Burned yeast odor and flavor

gerpud · Post by **gerpud** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:17 pm

I''m doing alcool for a while now. But still always the same problem: Always a odor of burned yeast in the alcool. Without this off flavor, the result would be perfect. It is not a big problem when doing vodka because I filter it with carbon. But with rum, it's a big problem.
I let the wash settle for a month to be sure to have no yeast when distilling, but the flavor is still there.
Does anybody have experience a similar problem?
Maybe I have to clean better the boiler before? (I'm not doing it because it's a close boiler (beer keg)).
Any answers?

Thanks for help!!!

Post by **rad14701** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:34 pm

Are you filtering the wash after you siphon it out of your fermenter...??? I'm not sure if dead yeast have any smell as I wait until my wash is virtually clear before siphoning and filtering several times... It usually just smells like alcohol, but I just do sugar wash...

Post by **theholymackerel** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:35 pm

Fill yer keg about a third full of hot water and add a half scoop of oxy-free.

Let it sit for a couple of days and then add a couple quarts of gravel and plug it with a cork or hammer in a bung and roll it around and swirl it on the bottom.

That should take care of the majority of the problem.

If yer kegs bottom is too nasty and this doesn't work after a try or two it might be time for a new keg.

gerpud · Post by **gerpud** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:53 pm

"Are you filtering the wash after you siphon it out of your fermenter...???"

No, I'm not. I was guessing that waiting a month or two would do the job.
Anyways, next time, I'll clean my boiler and try filtering the wash.

I'll also try aging my rum with wood ships. It may also help to get rid of this odor and flavor.

If you got any other suggestions, it is very appreciated!!!

Post by **Dnderhead** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:25 pm

you could try hard wood charcoal wont take out flavors but mite
smells

BW Redneck · Post by **BW Redneck** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:00 pm

I rarely let my whiskey mashes clear, and I have no "burnt yeast" flavor at all, just a teensy bit of marmite flavor which strengthens in the tails. It disappears after being left to air out for about a week.
My beer goes straight from a fermenter that's been left to sit for a day, through an old shirt, and straight into the boiler. Not only that, I squeeze all of the grain in the fermenter through the same shirt into the boiler, so clearing for a month is overkill.
But, my boiler is completely open and I wash it out after every run. So, I'm betting that it's the dirty boiler part of the equation. I've heard that using THM's method is very easy and works very well from homebrew friends, but I can't speak for it.

gerpud · Post by **gerpud** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:51 am

Three days later, the bad odor and taste completely disappeared by itself!!

I guess it was an odor from volatile substance. That's pretty weird...
So the solution in my case was to aerate the distillate for a couple of days, like BW Redneck said.
If this can someone else...

Anyways, my rum is just perfect now!!