StillSmart

Update on the Vodka Star.

Was going to leave it five days before taking the lid off, but it seemed to have slowed to a stop. So took off the lid and drew some off to measure. It is 0.986 which I reckon is about 14.5% from 6kG of sugar and it smells nice and dry. It has the pink appearance reported earlier on this thread.

Gave it a stir and replaced the lid with an air trap. The lid has now resumed it\'s domed appearance and it\'s fizzing away. Will check it again tomorrow.

Ciao.

Mine has been running for 2 weeks this Sunday, but it\'s nearly there now.

I did put in 7kg just to see how it went.

I think I\'ll stick to about 6kg of sugar as it seems to have added about a week for extra 1kg.

The pink appearance is fine, once the sediment settles all is clear.

sounds like its finished ronbo,Its just the degassing causing it to still bubble away.That SG reading indicates its pretty much done.

Hi guys, here is the update.

Marc, your right -- apart from a bit of gas expelled nothing much more has happened.

I\'ve just put in the \'Turbo Clear\' and it\'s starting to look like something I can distill.

It is looking very clear but still has the pink colour. I will give it one more day and then will decant.

A question! the instructions for the \'Turbo Clear\' say to rack off of the sediment before pitching, does anyone actually do this? 25 Litres is a hell of a weight to man-handle!

Ronbo.

Yep,i do exactly that,have taps near the bottom of all my fermenters.After fermentation,i degas the wash,i let settle for a few days,then rack into a spare fermenter.I then add the turbo clear and leave for a few more days.It ends up very clear,less shit that goes into the boiler the better.If you are worried about the wastage from 2 lots of racking,just make up your washes to say 26-27L.I still get 21L into my boiler in the end.

Give it a go,you may be suprised,its not much extra work.

Appreciate the advice Marc,

I only have the one fermenting bucket (32L) and I cannot lift it when full, so have come up with a cunning plan. I have a collection of 5L plastic bottles which I buy my mountain spring water in. I have decanted all 25 Litres into these bottles which are much more manageable. Now I can get on with the distilling whilst the next batch of Vodka Star is brewing!

Ciao.

Just distilled the first batch of VS in the airstill. First 20mL discarded, then 350mL at 65%, next 350mL at 55%, and the final 350mL at 42%. I always collect a Litre then save until I have enough to double distill.

However, I must say this is the first time I would have been happy to put the first diluted 700mL straight into the filter. Very clean smell. Starting the second barrel tomorrow!

Ciao.