StillSmart

I am seeing quite a few sour asides about sugar washes, and as we are both new to the forum and to the airstill we are left wandering.

A search for "sugar wash" turns up near every post going due to the quotes being ignored by the software and so every wash and sugar word is in the results so sorry if this is not a new topic as such.

So panel? What are the issues with a sugar wash please? Ours comes from a Still Spirits yeast pack c/w clearing agents and 21 L of water plus 6kg of sugar.

Thanks in advance

PH

In general terms, Spirits are mostly made from grains where the starch in the grain is converted to fermentable sugars. In home distilling most people start off avoiding the grain route because it is quite labour intensive and time consuming.

Granulated Sugar provides a quick and easy solution along with a Turbo Yeast pack and Bobs your Mother's Brother

Over time, many home distillers tire of the sugar head taste, which is quite easily detected with experience. Yearning for the flavourful mouthfeel of grain alcohol many move over to Partial Grain and even All Grain brewing and distilling.

There's an old saying, "There's none so pure as a reformed whore" and some distillers who move over to grain are sometimes a little dismissive of sugar washes.

Don't listen to them, sugar washes are where we all start and I'm still there, nothing wrong with it

AM

Welcome to the forum.

There are no issues with sugar washes, we all use them but we all use different methods.

Your suggested method will work, however;

6kg of sugar - Many here, but not all, limit the amount of sugar to 5kg Higher concentrations of sugar will produce more alcohol but will also start to produce undesirable tastes in the spirits.

Still spirits yeast pack contains yeasts and nutrients, lots of them. Again some here advise that for a better taste the amounts of nutrients should be limited. Many advise alternative yeasts and nutrients that in their opinion have a better flavour.

It's up to you, go with what you have got, try it and then try others to see if there are any improvement. There are lots of ways to improve the spirits that are produced by the Still Spirits method described in the brochure.

Have a look at the method for double distilling by Aidanmac and let us know what you prefer.

Brian

Thanks.

Cough... we already double distil, and are considering triple with the next batch.

PH

It's always worth remembering that even the best distilleries start their spirits off from a distiller's beer at around 4-6%ABV and that's the way it's been since distilling was first discovered. We're really pushing the boundaries using high sugar levels to make ferments over 12% and, for me, 5kg in a 25lt wash is the outer limit for my washes and when I change over to grain next year I'll still be doing the odd sugar wash too

AM

Great responses aidan,succinct and to the point.
Nothing I can add here,I'll just move along......
But I do love "There's none so pure as a reformed whore" ,it's been a while since I've heard that one.
Robert.

I use sugar cane based products for practically everything I make. Rum obviously needs to be made from a sugar cane based product or it would not be rum. My gin and vodka is made out of the same wash. It is however distilled to a much higher degree - 96% ABV. Rum I dont take over 82%ABV on the spirit run.

If you find you have to triple distill then you have most probably made your cuts too wide/late. Sugar based washes are relatively cheap. Go for quality rather than quantity.