Storing Fermented mash

[jmerc]

Quick question, Once the mash is done can it be stored and used later if so, for how long and what is the best method of storage. Im not looking for long term but perhapse a week or so. thanks, j

[The Chemist]

When fermentation is essentially complete, you shouldn't have any problem storing it for a week. Not that it's a good idea, but shouldn't be a problem. Be careful to stay sanitary. I regularly ferment honey-beer for up to a month, and (knock on wood) have never had a problem. Be sure to keep your fermentation lock topped up.

[Tater]

quick answer . yes .storing in cool place would be best try reading this sight http://homedistiller.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Virginia Gentleman]

To follow on tater and THM, here's the relavent section on the site (sorry for length, lost the URL):

You should be able to keep your wash happily for weeks or months after its settled, before distilling it. Mike writes ..
The question was recently raised about storing sugar washes. Almost any alcohol solution over about 5% ABV can be stored for long times if oxygen is kept away from them. This means store it in glass or stainless steel; plastic fermenters will allow oxygen to get in and your wash will turn into vinegar! The higher the alcohol content, the easier storage is because the solution will be self sanitizing from the alcohol.

For longer term storage, the yeast present in the wash may present a problem. After the sugar is used up in a wash, the yeast initially will start to process some of the higher molecular weight compounds that it made during the primary fermentation, and the brew will actually get cleaner! Both beers and wines often benefit from some period of "sur lees" (on the yeast)storage. If you are planning a pot distillation for a flavored beverage, this may be a good step to take. Experiment and find out!

As time goes on, the yeast do die and split open, changing the flavor strongly for the worse. For storage longer than a few weeks, the wash should be "racked" (siphoned)off of the yeast cake that will have settled out in the bottom and sealed in an air tight glass or stainless container.It can then be stored for months without problems.

Plastics are not 'impermeable to anything'. They may be considered so for liquids that don't attack them, but their structure makes them relatively porous to gases compared to the dense, amorphous structure of glass. Even steel is very porous to hydrogen! Plastics may therefore be used for long-term storage of chemicals that are not adversely affected by oxidation, but not for sugar washes, where even very small amounts of oxygen can have significant impact. Commercial PET in pop bottle thickness transmits 1.5 to 8 ml of oxygen per square meter per day at room temperature. 'Artificial' corks are made out of carefully selected plastics to have uniform oxygen transmission rates, and are being used because they are more uniform than 'natural' corks, not because they don't allow oxygen in. They have the further advantage of being moisture repellent, unlike 'natural' corks which can soak up wine and so provide a nutrient-rich path for fly or airborne bacteria.

The most common bacterium responsible for production of acetic acid from ethanol is not a member of the lactobacillus family, but is mycoderma aceti, commonly known as Mother of Vinegar. When present in wines, members of the lactobacillus family are responsible for malolactic fermentation, which produces many flavorsome by-products. Far from 'being held in check by the alcohol content', they are responsible for secondary fermentation of new wines that are naturally too high in malic acid, as in Germany, or when particular nuances of taste and flavor are desired, as in the red wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux in France. When present in milk, they produce yoghurt. In contrast, mycoderma aceti, which may be bought in any good brewing shop by those wanting to make their own vinegars, primarily produces acetic acid. In the presence of oxygen, this bacterium oxidises ethanol to acetaldehyde and then to acetic acid. This process can and does occur over long storage times in the best of wines should mycoderma aceti permeate 'natural' corks, in which they can find sustenance and so thrive, resulting in the common complaint that a particularly expensive wine has been 'corked'.

[allen42]

lol i KNOW this aint the way its supposed to be done , when i made my 1st sugar wash , I made it before testing my still, when i tested my still , it leaked & it took almost 2 months to get it fixed because of an outage at the plant ,,, anyway , after it quit working , i racked it & sealed it up , ,, last week when i opened it up i was scared i would have to start over , i diped my finger in it & it tasted like some nasty ass wine LOL , BUT it was clear & worked great ! ,, i think the main thing is to keep it clean when making it and keep it seal after it stops working !

[jmerc]

Thanks for all the replys. I was going to store my wash untill my reflux still was finished but a buddie gave me his Amazing Still so hopefully when my wash is done as it should be tomorrow Im gonna run it through the Amazing Still. Ill start a new batch this week to be cooked with my newly made Reflux setup which Im hoping will be done an a week or so. Couldnt have done it without all the help here at this site. You people are the best. THANKS