StillSmart

First off the wash is very murky, it's like a glass of robinsons orange squash. It had been sat outside for nearly a week to clear, but it didn't clear that much.

My neighbour did the stripping run so I wasn't there, but the results aren't what we expected. Out of 4 litres of wash he got 600ml out before shutting down at 20% then he tested the abv of that 600ml and it was only 30%?! So I asked him what it was when it started coming out the still and he said 55% abv. The 600ml is also not perfectly clear. I'd say it looks a little like my louched raspberry gin I made the other day. It smells like a mild cider.

One thing is that he did the stripping run outside because his family were baking in the kitchen. Could distilling in the cold have made a difference? He's going to do the next run inside, so I guess we'll find out.

Is this wash doomed to failure or will the spirit run get everything back on track??

Distilling outside is not an issue.
What was the alc. content of the brew used for the strip?
That can effect the strip produced massively.
The cloudy strip confounds me though.
Distillate should be clear, if your condenser is clean.

Robert.

Easydrinker wrote:Distilling outside is not an issue.
What was the alc. content of the brew used for the strip?
That can effect the strip produced massively.
The cloudy strip confounds me though.
Distillate should be clear, if your condenser is clean.

Robert.

That's the thing, don't know what the abv content is of the wash. Forgot to write down the before fermentation reading. But even if it was low surely it should come out at 80% to begin with and just drop faster than a wash with a higher alcohol content? The fact it started coming out at 55% seems strange?

There is no reason for the condenser to be dirty unless some residue from when I made the raspberry gin was in there? But this stripping run should have washed that out if that's the case so the next run should be clear.

In my experience a Smart Still strip runs max. at the start around 60%.
A low alc. content brew will run lower.
Maybe do some xmas reading, it seems you are unclear on the process.
Oh, and the other reason for a cloudy wash is a puke, are you using boil pieces?
ATB

Robert.

Definitely no puking.

When I did my turbo yeast wash it started coming out much higher. I'm sure it was around 80. But if 60 is normal then I suppose 55 isn't that far out

Overfilled with wash that hasn’t finished would be my guess

+1. You beat me too it.

With the Smart Still, the higher the alcohol % in the boiler, the higher the alcohol % of the distillate.
Back when I tried, I needed 35% in the Smart Still, to get 80% out.

You say that you did not operate this strip yourself, can you be so sure that there was no Puke?

Robert.