Home Distiller

Hi Guys,
i hate to be that guy........ but i am having some issues. i am new to this and thought i was getting the hang of it and then, well you know........ i was doing an experimental mash with Oranges. 5 gallons worth and have a 5 gallon still. put about 30 smaller size oranges blended to a pulp in with 2.5 pounds of corn meal, 2.5 pounds of sugar, and 5 gallons of distilled water. after the mash settled and cooled i added 5 tablespoons of Red Star Dady's distillers active dry yeast. put it all in a 6.5 gallon carboy with a stopper and three piece air lock, kept the mash room around 76 to 82 degrees and strained it 2 weeks later. let it settle for another week, and just distilled. the mash tested out at around 7% abv. i got about 35-40 oz of good clear high quality product, about 65% abv, and then it went downhill.... quick. the next 32 oz came in around 30% abv.... any ideas?? i was really excited for this batch and was expecting some where close to a gallon, but got NO where close......
thanks for reading and any ideas would be helpful for my next time around!!

You probly got 7% of what you started with haha and probly got to hot at the end getting more water mixed in that's probly why it was 30% go slower less heat

I don't know all the math stuff but sounds about right . that's just how it works. sorry. make more and do a spirit run. after collecting everything

5 gallons @ 7% is .35 gal @ 100% or .7 gal @ 50%. Your 40 oz @ 65% and the 32 oz @ 30% is 72 oz @ ~50%. If you figure that your wash probably wasn't quite 7% and you're just learning how to drive your still, that's about right. I'd suggest stick to the Tried and True recipe section til you're more comfortable running your still. Experiment with other things once you're better at getting stuff out of the still.

Good luck, stay safe!

+1 on the do more and a sprit run.
I do about 5 gal just as a trial and experiment run. Then 25 gal for a stripping run followed a with 8-10 gal for a sprit run.

I'm surprised you got 7%abv with the oranges. I'd think the acid would sterilize the yeast. I'm all ears on this as we have oranges for days down here. I'd like to hear about your flavor profiles that you are getting through.

Most people don't start out with trying to invent a new recipe. That part's probably the least forgiving piece of the whole process.

I would argue with the above statement. Lots of people, once they figure out the basics, try a new recipe for something they can't buy in the store. I think I've only made 1-2 batches from the T&T section. Custom recipes is what this is all about.

hi all,
thanks you for the reply's! it has definitely shed some light on it. and its not my very fist run, and did some tried and true recipes before venturing out, but still consider myself a newcomer to the hobby.
out of curiosity to CRACKERCREEK's response, will citric acid harm the yeast? it seemed to to be very active during the fermentation process.
anyways, thank you all for the responses!

yeast health is all about ph. Lots of info here and elsewhere about that

If you think about yeast and the reaction any thing with acid in it has on organic material yeast as a living organism it is at risk like belly buster said ph is key you could alter the ph though as to make it nicer for the yeast to survive
pH of a fermentation will go more acidic as the ferment progresses due to yeast metabolism byproducts being excreted into the fermenting solution.
For this reason, we in the beverage brewing/distilling world start our fermentations at the range of
pH 5 - pH 5.5 so that when finished, the pH will still be around pH 4 which ensures we don't stop or retard the yeast action too soon ( i.e. before all the sugars are converted to ethanol & CO2 ).