StillSmart

Copper. Bugger the butter. Copper.

PS did I mention... Copper

In my experiance you’ll never get a clear wash made with Molasses so don’t worry about it, also with a mix of molasses and Demerara sugar you could have just used some bread yeast and saved yourself a lot of money on the turbo yeast and clearing agents.

Good point. Probably could have had a bit less sugar/molasses too.

IMHO less sugar and molasses should have been used, that was one sickly sweet brew, I hope all the sugars fermented for you.
But, yes run it, these days I seldom wait for a clear wash.

Robert.

I am estimating that at 20%. Good luck fermenting that.
Honestly just taste a bit. I suspect it will still be sweet. I would double the volume and try to ferment it out. If you did actually manage to ferment it then just run it.

Hi all,

The tips and advice I have received on here has been fantastic so thank you to everyone!

I am currently running the wash in two batches (as still not big enough) and used the copper penny trick, adding a whole pack of ceramic beads, to be safe. I have experienced no issues so far.

The rum has came out very well IMO, little bit of a pink twinge and little flecks of something inside, but this should come out through a Brita filter.


This is my wash before the run (the black dots aren't in the wash, they're on the roof of the conservatory!)




After

I haven't took a FG yet, but I can safely say one thing, it is very strong. Am I able to estimate the proof of this? as even from tasting the drips off my finger it has got me a bit.. unfortunately I did not take a reading during initial mixing.

Thanks again to everyone!

Well done. You can get spirit hydrometers and refractometers.

Both cheap as chips on ebay from China

Chirping in just to advise not filtering a Rum through anything better than a Brita filter.
It would be a shame to lose that worked for flavour,

Robert.

Would I be better suited to a refractometer as the all of the spirit hydrometers on ebay say that they are not suitable for sugar washes?


Chirping in just to advise not filtering a Rum through anything better than a Brita filter.
It would be a shame to lose that worked for flavour,
Do you mean that a Brita filter is ok to use but nothing else?

Thanks in advance

I have included a picture of final product if anyone is interested!

I prefer refractometers yes. Just soooo quick, easy & clean to use.
Once you have one you just won't use your hydrometers anyway.

... And they don't roll off the bench and smash.

Thanks Mash

I'm presuming that I'd have to buy a 0-90brix refractometer? As the ones on ebay are mainly 0-32brix which I don't think would give me an accurate reading?

Thanks

There is 2 different types. One for alcohol one for sugar.

Thanks Mash

So this would suffice?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2208578555

I was working on the assumption that as it only goes to 32brix I would only be able to establish the proof up to 20.9% ABV?

Thanks

There are also different scales.

This is for sugar content- Grapes / fruit / fruit juice etc. The scale here has a finished % guide which is really handy to double check your maths when you start a brew.



This one is for finished spirit.

That's excellent, thanks for clarifying.

I have ordered this
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2788051191
As this should tell me?

I will post proof when it arrives

Thanks again