thing, I have tested it. I've let it sit for a month after fermentation is over. I've even cold-crashed just to make sure everything settled out. I still found no difference in the final product. I do my strip after my SG readings have stopped dropping and there's a good lee bed in the bottom. The case may be closed for you, but not for me. If I don't have full comprehension of why I'm doing something, then I don't do it.

well I can only speak from my own experience, early on I was in a hurry to make some licker, didn't allow time for wash to clear, then was disappointed in the final product... because it didn't taste like shine I had before.

long story short, my quest to remove off flavors taught me a lot like ..No yeasties in the boiler
So if your not getting it in there you got no problem. And your licker is the best it can be.
In proud of my drink now, its good licker and don't have bite or hangover issues.

.

I don't have a problem with a bite or hangover issues either, but that is due to the way I make my cuts. And if it works for you and you taste a difference, then by all means let it all settle out. I'm just saying that when it comes to rum in particular, I have never had an issue with a taste difference or mouthfeel when it comes down to waiting for my wash to settle out or not. I have seen others (Liquid-Luv, if I recall correctly) talking about an amazing increase in flavor after letting a rum wash sit on lees for months on end, but that was most likely an aging factor, not a lack of yeast in the wash. I would love to hear from other rummers on this matter. If more people agree that a clear rum wash produces a better rum, then I'm always for it. But right now, for me, the evidence just isn't there.

zouthernborne wrote:I would love to hear from other rummers on this matter. If more people agree that a clear rum wash produces a better rum, then I'm always for it. But right now, for me, the evidence just isn't there.

I think youll find several people that agree with you here...http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4244

I seem to remember reading that thread a year or more ago. And it seems that it's a toss up. Some people clear it, some people don't. Either way, the stiller has no complaints about his brew unless the wash was crap to begin with. If you think you taste a difference in your likker after clearing it, more power to you. Myself, I'm not going to waste that kind of time when it doesn't benefit me.