WTF is that smell?

[reknaw]

Hey Shagz,

Not sure I have 100% what you mean, if you have run an airstill and the distillate smells real bad that would be because you have about 55% alcohol coming out of it and it contains a lot of "crap" (non technical term :) ) I would say she used turbo yeast as well?

Those little airstills aren't going to give you a "clean" product, I have seen one but never run one. You are going to need to "clean it up" with activated carbon.

Frank has one of the airstills so he has a bit of experience with them, from memory he has run a few different types of wash through his. He may have a few pointers to get the most out of it.

Out of curiosity what percentage alcohol did you get out of it?

[maheel]

Hi Shaggz

do you mean the smell of the stuff left in the still after you run it?

i reckon the stuff left over stinks... give us a bit more info please. And turbo's can be very stinky as they have a lot of yeast and stuff in the wash.

if it's the spirit coming out you can also run a few batches, water it back down with clean water say to 30% and run it through the still again prior to carbon treatment.

It's also a very good idea to let the wash clear before running it in the still, that might mean leaving it a week or two after it has stopped fermenting

clear like this

[QLD.Andy]

The output of an air still does stink, my wife said it was like rotten banana's when I had mine.
This is the reason you MUST run the output through a carbon filter.
Once its been through the filter it will smell fine.

[Shaggz]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies, the spirit came out of the still at 55%, I watered it back to 40.

I am guessing it was turbo yeast which was included in the kit I got with the still, so that is what would have been used..... Put water into the fermenter, added the sugar, stirred till it was disolved, added the yeast and nutrients sachets, stirred again, then the carbon sachet, stirred some more, I fermented for 7 days, hydromoter read .990 then put in the turbo clear, part A, waited an hour, put in part B, waited 24 hours for the wash to clear, then started distilling.

The kits that come with the still are enough to make a 10 litre wash, with 7.5 litres of water and 2.2 kilos of sugar. I doubled it, using 15 litres of water, 2 kits which had all the yeast etc in them and 4.4 kilo's of sugar.

I discarded the first 50ml, (from each run I put through the still) and ran the still as per the instructions, untill I had 700 ml of spirits then turned the still off, diluted to 40%, ran it through the filter which was supplied with the companion pack, still smelt the same, I think it smells more like metho, Hubby thinks its like rotten eggs, either way, it does smell, and its quite strong.

Re-distillilled a batch just before I went to bed last night, the smell seems stronger to me....

The filter I have.. I dont like, I have read some people have used a Brita filter, I was thinking about trying one of those today to see if that makes a difference, We only have a small home brew shop here with limited supplied that cost a fortune. Would I be wasting money if i tried a brita filter?

Its nice and clear though,

Out of the Air still, what should it smell like?
I am waiting on another still to arrive, its probably not the best still, however I am hoping it may produce something more pure whilst I am learning, then I may upgrade again at a later date. This one was second hand and within my price range on Ebay, only used once according to the add.

According to the web site this one can produce up to 90%.
Could I leave my already distilled, smelly spirit in bottles until this still arrives, and maybe try to redistill through the new still when it arrives, it may give me a better quality?

Sorry for all the questions, I thought the air still was pretty basic to use, however if what I have made is drinkable, I doubt I would be able to drink it, unless I had a peg on my nose.

I have a 10 litre wash fermenting which I put down yesterday, this one was made with dextrose, Maybe dextrose might make a difference.

Thanks for any advice
Shaggz

[QLD.Andy]

That second still will be so much better than an air still (anything is)
Yes put the smelly stuff through the new still, it will be better.
I am guessing that your not in AU?? as all the Turbo yeasts I have seen here are for 25lt wash's.
I like the Alcotec Vodka Star as a good clean turbo, dont use the carbon in wash and you will see a big improvement.

[Frank]

Hey Shaggz, SPUD1700is right. I've been using an SS Airstill for 5 washes now and have got the neutral spirit smell down to an 'acceptable minimum' from the first smelly one by a combination of the following....using less dextrose per wash (now 7kg instead of 8kg per 25l wash); not using turbo carbon in the wash; keeping the fermenting temperature as constant as possible (thanx Maheel ;); never taking more than 700ml per distill, after discarding the first 50ml foreshots, of course; and using activated carbon in a funnel with a cloth filter to filter the neutral (look under 'filtering ' topic for more info). Beyond that I am advised by experts :o that a sugar/Turbo yeast wash is never going to be as pleasant smelling as, say a Tomato Paste or bran wash and that's what I intend to try next ;) Anyway, its almost good enough now and getting better and I am sure you'll get there too soon. If nothing else, think carefully about your filtering method as those carbon cartridges are pretty much a waste of time esp compared to using activated carbon...

[reknaw]

As Andy said redistill what you have already run it through again once you get your nw still and it'll improve it a lot, you want to aim for 95% if you want a really clean neutral. That still you are getting isn't the best but it'sa HUGE step up from a airstill. If I was you I would'nt buy anything else until you have a bit of a read and get a bit more info. When people start eveyone makes the same mistakes :)

As for the filter have a read of the thread that Frank started, there is some good info in there that you might find helpfull. That said if you have a still that pulls 95% you wont need to filter it.

