Sweet distillate

[DorsetScott]

Ok, so I'm doing a feints run today.
26 litres @ 40% into the boiler, mix of heads and tails from sugarwash, sugar head, rum, ujssm etc, basically a mix of everything.
Running through the reflux, and now well into the hearts.
Took a little bit to measure, coming out at 93%.

Watered some down to 40% to taste, and it's definitely queens hearts, really pure but it has an almost icing sugar like sweetness in the aftertaste.
Not unpleasant, just really really bizarre and unexpected.

Anyone had anything similar to this before? I've done a few feints runs and never experienced it. The only difference I have is that a couple of the runs have had cane sugar rather than beet. Could this have made a difference?

[Easydrinker]

I gave up on feints runs long ago, apart from whisky, for taste.
There is alwyas another wash jostling for position.

Robert.

[Icefever]

I had the same a few months back, it was strange, a TPw that the hydro said had finished, I did a strip run, then spirit run and that came out with a sweet taste.
Maybe one of the mixes you had was over sweet?? and this was carried through to the end??. Thinking this through, you would have noticed the taste in that run??...maybe it is the sugar?? cane v beet?

ps....the yeast turned up yesterday cheers dude...it's sat in the fridge, will try it out over the weekend.

Ice.

[Mash]

I have no idea. But I think this is going to be a sweetness "effect" from a higher alcohol rather than sugars from the brew making it through.

A volatile probably produced by a type of yeast or a yeast stress situation during ferment.

What yeast did you use?

Were there issues during fermentation?

[DorsetScott]

I gave up on feints runs long ago, apart from whisky, for taste.
There is alwyas another wash jostling for position.

I know a lot don't do feints runs, but every so often I find myself in a place where there isn't a wash ready to run, and as I make very harsh cuts on my neutrals, there is always a decent amount to recover when I do.


Unfortunately me being me the first neutral spirit run I did with cane sugar is in the neutral keg with all of the beet sugar runs. I did use it for some ujssm though and didn't notice a sweetness there.

I use the same yeast for everything I've fermented, just standard bakers yeast. Allinsons I think.
No issues in any of the ferments, temps kept stable etc.

I am liking the sweetness effect being from higher alcohol, I wasn't aware that was a thing. It sits with me better than it being carried over from the pot which was what was confusing me.Any of those feints would have had a minimum of a stripping run through the pot still then one type of spirit run before going through the reflux yesterday, can't imagine much would make it through at all.

ps....the yeast turned up yesterday cheers dude...it's sat in the fridge, will try it out over the weekend.

Good to hear it. If for some reason none of it is viable (it's been dormant in the fridge for a little while), let me know and I'll get the stir plate out and make a big ass starter to harvest for you.