Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi,

Still finding my feet here. Have an airstill using in my caravan. Have done a couple of turbo washes which I found to be unsatisfactory. Tried WBAB which was much better but still had some strange flavours after double distillation

Think perhaps it might be due to me not clarifying the wash sufficiently prior.

Could I use turbo clear with WBAB to get a clear wash without introducing unwanted flavours

Thanks
Geoff

I wouldn’t use turbo clear, gravity and time is your friend for clearing washes.
Or the problem could be coming from the still, perhaps it needs a good clean?

Bentonite clay works much better then turbo clear. Glycerine is cheaper then the 2 . As wj said time will settle it but takes time..

Have you looked at getting some malted grain from home brew supply shop and look at how to make beer but leave out the hops and can do stove top in a large pot with a strainer bag.
The no mash yeast may also be a good option if can get some or buy some enzymes.

Probably the simplest option would be to distill some water mate.
If it tastes funny we can point to the still needing cleaning.
If it tastes fine and the next wash is not right it has to be the wash.
I might have over simplified the answer but I understand simple :))

Thank you all for the advice. I let the mash settle for 7 days after fermentation ended. Didn’t look very clear but was quite good when I siphoned

Have completed the stripping run without issue and the resulting spirit smells better than any I have experienced before will distill fractions in the next day or 2 and see what result I get

I was perhaps a xpecting too clear a result from the WBAB

Looking good at this stage

All

Just an update

Distilled one lot of stripped liquid without filtering and one with filtering.

Added Dry Gin Top Shelf

Neither was drinkable - tipped both out.

Have decided that perhaps a grain mash is not the best o use with air still and am now trying a sugar wash with vodka yeast and Distillers light spirits nutrient

Will let you know how it goes

Don’t forget Geoff the your airstill is a pot still so it is never going to create a nice neutral spirit. Your spirit will always have some carry over flavour from the wash. The good news is that when you want to distill a bourbon or whiskey you will get some wonderful carried through flavours from the wash to further enhance the character of your spirit. You may not even need the essence if you go down the generational path. If you have a look at the still types in the newbie section mate you will get some ideas on the strengths of your still type and you can play to them

Thanks mate.

I am trying a sugar wash in a last attempt to get a neutral spirit suitable for Gin. Trying vodka yeast with distillers nutrient for one wash and the full turbo wash (carbon etc for the other)

If these fail I will stick to Rum or Bourbon and buy Gin when I feel like it :))

Lol
That’s the way, drink what you can make :laughing-rolling:

The pot stills do a fantastic job of the bourbon, runs and whiskeys.

Or you can experiment with different fruits as the flavour will be carried through where as a reflux will strip the flavour