StillSmart

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-15T00:38:03+00:00

That was a hard read mate, and as previously stated, if you are happy, then I am happy for you.
A couple of things stood out from your post above.

In Scotland Whisky has a single spirit run with feints, not two.
It's seemingly only the Irish that feel it needs another.
And traditionally Rum is run through a series of thumpers, rather than a series of stills.
Oh, and I would not carbon filter a flavoured distilation.
Possibly ever.
Simples.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Wed Feb 15, 2017 12:38 am

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-14T19:21:23+00:00

Easydrinker wrote:
a completely bonkers method of distilling, using all sorts of cuts in all sorts of ways, from various stilling methods.
If it is working for you..
Robert.

Mastering any skill becomes easier with experience. Explaining it, in detail, is complicated.

The debate on carbon filtering circles around the key issue of feints. Clean hearts well made should not need carbon filtered. But pure ethanol hearts do not have much flavour: they reside in the feints. For barley it's in the strong tails. Molasses and fruit, in heads and weak tails. Vodka hearts only.

I have a simple stovetop still with improvements to make it more effective. It is simple, it strips effectively, it can topped up on the fly. That lets me add feints during the strip. Which is exactly what scotch distilleries do. Do I carbon filter now? Yes I do, a brief kiss with carbon.
I then do my final spirit run, hearts only, on a reflux column. Clean pure hearts? No. They start light, aromatic, then vanilla, becoming complex, spicy, strong tails pushing over. That's on a reflux column. Do I carbon filter now? Yes if there are sour or fusel notes I don't like the taste of. To run a third time would strip out the good but subtle flavours that had escaped into those hearts from the strong tails or heads.

Whiskey distilleries use at least 3 stills. Strip + 2 spirit runs. Nothing is discarded, all feints and slops or backset is recycled. I am learning why and how to do the same thing.
Rum runners do that too only more so. Even a straight sugar wash is vastly improved by adding backset from corn or barley stripping runs. To the mash, and, to the lowceines from your first run.

Reflux is designed to compress and exclude feints. Potstills cannot, no matter how well designed and skilfully operated. Nor would you want to for rum or whiskey, feints as the flavours. It's also the hangover. Trick is how to get clean hearts yet push flavours into the hearts (or extract then blend in the chosen ones).Feints have good and bad layers. We can exclude the bad with good mashing and clever stilling, and, by cleaning up afterwards.
And cleaning up spirits can take years in barrels. Which is why carbon filtering can work to take years off the wait.
Vodka and gin if well made and triple stilled should not need cleaning by carbon. Mostly because at each run only the hearts are taken. So far, vodka has needed a third run to get it clean enough for me. I will have a go next time running my strip hearts AND my spirit hearts through carbon, compare the taste to triple stilled.

Statistics: Posted by Casper — Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:21 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-14T16:39:17+00:00

Easydrinker wrote:
Oak aging will only come into itself with all grain Whiskey and Rum type spirits, IMHO.
Robert.

Yes, carbon charred filtering on maple or oak for whiskey bourbon white and dark rums brandy and fruit brandy, UJSSM, cereal or wheat germ recipes. Probably not vodka. Just carbon alone for neutrals.

Statistics: Posted by Casper — Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:39 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-14T00:12:48+00:00

Sorry mate,
You seem to have a completely bonkers method of distilling, using all sorts of cuts in all sorts of ways, from various stilling methods.
If it is working for you and you are safe, then I remain happy for you.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Tue Feb 14, 2017 12:12 am

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-14T20:17:10+00:00

But I do, Robert. I do. I posted my intro with my current gear. My original potstill, a 36l SS cooking pot stovetop. It is my most used, my favourite. I strip all my washes there, sugar or grain, even my vodka is an all grain wheat mash.
I recycle all my heads and tails to the next stripping run. I don't use a thumper. I do collect my cuts separate. Grain strong tails go back to next strip, weak tails kept to a spirit run.

My spirit run, I'm learning. I got great results refluxing my first corn strip and molasses hearts . I am now putting down a barley mash. I know that hearts are mostly tasteless, it's the feints which add flavour. In theory, tight cuts for clean hearts do not need a carbon filter. But for all except vodka the flavour is not in the hearts. It's the strong tails adding flavour that also need cleaned by carbon- by filter, or by barrel, take your pick.

Reflux is intended to purify hearts. But that's just theory. Refluxing at 94% to 88% brings across from 6% to 12% flavoured water. Potstill collecting hearts down to 55% is by definition mixing your pure hearts with feints and water up to 45% content into the spirit run. I prefer not to mix 'em till I collect. Taste. And clean 'em.
As usual I will strip on potstill, collect hearts and recycle my feints.
This time I will do my barley spirit run on the potstill.
Collect spirit run in half pint bottles. Some will taste better than others. I will carbon filter to get it sweet only when needed. then blend.

