Home Distiller

I have mashed in for the 1st time, on Day 2 of fermentation. So just preparing my gameplan for my 1st distillation, and found myself wondering about sanitation on distillation day. I found a lot about sanitation when mashing, but not much specifically about the distilling.

Specifically, the pots themselves & the hydrometer. I have a glass spray bottle with some of my StarSan solution from mashing in over the weekend. Should I spray the hydrometer with that prior to testing? Should I spray the inside of the pots prior to distilling?

Or will the distillation process kill anything, and I'm overthinking/worrying about nothing when it comes to distillation day?

Thanks in advance.

Blow the dust off and carry on.

None required, boiler sterilizes everything in it, distillate will kill anything else.

I would recommend cleaning your collection glassware in advance though. Nothing like reaching for a jar to find out it stinks of tails.

I sanitize nothing on distilling day. I am fairly careful before that. But on stilling day I rack from the carboy into buckets, pour them into the still and go. The still itself is the one thing I never use any sanitizer on.

stillanoob wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 7:40 am I sanitize nothing on distilling day. I am fairly careful before that. But on stilling day I rack from the carboy into buckets, pour them into the still and go. The still itself is the one thing I never use any sanitizer on.

I cooked the mash in my still's boiler. I didn't dump sanitizer in it, but I dipped a sponge in the bucket of StarSan solution & cleaned the insider. Then, I rinsed and did the same with a sponge of vinegar after. Would you recommend using a dedicated pot for the mash, to avoid putting the sanitizer inside the still?

Oh my gawd dude. You are way overthinking things. Relax and enjoy the ride.

Butch27 wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 7:58 am Oh my gawd dude. You are way overthinking things. Relax and enjoy the ride.

Yep, I figured that was the case. LOL

realestwhiteboy wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 7:43 amI cooked the mash in my still's boiler. I didn't dump sanitizer in it, but I dipped a sponge in the bucket of StarSan solution & cleaned the insider. Then, I rinsed and did the same with a sponge of vinegar after. Would you recommend using a dedicated pot for the mash, to avoid putting the sanitizer inside the still?

When you brew beer, you ferment a week, or two. Then, you rack to a lagering vessel (if you’re lagering the beer) or bottle/keg it (for an ale). The beer could be exposed to bacteria or other contaminants in the process and time can cause your beverage to sour or spoil.

When you’re making a spirit, you’ll be fermenting a short duration (a week more or less) and then racking to the boiler. When boiled, you’re not only sanitizing the equipment, but you’re sterilizing the product. Biological contaminants are eliminated in the process.

So, as hobby distillers, we don’t focus as much on sanitary processes as beer and wine brewers do. Our process ensures removal of harmful flora overtaking the product.....unless it is re-introduced on purpose (have a look at some of the members dunder pit discussions).

However, this does not mean that toxic chemicals are necessarily eliminated in the distillation process. Certainly, unhealthy ferments can produce toxic chemicals, some of which could be processed along with the ethanol during the distillation. Hence, the need for appropriate cuts, or separation of the fractions of the product.

As you’ll learn, from others and from experience, sanitization is not as important for distillers as it is for home brewers. But, keeping things clean is still advisable, as I recommend rinsing your still with water before running and also rinsing with a good water flush after a run.

And it is wise to keep your fermenters clean (even sanitized) between ferments since grains can carry bacteria and wild flora along and contaminate a ferment, possibly consuming the fermentable sugars or even the produced alcohols (think “vinegar” here).

You’ll discover that most hobby distillers do not boil their mashes like home brewers do. And many (not all) distillers even ferment “on the grain” such that grain-borne flora is carried over to the fermenter.

Lacto-bacteria is the most common and when contaminating a ferment can “sour the beer” through production of lactic acid. But the bacteria is retarded in an acidic environment so as the pH falls from production of the lactic acid, the bacteria is actually put “in check”....not killed, just deactivated. If you ferment in plastic, the bacteria will infiltrate the plastic fibers and potentially contaminate subsequent ferments. Sanitization is important to eliminate this “future potential”.

So, good brewing processes are not inappropriate. But sanitizing the boiler and your still are not necessary.
ss

It's the distillation of alcohol

I sanitize everything inside my still every time I distill
I start by making fores go through the still followed by heads, hearts and finally tails

Sorry I could not help myself

All kidding aside you do not need to worry about it like you do with brewing, you are basically making sanitizer.
I do agree with cleaning out your collection containers first to clean out dust or whatever was in them last time

Have Fun

Awesome advice all, thanks for all the replies. I always overthink & over analyze things, so a forum like this is an amazing tool to have people with experience tell me to settle down and put my mind at ease.

My wife keeps telling me "Relax, the health inspector isn't coming to audit our outbuilding." hahaha

I agree with others. Your doubts are normal because they generally associate practices from homebrewer to distillation, as distillers we can afford more relaxation for sanitization while for the beer soon a lot of attention.

realestwhiteboy wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 9:04 am Awesome advice all, thanks for all the replies. I always overthink & over analyze things, so a forum like this is an amazing tool to have people with experience tell me to settle down and put my mind at ease.

My wife keeps telling me "Relax, the health inspector isn't coming to audit our outbuilding." hahaha

Your wife sounds like a smart lady. I suspect you need to listen to her more often.

Butch27 wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 7:58 am Oh my gawd dude. You are way overthinking things. Relax and enjoy the ride.

I make my shine in an old dusty barn with my dog at my feet. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.

SS had a good post, when you distill it down lol. You should want to be clean, but don't have to be anal retentave about it.

Dip you tools in high proof etoh!

Cheers,
-j

I say let’s put masks on our stills??? Too soon? Be easy on me Bill

All joking aside, I too, worried about sanitizing my still. I would clean the whole thing after each run. It was a pain in the arse. Then I was reading here and a member was saying that if they found someone cleaning their still is a reason to go. So I thought through the process and realized what everyone here is saying.