First runs with Boka - problems

[ant]

Although turbo obviously implies speed I believe they are yeast strains that can bear to live in their own piss at higher concentrations before dieing. Hence the higher initial concentration of alcohol. The trade off is bad taste which is hard to remove or mask.

Alisons is the way forward.

[Easydrinker]

Yep,she's a favourite of mine:)
And I usually keep her fizzin' at 30°C,she doesn't like to be cold.
Robert

[Boozoid]

I can't really comment since my spirit stinks right now , but I'm led to beieve Vodka star is not really a turbo.

More of a wine yeast in a silver packet with yeast nutrients to help it munch sugar.

It's specifically made to produce a clean neutral, esp if brewed cool and at 5kg sugar.

The product I ran twice thru the wine bottle filter is neutral and the burning sensation on the nose has gone.

I'm clearing another Vodka Star batch at the mo, so I will be able to compare and see whats at fault.

[Easydrinker]

Maybe I am wandering off topic here,but my Bread yeast ferments seem to take themselves to +35°C every time when they get going,and finish fine.
I aim for 10 - 12% ish brews.
Usually done fizzin' in 3 days.
I don't have the pleasure of living somewhere warm,and so the concept of a fermenting fridge is alien to me.
Robert.

[Boozoid]

Last night I ran another batch of 14% Vodka star and sugar thru the Boka. It tasted ok prior to running.
This time I did it as a stripping run, I removed all the packing from the column and opened up the tap.
I'm guessing I was still getting a bit of reflux as the product came out at 70% at 60ml/min.

Anyway, that burning harsh smell on the nose I was moaning about is still present.
Suggesting that maybe its the Sugar wash / yeast combo I find disagreable, not any form of contamination from flux / pan scrubs or infection.

I'm going to spirit run both batches thru the boka again today with some extra copper in the path and most likely carbon filter.

I need to try some other washes/ yeasts as this does not seem to be working for me.

[Anavrin]

When you get the burning harsh smell is it the fact that your sniffing a large volume that has been covered with a lid of some sort?

When I take the top off my Essencia filter and stick my nose it there it's the same and put it down to the fact it maybe because it's unfiltered and the vapour has been building up in the space under the lid, the neutral out of the filter is another story, it smells lovely, I sometimes run it through my filter twice but can't say the second time makes much of a noticeable difference.

If it smells good once bottled I'd say it's ok.

[packapoo]

[quote="Boozoid"]I can't really comment since my spirit stinks right now , but I'm led to beieve Vodka star is not really a turbo.

More of a wine yeast in a silver packet with yeast nutrients to help it munch sugar.

Dunno Boozoid. Back to whether VS is a turbo or not...there is a picture in one of the distilling fora(?) I came across a couple of days back where it clearly stated on the packet "Turbo Yeast".
Trying a yeast change seems a worthwhile consideration?

[Easydrinker]

Indeed,if you are unhappy,try a different wash.
Several of us here have our favourites.
All will possibly bear better fruit than a "turbo".
It took me a while to discover this for myself.
A kind of humbling experience.
Suck it up.Man up.Get on with life.
Robert.

[ant]

Although it is also possible you are just taking off too fast, I would try changing the yeast to Allisons and keep the plain sugar wash with a tomato puree nutrient feed. The recipe should be floating around here somewhere or on HD certainly. If that doesn't work then you need to take off more slowly despite the ABV% you are reaching.

Really filtering and Neutral in the same distillation related sentence are an oxymoron. If it's neutral then it does not need filtering; that is what makes it neutral.

[ant]

As previously mentioned you could also try adding some choreboy copper scrubbies to remove any sulphides that might be present but, a number of neutral makers swear off copper as actually adding taste to a neutral. Only change one thing at a time. You need to know what the problem is. I would still start with the yeast and plain sugar wash recipe with tomato puree for nutrients as the first go. Or redistill what you have with a slow take off to avoid any smearing.

[Boozoid]

So I ran both my batches thru the still again for a spirit run. Third distalation at 95% for 1/2 of the wash the other half had just been stripped.

Anyways, the resulting product still had a burning alchohol sensation on the nose. I dropped a load of charcoal inside a demijojn and filled her up. Agitated every day for a few days then filtered off.... and the smell has totally gone.

So I had 5L of tasteless, smell free base.
With my base.. I've tried some Prestige essances,
The wife says the Bombay Gin actually smells and tastes better than the real thing!
The Brandy one is ok, but the Spiced Rum essance sucks bad.. the stuff has turned the base cloudy. If I couldn't turn it back into something ..I'd take it back to the HBS for a refund.

[Boozoid]

I was in a hospital last night... I sanatised my hands.

The burning sensation smell on the nose of my spirit is exactly the same as Purcell hand Gel.

Ingredients 70% Ethyl Alcohol

At least I've found a use for my product

[Easydrinker]

No excuse for evil,invisible things where you live then!
Robert.

[ant]

Reading YHB's post on how his still has progressed it seems it may not be possible to produce true neutral with a Bokakob. He moved to a multi head design for just that reason.

Boka to compress and remove the heads followed by VM or Pot to produce Neutral or flavoured spirits respectively.

So high proof, azeotrope even, but not neutral with just a Bok. That's a job for a VM.

[Almanac]

Now you understand Grasshopper Enlightenment is not for the many, but for the few true believers.

AM