Statistics: Posted by Casper — Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:51 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-12T23:31:03+00:00

You sound like a Happy Chappy with what you are doing.
Oak aging will only come into itself with all grain Whiskey and Rum type spirits, IMHO.
If you are happy "nuking" stuff from a reflux still, then I am genuinely happy for you.
Should you try a Pot-Still, a new world will open up.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:31 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2017-02-14T16:30:15+00:00

All of the above
I agree good ingredients, good still and practices.

That must by definition include 6 years ageing on charred oak
Virgin oak for Bourbon, recycled barrels to scotch or Irish whiskers, soaked in anything from Bourbon to rum or sherry

What is charred oak? What is activated charcoal?

Good ingredients, measured mashes, controlled ferment, improved still design, learning from forums and experience, what things are crucial, what things are just fuss, my white dog is improving.

But it's the aged on oak thing that I don't honestly want to wait on, yet it's just as vital. The experience of generations of stillers demand it and their elixir proves it.

Do any of you purists do it,either?

What does ageing on oak do?
Magic!
Takes out bad stuff, leaches in good stuff. I observe the good stuff, colour and vanilla only takes weeks, . I taste the bad stuff takes a few years to disappear

So.
I run my spirits thru carbon to give the exposure to carbon it has every right to expect over 3 years. Takes me 10 minutes.

Then
I heat up my white dog with fresh oak staves. 60°C -72°C for a week

Result? Yes!
Try it and then tell me it's not a great improvement. Matured drinking spirits one week off the reflux still

Statistics: Posted by Casper — Sat Feb 11, 2017 9:36 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-10-29T23:26:09+00:00

I can now produce a high quality, slowly produced, high ABV, refluxed neutral which I don't believe needs filtering.
But I do filter any way, because I can and it takes minimal effort.
Walk your own path

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Sat Oct 29, 2016 11:26 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-10-29T22:05:13+00:00

I just voted yes everything, but only for neutral, I also agree with the point above about using it to polish good spirit rather than clean up bad product.

Statistics: Posted by Anavrin — Sat Oct 29, 2016 10:05 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-10-29T21:42:42+00:00

I will try filtering and not filtering...my taste buds will tell me the path to follow.

Statistics: Posted by guest5234 — Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:42 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-06-01T03:24:30+00:00

Keeping a SWMBO happy is very important.
Whatever it takes,it will make life more pleasant/easier.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:24 am

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-05-31T16:42:16+00:00

You cannot polish a turd.

I second ( or perhaps 3rd) that emotion.
I only filter the neutral used for Limoncello, a hot commodity with SWMBO. All else is left wonderfully feral.
Especially Panela rum .

Statistics: Posted by Chefbmack — Tue May 31, 2016 4:42 pm

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-05-26T04:35:50+00:00

Easydrinker wrote:
.... carbon filtering neutral is not trying to clean up a shite neutral, but to polish a decent product.
You cannot polish a turd.....

Robert.

As this is a voting topic, I will vote for this comment. Spot on.

Statistics: Posted by Mash — Thu May 26, 2016 4:35 am

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-05-26T01:14:46+00:00

I am going to agree with RJ's comment-
"Good alcohol is easy to make. Bad alcohol is even easier to make."
I would add the caveat that good neutral is generally harder than flavoured spirits.

But for me, the prize for most salient point on this topic so far in my opinion goes to Capt.C.

"I don't plan on filtering anything that wouldn't have made the cut before, I just want to see what difference it will make."

For me, carbon filtering neutral is not trying to clean up a shite neutral, but to polish a decent product.
You cannot polish a turd.

I am surprised that my new fancy very high ABV neutral seems to benefit from carbon filtering.I am still playing with that,and may yet go back to pot stilled neutral carbon filtered,as for me it is MUCH faster.
And I am struggling to favour the taste of one over another,once filtered.
Live and learn.

Robert.

Statistics: Posted by Easydrinker — Thu May 26, 2016 1:14 am

Re: Do you carbon filter?

2016-05-26T00:47:39+00:00

Make a good clean wash, rather than a toxic pool, distill it properly with decent equipment and you will be able to make a decent product that does not require, or demand, filtering.

Your equipment and wash must be of an acceptable quality. Use a toy still and you will get an inferior product.

Good alcohol is easy to make. Bad alcohol is even easier to make.

Statistics: Posted by RumJohn — Thu May 26, 2016 12:47 am