Old guys and some notions…

[Mr_Beer]

By all standards I am a distilling newbie – started distilling in February of this year. I had 25+ years of beer/wine/mead making so most of my equipment could be used at least that was my initial notions.

What I failed to recognize is that the amount of mash needed was no longer 5 or 6 gallons for a recipe. For a respectful distillation run you needed 20 to 30 gallons of mash which gets distilled into 10 to 15 gallons of low wines and that in turn gets distilled into 2 to 4 gallons of spirits ready for ageing. Note that those numbers are gross approximations, and should not be considered as accurate – just approximations.

And the second fact was that from start of a recipe to having low wines ready for the still would take a month to six weeks – longer and slower fermentations, squeezing process and then settling time. Waiting for time to pass was an option but not one I was interested in.

And the third fact that I failed to recognize that as age sets in lifting 7 gallon fermentation pails and associated mash recipes was probably not in my ageing wheelhouse. Like a lot of members, age is setting in and my strength is not what it was when I was younger and stronger.

Over the past six months I have come up with some accommodations. You may find them useful for your activity and I thought I would share them in case others might be interested.

Fermentation pails are essential. Using typical 7 gallon beer/wine fermentation buckets works but for 20 gallon mash that is three buckets and associated work space and lifting and fiddling. HDPE buckets are available – I have settled on 15 gallon buckets. They are available on the used market for $25 to $35 each. Get the type with the removable lids. The ones that I got were used for drug/spice shipments (metformin and turmeric). They are clean but may present some odors initially. Rinse, sanitize them (Star San) and let them air out.

Assuming 12 to 14 gallon capacity is used the weight will be 110+ pounds -- these larger fermentation pails are no longer capable of being moved without two people. Harbor Freight has moving dollies -- $13 each. Small modifications to the dollies provided a sturdy carriage and some rails so the HDPE containers would not slide around. In turn they can be easily moved to a storage location or out of the way and not occupy valuable space in the preparation /distilling area. Instead of several 7 gallon buckets in the work area getting in the way I now have none since they have been moved.

A picture is attached of several containers on their dollies.

Transferring material from the mash pot to the fermentation bucket(s) involved using a large pitcher and bailing from one vessel to the other – truly a PITA. That said, much of the mash ingredients can be transferred via a self-priming pump before the bailing starts.

After fermentation a method of transferring the beer to a carboy for settling is necessary. Since most of the material is primarily liquid the use of a self-priming pump makes the process much easier. The reminder of the grain can then be squeezed to extract the remaining liquid.

Moving the beer to the distillation boiler/pot again involves lifting and pouring – and disturbing the settled trub remnants is a concern. Use of a self-priming pump to transfer the liquid and leaving behind the heaver trub makes this process easy.

A small self-priming pump is available from MoreBeer as a Super Sucker Transfer Pump w/ Racking Cane Kit (pump, SS racking cane and transfer lines) for $80. My personal view is that the key is self-priming since you will eventually expose the siphon cane above the liquid level and have to restart the process. A picture of my setup shown. As shown, you can flush the pump and lines with clear water and then with sanitizer for storage. Easy, peasy.

That is my view of how to accommodate the onset of ageing with accommodations.

THIS EDIT REQUESTED BY OP: "Subsequent to the post I have determined that my
semi-recomendation for a pump was not optimal. The proper selection is an
upgraded model (from same vendor) that will accommodate the occasional
grain particles from on-grain fermentation.

I am concerned that some may read and purchase and then have the same
issues I had."

[Wildcats]

I definitely need one of those pumps. I have looked at them, just haven't got one yet. Sure would make life easier. Pouring 10 gallon of distillers beer into a small funnel,and into the keg, is no fun and I spill some everytime no matter how careful I am. Thanks for sharing your process.

[Dancing4dan]

Yeah, I use the wheeled dolly things, steam distillation for stripping runs and a chugger pump to avoid a lot of lifting. Even manage to pump the slop after steam distillation as long as the drill and paint stir are going as well.

YLY leaves very little solids when used on corn and that helps a bunch!

[NZChris]

I'm getting too old to be lifting 6 gallon containers over my head, so use a cheap 12V pump to do it for me.

My main fermenter has always been three times the volume of my 33l still so that I can ferment three or four strips worth of product in one vessel. By the time I've siphoned it down to the trub, it is light enough for me to handle.

I don't move full 100-200l fermenters. They sit on two by fours with heating elements underneath them. They get siphoned in situ, the last bit getting gently siphoned into a bucket on the floor which gets pumped into a 6 gallon container ready for the preheater, (which is above the main still). The same pump is used to charge the preheater.

[Mr_Beer]

Yo -- Dancing4dan

What does the YLY term in your post mean??

I assume it stands for Yellow Label Angel Yeast.
If so, would you mind me asking some questions via PM?

[still_stirrin]

… What does the YLY term in your post mean??

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ss

[Deplorable]

I'm going to have to put that pump on my shopping list for when my pond pump gives up the ghost.
I'm not old enough to shy away from heavy lifting yet, but why work hard when you can work smart?
I do all the same things. My 30-gallon drums are on dollies, and I put a 12v pond pump in a paint strainer bag and drop it in the finished ferment. Pump off the clear, and scoope the grains out with a half gallon grain scoop. Squeeze them dry in a mop bucket, and pour it into 5 gallon buckets to clear.
That pump would eliminate lifting the full buckets to dump into the still, and it looks easier to clean than my submersible pond pump.


***EDIT***
That pump is only rated at a little over 1gpm. Does it really take 4.5 minutes to transfer 5 gallons, or did they under rate the pump?

[Mr_Beer]

This is turning into an educational thread.

First, thanks SS for the links to the Angle Yeast product. I am going to do more investigation but it sounds like there is some form of tradeoff here -- time spent versus possible flavor degradation versus cost versus desired outcome. My goal is flavor and I am not interested in neutrals at this time. That said I want to learn more.

Deplorable mentioned an aquarium pump. That is really cleaver; the concept of wrapping the entire pump in a bag and submersing it never occurred to me. I have no idea how I would sanitize the pump after storage for a month or so but for larger batches it is an interesting concept.

As I looked for a pump, the self priming feature was a very important criteria for me. To those who have dealt with private wells and various irrigation pumping systems, the priming action is truly a PITA and if not properly done and/or if running unsupervised can lead to pump burn-out. This application is a low head application so priming might not be difficult but I did not want to fiddle with priming if the siphon tube was not low enough and the pump lost prime. Sort of a personal preference -- see last comment below.

Regarding capacity, look at the specs -- very low power consumption and small device. Good for limited pumping in the 10 to 30 gallon range. I tested it on a 7 gallon pail of water and it took 5 minutes and 38 seconds. The rating at 1 GPM is reasonably accurate, possibly a skosh light. Easy cleaning and low setup time versus speed prompted my selection.

Use of a pond pump requires the pump to be inside the container; i.e. submerged. That certainly eliminates the priming issue but one advantage of this pump is that it is attached to a racking cane for suction. That allows the cane to be inserted into a carboy -- the place where I store my low wines as they are settling. Sucks up the clear stuff and I can leave the trub behind.

[Deplorable]

Deplorable mentioned an aquarium pump. That is really cleaver; the concept of wrapping the entire pump in a bag and submersing it never occurred to me. I have no idea how I would sanitize the pump after storage for a month or so but for larger batches it is an interesting concept.

To sanitize the pond pump, I simply submerge it in a pail of water, run to rinse, then into a pail of star-san, run it a few minutes, then repeat in a clean pail (or sink) of fresh water. then lit it drip dry.