Can I ask what part of Aus you are in?

[Shaggz]

Thanks again

Hopefully the new still will turn up soon, I though it would be here today, looks like I thought wrong.
I am in Albury NSW.

I have done some research into stills, Although too much info starts to boggle my mind, I guess to start with I choose the air still, because, I dont have alot of room, and I dont have the means or knowledge to be ale to make my own, As my hubby said in his earlier post, he is a beer drinker, so he really doest have a interest in learning to make a still for me, also I didnt have alot of cash to outlay to purchase one of the larger stills plus I am impatient.......

The other stikll, I bought because I thought it would be a better option than the air still, I thought it was reasonably cheap for $200, figured I might use it further down the track.

I guess its all a bit of trial and error, was going to try the tomato paste wash next wash and see how I go with that.

Definately need to look into a better filter, the one I have is terrible.

[QLD.Andy]

The best "store bought" filter is this:

FUSELEX Stainless Steel Filter
I have one of these that I used when I had the air still (Mum has that now)

[Shaggz]

Hubby just came home from work and passed me a z filter and 2 containers, I called and asked him earlier if he could stop in at the home brew shop see if they had any activated carbon, I was going to attempt to make my own make shift filter to see if it would work on this batch. I have rinsed out the carbon, and hooked it all up, its slowly dripping away, fingers crossed this might help.

Apparently the carbon which was supplied with the filter lasts for 10 litres, so I will have to start hunting down some more, does anyone know where is a good place to get good quality carbon from?

[reknaw]

If your paying more than about $14.00 a kg for carbon your paying to much. You can just put loose carbon into your demijohn loose and leave it in a swirl it around every time you walk past it and that'll clean it up. As Andy said before though leave it till you get the new still and rerun it through that (I know it's hard to wait when you get a new toy though)

A simple filter can be made with a bit of stainless pipe and a stainless bolt (have a look at the thread Frank started on filtering)

As I was saying before I would'nt buy anything till you know which direction to head in :)

[QLD.Andy]

I dont like the Z filters.
All that plastic and stuffing around, just now worth the hassle.

[Shaggz]

Yeah, I wasn't looking at getting a filter, just some carbon, however thats what the home brew guy sold him so thats what I will use for the moment, I am grateful he was trying to help. I jave smelt the drips, doesen't smell anything like what it used to, maybe tomorrow I might be able to try a taste.

Further down the track i will lookinto getting a stainless one, although obviously the ideal situation would be not to require one at all.

Thanks

[reknaw]

It'll clean it up, might be an idea to put it through twice though to get it as clean as you possibly can, not sure if your aware it's best to keep away from plastics or any solvents etc to get the best possible product you can.

In 12 months time you'll be a pro with this distilling thing :)

[Shaggz]

Thanks Spud,

I am hoping it will clean up ok, otherwise, there is always next time, in most cases I do learn by my mistakes. I have read to keep clear from plastics etc.

I was thinking that if i could put some copper into the still somehow to see if that reduced the odour a bit, I have read that copper reduces the sulphur smells. Not sure if that is possible with the air still though.

Frank has given me some good pointers which I will put into practice when using the Air still, practice makes perfect, I just hope my hubby can withstand the oudors coming from the kitchen on a Sunday morning, I might have to try and cover them over by making him bacon and eggs for breakfast before distilling.

[SBB]

G'day Shaggz
Im pretty new at this too.
Dunno if anyone has mentioned this yet, but you could try airing it for a while. I know it makes a huge difference to the stuff I make, Put it in a jar with a cover on top,(piece of cloth or coffee filter & rubber band.) leave it for 48 hours or more if you like .....then sniff again.
SBB

[MacStill]

G'day Shaggz
Im pretty new at this too.
Dunno if anyone has mentioned this yet, but you could try airing it for a while. I know it makes a huge difference to the stuff I make, Put it in a jar with a cover on top,(piece of cloth or coffee filter & rubber band.) leave it for 48 hours or more if you like .....then sniff again.
SBB

This is good advise Shaggz, regardless of filtering or any other treatment a good airing IMHO is one of the best ways to get rid of smells of any kind with your spirit, so in your case I would do as SBB says and then put it through your filter.

Cheers.

[Shaggz]

Thanks SBB,

I will give that a try, ran it through the filter last night, its still smelly, although not quite as strong, I will air it for a few days and see how that goes. then try the filter again.

Shaggz

[QLD.Andy]

Hey Shaggz, there is a similar discussion going on over here: http://www.stillsmart.co.uk/forum/topic.php?id=483
One of the last post's has some very good advice that you may (or may not) choose to follow.
Have a read, most of the users over there are in the UK and most are using airstills.
Hope that helps a little.

[Shaggz]

Thanks Andy
Will go have a read