BeverageCommander
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You most likely need to add more heat– if it is not running at 190 keep adding heat until it starts producing. Just crank the heat until it starts running and then dial back the heat until you have the drip-rate you are looking for.
Have you done a good cleaning on your still? I would get some PBW from amazon or your local homebrew shop.
PBW works great on stainless steel.Do you have any copper in your setup? Fruit wines tend to have more sulfer than other washes. Copper really helps to strip out sulfides.
You could also do a few stripping runs and then clean those up with a final spirit runIs it better to heat up mash before fermenting
What is your mash recipe?
I made a mash using fruit . I made the mash fermented it the first go round but noticed that that Alcohol content wasn’t that high
What was the starting gravity of the mash?
So I added more sugar to it brought it back up to a specific gravity of 1.040……. > 25 % ABV activated the Turbo Yeast in a glass with 2 Tsp of sugar and 104 F Water .. Then I pitched it into the mash.. And airated it
Was the mash completely fermented out when you added the sugar or was it sill fermenting?
This unusually happens if the still is running too hot during that part of the run. I run my still pretty slowly it takes more time but I get a higher proof and I feel I can make tighter cuts.
How fast do you normally run your still? What size is it?I always make my cuts based on taste and feel. If I have a recipe that I’ve ran a lot and have good notes on I’ll reference the notes but my cuts are always basted on taste and feel.
Once you do the same run over and over you can use the notes from previous runs to help dial the batch in…I always take notes on the column temp, proof, feel, taste on each of my cuts. Temp and proof are not going to tell you much without first making cuts based on taste and feel. If the still is running hotter the proof and the cuts are not going to be the same as they would be if the still was running a bit cooler.
I run my rye whiskey a lot- My cuts are usually pretty spot on with my notes- but I don’t rely on temp or proof (they are good references though)
I personally really enjoy the results with bread yeast (make sure you add some yeast nutrient as well – just follow the directions on the label for the yeast nutrient)
I also have used wine yeast (Lalvin 71B-1122) with good resultsWhat kind of mash did you make?
Did you take a hydrometer reading before you pitched the yeast?I am thinking your mash is going to be fine- I did not start checking the PH of my mash until a few years into brewing and distilling.
I always check the PH of the mash after I mix in my grains and get them stirred in. I’ll adjust the PH as needed at that point.
I’ve been on a 80-20% malted barely to malted rye kick lately. I shoot for a PH between 5.2 and 5.5 on this recipe — I try and get closer to 5.2.Micro bubbles are most likely fine- that is showing signs of fermentation.
I would just let it do its thing- if you have not taken a hydrometer reading- take one now and write down the gravity. Let it ferment and then take another reading in 7-10 days- at that point it should hopefully be close to 1.000. I would not stress too much about it.
hydrometers are meant to be used at 68 °F.
I always take a reading after the 60 minute mash- I use a refractometer which makes taking a reading easy- that way if my gravity is low I can fix the problem before I add yeast.Can you give us more information on your still and mash process?
what size still? what type of still?
What was your mash recipe and process?Mike,
It is not a needed process. I ferment everything in primary- I don’t do any secondary with my mashes.
This is the way I’ve done it in the past:
The suggested safe level of copper in drinking water for humans varies depending on the source, but tends to be pegged at 2.0 mg/l
Not trying to spread fear- just being safe. Why not just clean the still?
PBW works great as does vinegar as you stated.
I choose to be safe- copper poising is a real thing: We don’t drink out of the statue of liberty
No blue/green in any of my stills
I’ve sent mine out to the labs to be tested and I agree the amounts are very minimal and won’t cause harm in small batches. but I error on the side of caution- plus foreshots are best used for cleaning not drinking.
