Re-Distill

[alcodemon]

Hi all,

Did a boil about a week ago using my new shop-bought LM type still (Pure Distilling brand).

8 Kg sugar
1 pkt Alcotec48 Turbo yeast
Turbo Clear

When the temp got to around 78.5 deg C, I opened the tap and started collecting. I threw out the first 150 mL.

The rest was something like this:-

1.750 litres @ 95%
1.250 " @ 96%
.800 " @ 90%
.250 " @ 80%
.250 " @ 58%

The temp hovered around 78.4 - 78.7 C for the first 3 bottles.

When the temp got to 80+ C, I collected jar 4. The temp got to about 88 C and stabilized and the thing still kept producing. I stopped at jar 5 and switched the thing off.

After letting the spirit 'breathe' for a day and a half, I mixed the first 3 lots together and checked the alc% again. It showed 95% at 15 degrees C.

Q: If I dilute the 3.8 litres of 95% down to 40% and re-distilled it (9.025 litres), would I still end up with 3.8

litres of good stuff?

Cheers

[Kimbo]

Q: If I dilute the 3.8 litres of 95% down to 40% and re-distilled it (9.025 litres), would I still end up with 3.8

litres of good stuff?

Cheers

Short answer is No, the reason is, there will always bee some loss due to you will make proper cuts and there will always be some alcohol left in the boiler as you never really run it down to 0%

[alcodemon]

G'day Kimbo,

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll just carbon filter the 'good lot' and let it sit on bourbon chunks for 6-8 weeks.

Again, thanks.

[Kimbo]

G'day Kimbo,

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll just carbon filter the 'good lot' and let it sit on bourbon chunks for 6-8 weeks.

Again, thanks.

no worries mate, if you re distill and make good cuts, you wont need to waste money on carbon filtering ;-)

[wynnum1]

8 kg is too much sugar too high alcohol content stresses the yeast gives off flavors dilute with more water .Keep the first 1000 ml and run with the next wash no need to throw out 150 ml on every run just do not drink.

[alcodemon]

Hey guys, thanks for the tips.

For the next wash I'm thinking of using 5 Kg sugar and 1/2 pack of the Alcotec48 turbo yeast in 19 litres of water.

Yes, I know that lots of distillers don't like the turbo stuff. It's just that I bulk buy and I have a heap of the stuff. Might as well use it all up.

I read this in 'The Compleat Distiller' book re bakers yeast.........

"Different strains of yeast also have very different temperature and alcohol tolerance levels. All yeast will die at some level of alcohol concentration, and this tolerance level drops as the temperature rises. Baking yeast, for example, dies off quite quickly when alcohol levels reach about 6–7 %, rendering it useless for making beverage alcohol. Most strains of Beer Yeast can tolerate 8-10% alcohol, though some can take more. Wine Yeast strains generally can ferment up to 14-15%, and a few can go as high as 20%. Adding large quantities of the wrong yeast will only make it reach its tolerance point faster, it will not result in a higher final alcohol concentration. There are hundreds of different strains of wine, beer and specialty yeast available from a large number of suppliers. Matching the strain to the desired product will greatly improve the success of your fermentations."


Same with the carbon filtering. Bought a S/S Nano inline filter with a few Kg of carbon. Pointless in letting it all go to waste.

Here's a good read about carbon filtering....
http://homedistiller.org/distill/polish

Thanks again to all
Cheers

[wynnum1]

Try a tomato paste wash using a small amount of the turbo wash packet as the yeast and added nutrient .

[jasonc2861]

G'day Kimbo,

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll just carbon filter the 'good lot' and let it sit on bourbon chunks for 6-8 weeks.

Again, thanks.

Done a few tpw washes so far,haven't filtered any,no off smells like turbo.air it out,do ya cuts.flog the rest of your turbo crap off on eBay and get some tpw going mate,you won't go back I promise.i put a fair bit on that American gobbler bourban chips,,,bloody tasty stuff mate. :-D

[BackyardBrewer]

If you collected that first 1.7L without cutting the heads out I would re-run all of it in my next batch.

The heads from a turbo are so very rough. It's like metho even after filtering.

Please tell me you made cuts every 200ml?

[emptyglass]

Kimbo answered your question, but further to it, ditch the turbo clear. You might need to do what you have to do to get stock up, that is to say use it for now, but if you just let your wash sit for a few days after its finnished bubbling, it will all settle out.

You can change your yeast without wasting any bulk turbo you have bought, particularly if you are doing a TPW or similar. Boiling the turbo yeast will convert it to nutrient, this can help "bulk up" the tomato paste.

But yeah, read up on cuts, this will make the biggest single difference for you at this stage.

Cheers and happy distilling.