StillSmart

ive had a Lentil wash fermenting since the 31 may i know i should be more patient but Dam! its still over 1.000 i guess i will give it a few more days then run it either way.

@ Jaggie ,I would suspect low Ph is to blame here.You could drop a little Bicarbonate of Soda in there and see if the ferment speeds up,after the initial fizzing,to confirm.
@ black grouse,Man,if you were a child of mine,I would be shaking my head in despair!
By all means follow your own star,but stay safe.

Robert.

sorry, why is it unsafe?

@Jaggie - pH strips from China are cheap and sufficiently accurate to diagnose issues such as this. I think that Robert is likely correct - the pH is low causing the yeast to become nearly inactive.

black grouse wrote:sorry, why is it unsafe?

Low Wines, the prodict of a single distilling run, contain too many volitiles to be healthy for you to consume. Take my word for it, single distilled wash is bad news for drinking.

@ black grouse

If your only single distilling I'm not supprised if gives you the shits!!

The art of craft distilation does not create alcohol, it removes alcohol more than anything to create a purer product, free from the esters and other chemicals produced during fermentation.

A single distilation or strip is just the first phase in cleaning up the alcohol you've fermented by removing it from the wash it was fermented in, it still contains many esters and chemicals you really don't want to be drinking.

It does however remove the majority of the alcohol from the wash, creating a clean base to make your spirit from.

A second distilation will further seperate undesirable fractions that are guaranteed to give you the shits/headache by producing them in an order that they can be removed or "cut" out of the clean drinkable alcohol (hearts).

I'll finish this post tomorrow when I'm not struggling to type!! 12 long days solid days at work followed by some home made is messing with my mind, but at least I won't have to worry about a hangover

Cool! Never knew lol
Means I now need to make much larger batches!!!!!

And the ferment goes on and on and on......

black grouse wrote:Cool! Never knew lol
Means I now need to make much larger batches!!!!!

LOL. I do hope you mean large batches of better alcohol and not large batches of arse cannon propellant

Indeed
In fairness I dont get a hangover from what I've been doing, just the arse issues..... Should sell it as a diet drink!

DIET DRINK too funny (LMAO seemed the wrong response)

thanks for the PH information seems to have restarted it many thanks

Lentil wash as now been in the fermenter for 17 days and is starting to clear and down to around 0998 from around 1090, and if I'm allowed to say being an inexperienced newbie it does taste and smells better than the Turbo yeast I used in the first wash... Now I know where your all coming from....

Any top tips to clear this to a usable standard? Finings or stick it in my lagering fridge and cool to around 4c to get the yeast to drop..?

For the next wash I've bought a Vodka star yeast and an Alcotec 24 Turbo Klar to try then I feel I've used more options for better experience.

S4BB

Yes indeed - stick in your lagering fridge and cool to around 2-4c to get the yeast to drop.

If using an Airstill the clearer the wash is before stripping the cleaner the final spirit will be. Using Turbo Klar should give you a good crystal result. I use Sparkolloid but it has to be imported from the U.S.

I've had washes stand on the concrete floor of my workshop during winter with the thermo in the wash showing 2oC and they wouldn't clear in a week and I'd end up having to use Sparky anyway

You can run cloudy, no prob, but I think the result is better if the wash is cleared and it makes for a much easier post-run cleanup too