White cloudy substance suspended in spirit

[Mattyg]

Hi,

Im looking for help... I've been getting a cloudy substance coming through in my spirits and I am unable to find what it could be. I got it first when I ran an old wine kit wine through (one of my first attempts with the air still). It didn't impart any off flavours, and it eventually settled to the bottom and I was able to rack off the clear spirit and leave the white stuff behind. I thought it must be something to do with fining agents or some other additive so I didn't think to much of it. I cleaned the still using the manufacturers cleaning product in case any remained in the pipes. I then got it when I ran a neutral sugar/turbo yeast/turbo clear was through and again but it down to the fining agents. I again cleaned the still and last night I ran a lentil wash through, that was just sugar and lentils, no fining agents and it came through again. I will try to post a photo below of what it looks like... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Mattyg]

[Almanac]

A few questions that should help identify your problem.
Does your wash taste sweet before you run it?
Does your water supply have a lot of limescale?
Do you use boil enhancers in the still? i.e. Ceramic Saddles or Copper Coins, etc

AidanMac

[Mattyg]

Hi, thanks for your reply... The turbo wash and the lentil wash tasted sweet, the wine kit didn't particularly. The substance was a lot more noticeable on the sweeter turbo and lentil wash though. My water supply doesn't have a lime scale problem and I use ceramic rashig rings.

[Almanac]

In that case it sounds like you could be getting some puking due to high levels of unfermented sugar in the wash.

Do you have a hydrometer? Your sugar wash is ready for the still only when the SG is down to 1.000 or lower - (pref in the 0.990 area which will have a completely dry taste.) Otherwise there's sugar remaining which can cause the wash to foam and exit the condenser, possibly in small quantities, leading to the result you're getting - suspended solids

Also getting the wash completely clear before stripping isn't considered, by some, to be absolutely necessary but from my years of experience with the Airstill I found it definitely did make a difference both in terms of puke prevention and spirit taste.

I'd run it again diluted to 20%ABV and with Distillers Conditioner added or a quarter tsp of cooking oil and don't forget the Rashig Rings/Boil Enhancers

Keep us posted how you get on.

AidanMac

[Mattyg]

I have another lentil wash that is almost clear so when it's ready to go I'll run it keeping your suggestions below in mind. Thanks for your help and I'll keep you posted!

[Easydrinker]

Regular users here know that AidanMac and myself often disagree.
His advice on the hydrometer is spot on,IMHO.
If you haven't already got one,then do acquire one,they are inexpensive and valuable.
A sugar saturated wash may well be the cause of your problems.
His advice upon a clear wash is also very valid for the air still.
Where we differ is that I would not advocate oil or conditioner in a strip.
But that is perhaps a personal decision,possibly best made after a trial and error process.
Have fun here,we are all learning,all of the time.

Robert.

[chill]

Conditioner is probably not needed when re-running a full distillation. I do use it on all of my strip runs, mostly because I have it and a literal drop is sufficient. All (or partial) grain washes, which I do run occasionally will foam up, as will molasses if my memory is correct. I don't recall much puking from a sugar wash, but I figure an ounce (drop) of prevention... There is just not a lot of head room in an Airstill.

[Mattyg]

Thanks for your replies... I do hope it's as simple as unfermented sugars. I do have a hydrometer but I probably was a bit careless in using it. I am used to making kit wines/beers/ciders where the ratios of sugar:water are well thought out and the yeast has no problem fermenting till dry, so the use of a hydrometer is perfunctory at best. Making washes for neutral spirits is new territory and probably deserves a bit more careful thought than I have given it.

There are a few things that leave me with some doubt though. The first is the fact I saw it in the wine kit run, which I know for sure had fermented dry. The second is the sugar wash was crystal clear and I've read in a few places that puking is unlikely if it's a clear sugar wash. Plus I always thought that puking would be noticeable, maybe not explosive, but there would be some other noticeable signs and I was in the room the whole time and didn't see or hear anything strange.

[Mash]

Good work Aidan - this had me proper scratching my head.

[Almanac]

To quote Sherlock Holmes, "once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." And based on the information provided it's the best I can suggest

Next time, if you make sure the wash is well degassed, clear (as you have done previously) and use conditioner plus boil enhancers, you will have eliminated the impossible. What remains after that is your water and your equipment. However, I would be confident that if you follow the things I've listed, to the letter, your problem may well be resolved.

AidanMac

[Mattyg]

Thanks for your advice... I'll let you know how I get on!

[chill]

Was the cloudiness obvious at the time you distilled it, or did it appear later? Did you only see it after you diluted the spirit? If you saw it as it was coming out of the still then a puke seems likely. If it appeared later then I would expect some sort of precipitate. Salts etc are not driven off in the steam and should remain in the still so carry over of clarifying agents etc. seems unlikely.

[Mattyg]

Hi chill, it appeared cloudy coming out, and then over the space of a few days it clumped together like in the photo above and even more so, and settled to the bottom after about a week.

I have ran through another lentil wash today, that was made at the exact same time and in the exact same way as the other one except for this one I have stripped it in 2l batches to really minimise the risk of it puking as well as experimenting with conditioner and butter and it's completely clear so fingers crossed that's it solved... I've a sloe wine and a molasses rum wash to put through over the next few days and if I have any bother I'll be back, otherwise thanks everybody for your help! ... What a great hobby, right??